TROUT FLY-MAKING. 67 



etc., at tension in the progress of making a fly, and so 

 leaving the hands free to attend to other parts of its 

 manufacture. They are of steel, which should be nickel- 

 plated, or of brass preferably the latter. The learner 

 should have at least two pairs in his possession. 



The last tool, but not least, is a pair of good, sharp- 

 pointed embroidery or surgical scissors. They should 

 be kept in a sheath when not being used, and never used 

 on anything but feathers, fur or silk. Another ordinary 

 pair will do for cutting gut. 



MATERIALS FOR FLY-MAKING. 



Let me, at the outset, premise that there is no hard 

 and fast rule as to these materials, and it is in the selec- 

 tion of them the perception of fitness that the best fly- 

 makers excel. I have seen a prominent fly-maker of this 

 country pick a morsel out of an old sock, a couple of 

 hairs from his own beard, and a feather from a dilapi- 

 dated and decaying pigeon's wing lying by the roadside 

 and make a fly that killed a brace of magnificent trout. 

 But that is, of course, an extreme instance, and I only 

 mention it to illustrate the possible variety of sources from 

 which material may be derived. Ordinarily, the fly- 

 maker's cabinet contains the fur and feathers of all kinds 

 of beasts and birds. From the docile camel the "ship 

 of the desert " to the mighty condor of the Andes, the fur 

 and feather are gathered, and mean indeed is the creature 

 that does not possess possibilities in the eyes of the en- 

 thusiastic fly-tier ; again, be it said, as an ultimatum, 

 that the taste and sense of suitability for usefulness in 

 the maker is the only guide as regards the materials of 



