464 TACKLE-MAKING. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



TACKLE-MAKING AND FLY-DRESSING, 

 oy MAJUKO TACKLE, KNOTTING, ETC. HOW TO DRESS THE TROUT FLY 



THE METHOD OP DRESSING THE SALMON FI.T. 



BEFORE going into the mysteries of fly dressing, I may say 

 a few words upon tackle making generally. 



One of the first acts the tyro will attempt to perform 

 for himself will be the lashing on of a hook. This process 

 is exceedingly simple, and may be very quickly performed 

 with a little practice. Take a hook, a thread of gut, and 

 some fine but strong silk ; wax it well either with white or 

 cobbler's wax ; bite the gut slightly at the extreme end, so 

 as to flatten it and prevent its slipping ; then lay the gut 

 and the end of the silk against the shank of the hook, the 

 ends reaching rather short of the bend; then holding 

 both in place with the bend and shank of the hook be- 

 tween the left finger and thumb take the silk in the right, 

 and wind it firmly round the gut and hook, commencing 

 at the head or end of the hook, and laying coil beside coil 

 until the gut is covered and bound securely to the hook ; 

 then fasten off the silk either by two half hitches, as shown 

 in the right-hand tie in fig. 7 of Plate III. p. 95, or by 

 the method given on the left-hand side. These cuts 

 render any further explanation needless. I generally 

 prefer the two half hitches, as, although perhaps less neat, 

 they are more secure. The coils should of course be 

 drawn tight, and the loose end of the silk snipped off. The 



