FLIES FOR SALMON. 271 



of local notoriety. We do not believe, ourselves, in 

 the hard and fast rules given as to this or that special 

 dressing being infallibly successful upon any specified 

 water, and on its uselessness upon another adjoining 

 lake or river. The salmon fly is but a fanciful com- 

 bination, arranged with a view to the general artistic 

 effect ; and as nature presents no model for man to 

 imitate, the fanciful amalgamations of feathers, tinsel, 

 fur, and wool, are closed upon by the sportive and 

 capricious fish, in a mere spirit of wantonness, or 

 because of its being novel. We have often (and we 

 doubt not that a few of our readers have had similar 

 experiences) surprised native rodsters by the effect of 

 a ?z<??2-observance of their given rules of procedure. 

 A strange fly, whether it happens to be sombre or 

 gay, frequently does wonders amongst these fickle 

 fish. Change, in this respect, is far more effective in 

 influencing the nett yield than can easily be credited. 

 Salmon flies exist in myriads of varieties, and to 

 attempt to enumerate the whole of those in general 

 esteem would be a needless task. The following are 

 a few of the standard killers of universal repute : 

 The Jock Scot. The Wasp. 



Black Dose. Doctor. 



Spey Dog. Rainbow. 



Butcher. Captain. 



Shannon. Lightning. 



Parson. Blacker's Patterns. 



Ranger. etc., etc. 



In addition to the above, we commend the fol- 

 lowing : The Spanker, the Rob Roy, the Spartan, 



