METHOD OF DRESSING A SPIDER. 91 



of hook should always bear some proportion to the 

 size of fly, but the exact size of hook that will be 

 most killing with a fly of a certain size is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to determine. Some of the shop flies 

 are dressed upon hooks so small, and rolled round 

 with so much dubbing and hackle, that we would 

 consider their chances of hooking one trout out of 

 ten rises exceedingly problematical. We have 

 frequently fished with a very small fly, say No. 

 15, and a larger fly, say No. 12, of the same kind, 

 and found that though the smaller fly raised twice 

 the number, it did not secure so many as the 

 larger one. We have also tried dressing two flies 

 of the same kind and size, one on a No. 14, and 

 the other on a No. 12 hook. The No. 12 was of 

 course very much exposed, notwithstanding which 

 it did most execution. This should be done very 

 cautiously ; but by having hooks made a size 

 thinner in the wire, they may be used one size 

 larger with perfect safety. We have endeavoured 

 to indicate the proper size of hook in a subsequent 

 illustration. 



Great care should be taken to select the finest 

 and longest threads of gut for dressing flies on. 

 When the waters are clear, fine gut is quite as 

 necessary as good flies ; the finest gut, however 

 lightly thrown, will sometimes alarm the trout. 



Dressing a spider is a much simpler operation 

 than dressing a fly, and therefore it is better to 

 begin with it. Having selected a thread of gut 



