48 FLOATING FLIES 



England. The tendency of the tackle dealers 

 is to furnish comparatively few of the familiar 

 American patterns tied dry. 



The dry fly is, of course, dressed with the 

 purpose of causing it to float as well as may be, 

 and this is effected although the method of 

 construction varies to some extent with vari- 

 ous patterns by dressing the fly with double or 

 " split " wings tied at right angles to the body 

 (called "erect" wings) and with the hackling 

 arranged to stand out well from the shank of 

 the hook. The body of the fly is dressed very 

 lightly and in some instances is of cork, straw 

 or quill. 



In the case of some of the latest patterns 

 horsehair is used for the body material. As a 

 rule dry flies are dressed upon small hooks, 

 number twelve and smaller, and the hooks are 

 of light wire. A list of floating flies which 

 have been found effective on American trout 

 streams is given in a later paragraph. 



Almost without exception floating flies are 

 dressed on eyed hooks; that is, without gut 

 snells whipped to the shank of the hook, fol- 

 lowing the time-honored American custom, but 

 with an eye or ring at the end of the shank by 

 means of which the fly is attached directly to 

 the leader. If space permitted the practical 



