ON FLY MAKING. 139 



these matters is superior, as a source for conveying 

 knowledge, to reading; therefore, where available, a few 

 lessons from a proficient will be found highly beneficial. 



The process of forming the body for a Hackle fly is 

 not identical with the same operation in the winged one. 

 In the construction of the latter, a small portion of the 

 shank of the hook itself is left bare to fix the wings 

 upon, to thereby form the head neatly. This, however, 

 is formed, to begin in the case of the buzzy or hackle fly, 

 by a few turns of the silk at the extremity of the shank; 

 a little blank is then left for the hackle to fit or fill in; 

 the body is then to be formed in the usual way. This 

 completed, the hackle feather must be taken in hand, 

 first having been stripped of its downy surplus fibres, the 

 root of the stem is secured by a couple of turns of the 

 tying silk at the shoulder of the fly. The hackle thus 

 secured at its lower extremity, is ready for fitting in. Its 

 point is then to be taken hold of with the tweezers, and 

 two or more turns of the feather given; the end is then 

 to be secured by a turn or two of the silk, the invisible 

 knot formed, and the fly is made, wanting only the silk 

 end to be cut carefully away to complete the thing. The 

 Palmer is artificial that is hackled from head to tail, such 

 as the bumbles, caterpillars, etc. The process of body 

 making is identical, in this instance, with the hackle fly 

 just detailed, except a little addition in the shape of herl, 

 a strand of which is wound around the gut and silk, the 

 feather being turned over this, and the bit of tinsel or 

 silk, by way of ribbing, going over the whole, for the 

 sake of both use and ornament. 



We append a few dressings for the various bumbles and 

 palmers, which, though in some instances deemed fancy 

 flies, are often good killers. 



Bumble, ordinary. Hackle, white hen's, slightly stained 

 blue; body, peacock herl, ribbed with orange and puce- 

 colored silk (floss); tying silk, brown. 



