THE SALMON FLY. 463 



should be borne in mind, for the fly which in the book 

 will resemble those flitting over the water to a nicety, will, 

 when on the water, be two or three shades darker, and will 

 not conseqently resemble it at all ; and colour is a point 

 beyond all others on which the fish are very critical. 



HOW TO DRESS A SALMON FLY. 



In referring to the various parts of a salmon fly, I must 

 refer the reader to Plate VIII. fig. 8, p. 284 : a is the tag ; 

 6, the tail ; c, the but ; <i, the tinsel ; e, the body ; /, the 

 hackle ; g, the shoulder hackle ; A,, the under wing ; i, the 

 upper or over wing ; j, the cheek ; fc, the head ; and I, 

 the loop. 



Some persons also dress a salmon fly by the aid of their 

 fingers alone, 1 and others, particularly with the more com- 

 plicated flies, use a vice and all the other implements 

 already mentioned for trout flies ; but the vice to be used 

 for salmon flies must be larger and more powerful than 

 that employed in the making of trout flies. Again, some 

 persons tie the gut to the hook as in trout flies ; and 

 though this is the neater plan, perhaps, and makes the fly 

 swim more accurately, it is not safe, as the gut at the 

 head of the fly soon gets wounded, and then your fly is 



1 Professional tyers seldom, even with salmon flies, use a vice. Their 

 fingers answer all purposes, and they get on so much more rapidly than the 

 amateur, and obtain so much more precision, by carrying out only one pro- 

 cess at a time when tying flies in bulk or large numbers. For a certain 

 time, for example, they will tie nothing but bodies, and then having selected 

 a good stock of the various coloured dubbings required, no time is lost in 

 hunting for each separate colour. There they lie ready to hand, and a pinch 

 is picked off one after the other as it is required, and the tyer goes on tying 

 bodies, perhaps two, three, or four dozen or more, all of the same pattern, 

 until the dubbing is exhausted 5 the consequence is, that if any fault is made 

 in one body, it is instantly corrected in the next. After this hackles, and 

 then wings, are served in the same way. The result of this practice is won- 

 derful accuracy, quickness, and neatuess. 



