FLY-FISHING. 451 



or twist, as the case may be ; next take a turn round an end of wool 

 or peacock's tail or ostrich, and with a couple of turns round the shank 

 pass the waxed silk to the head. If the body be of floss silk, with the 

 finger of one hand press one end of the silk on the shank, twisting the 

 other over the shank and over the silk end also ; take a second turn 

 round, draw tight, and wrap evenly to the head, secure with tweezers 

 for the present. When a wool, mohair or fur body is to come on, you 

 twist a portion of them round the waxed thread and work it evenly up 

 to the head; pull off the superfluous dubbing; make fast; twist on the 

 tinsel slantingly from heel to head at regular distances ; three to four 

 turns round generally suffice; fasten with a turn of the silk; next 

 pass the hackle alongside of the tinsel, close to it all the way, and the 

 same way. If across (some flies are tied so), the teeth of fish cut 

 through the fibre, and the fly does not look so well ; if close alongside, 

 the teeth are not so liable to cut the hackle, and take two or three 

 turns with it round the upper end of the shank close together to form 

 the legs and shoulders. Now take a couple of turns of the waxed silk, 

 to fasten all on tightly ; passing the end of the silk through the last 

 turn, pull it tight ; this forms a knot and secures it. Select your 

 fibres of feathers for wings, observing not to make them too heavy or 

 too long ; one half way between the point of the hook and the extreme 

 end of the bend is long enough. Holding on to the root end of the 

 wing, pass it between your lips to moisten it ; fit to the proper length 

 over the hook, holding it there with one hand, while with the other 

 you take two or three turns of the silk tightly over the wing as close 

 as possible to the legs. Draw back (i. e. toward the head) the wing ; 

 pass the silk twice close behind the wing, between it and the eye and 

 shoulder hackle, to give it a correct set ; then pass forward ; cut off 

 the stump of the wing as close as possible ; finish off with four or five 

 turns of the waxed silk over the cut off part. Make a couple of knots 

 as above described, or invisible knot ; then break off the silk, and you 

 have your fly all complete. 



To render the above more plain, I have made a set of drawings of 

 each process, accompanied with letters and notes, so that with a little 

 attention a very correct idea may be formed how a fly should be tied. 

 When a tail is used, it must be set on before the tinsel or hackle, with 

 a couple of turns of waxed silk, and cut off quite close. 



