12 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



essential features of this mode of fishing is to drop the fly 

 on the water with the right side up and the wings cocked. 

 No written description will make a good dry fly fisher ; 

 seeing an expert at the work and practising keenly is the 

 only plan. For full particulars of this fascinating mode of 

 angling, the reader is referred to the admirable works by Mr. 

 Halford ; they are most interesting, instructive, and well 

 written, and the illustrations are exceedingly good. 



Artificial Flies are imitations of the natural living 

 fly or insect used by the angler to deceive and capture the 

 wary fish. They are divided into two classes winged flies 

 and hackle or spider flies. The materials entering into 

 their composition are the hook, the link of gut or hair to 



SPIDERS. WINGED FLIES. 



which the hook is fastened, and the materials which 

 surround and cover the hook to form the deceptive imita- 

 tion. The varieties of these are very numerous, of various 

 sizes, shapes, and colours, and they are now so cleverly 

 made by the professional fly-dresser that it is hardly 

 necessary for a man to tie his own flies, except indeed to 

 give him an increased interest in his sport, as he will have, 

 if he captures a fish with a fly of his own creation in 

 preference to those he has purchased. The artificial fly is 

 a combination of feathers of sorts to form the wings ; 

 dubbings of hair, wool, fur, silk, and gold or silver tinsel 

 to compose the body; hackles taken from the neck of 



