42 FLY-FISHING. 



Floss silk will not answer at all for dressing 

 these flies, as it loses all glossiness and strength 

 of colour. For convenience in tying them several 

 different thicknesses of sewing silk are requisite, 

 from ordinary sewing silk which is of the proper 

 thickness for small flies to silk of about the 

 substance of holland thread, which is the size 

 most suitable for lake flies. 



All flies should be carried in a box, instead of 

 being pressed together in a book, a process which 

 robs them of half their elasticity and play of 

 hackle, and to which they should never be sub- 

 jected even for a moment. This is a most 

 important point. Tackle makers think that the 

 fly regains its full elasticity as soon as it is wet, 

 but I have convinced myself by repeated practical 

 experiments that this is not the case. 



SELECTION OF FLIES. 

 SIZE. 



It is a curious fact, but nevertheless an indis- 

 putable one, that the size of the flies to be used in 

 any given river or lake generally depends, within 

 certain limits, not upon the size of the fish, but 

 upon the size of the water, modified by the con- 

 dition of the wind and sun. There are occasional 



