FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



to present. However, he remains as good a killer as of old, and is reckoned 

 specially so on the Tay when water and weather have warmed with ad- 

 vancing spring. Dressers are apt in this, as in many other flies, to put 

 too many feathers in the wing. Should it be desired to lighten it before 

 use, do not pull out the superfluous feathers, which is apt to loosen the 

 whole tying, but snip them off neatly with curved scissors. 



15. " The Poynder." Tag^ silver twist and sky-blue floss; tailt a top- 

 ping and blue chatterer; body, one -fourth each of gold floss, orange, 

 sky-blue and claret mohair picked out, ribbed with flat silver twist 

 and a claret hackle over the mohair; gallina hackle at shoulder; wing, 

 a couple of short tippets, over which a mixture of gold pheasant's 

 tail, bright bustard, red, yellow and blue -dyed swan and slips of 

 wood -duck; jungle -fowl at cheeks and the inevitable topping over 

 all; blue macaw horns. 



A good old fly the "Poynder," which was considered a very gaudy affair 

 when it was first promulgated, but has long been eclipsed in brilliancy 

 by others which are more expensive, but no whit more effective. 



16. "Jock Scott." Tag, silver wire and golden floss; tail, a topping 

 and Indian crow; body, lower half golden floss ribbed with flat silver 

 twist, over which are tied in some of the rich yellow or orange feathers 

 from the throat of the toucan. Over the butts of these is laid a turn 

 of black chenille. The rest of the body is black floss, ribbed with flat 

 silver twist or tinsel, with a black cock's hackle beside it; gallina at 

 shoulder. In forming the wing one is very apt to make it too heavy, 

 owing to the absurd variety of feathers prescribed. These are, first, 

 two slices of bronze turkey with clear white tips; then fibres of bus- 

 tard, pintail, mallard, scarlet, blue and yellow-dyed swan and green 

 peacock herl. Jungle -cock on each side, half the length of the wing, 

 blue chatterer at cheeks and topping over all; head, black chenille. 



I should have incurred the penalties attached to heresy had I omitted 

 Jock from any list of salmon-flies, however severely limited, so I have 

 put him in in order to avoid giving offence to his many devotees. For my 

 own part, I usually fish with anything rather than " Jock Scott," not from 

 prejudice, for I have slain many salmon with him; but because, if salmon 

 have any discrimination in the matter of flies (which I doubt), it is surely 

 better to present to their notice something with which they are not so 

 familiar. When I do fish with this fly I generally have to clip out some of 

 the wing feathers, for it is nearly always too heavily dressed. 

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