Preface, vii 



the votaries of the gentle craft, throughout all its 

 branches. 



To persons who take no pleasure in Angling it 

 may seem that too much has already been pub- 

 lished on the subject; while, to others who have 

 some little experience in it, sufficiently clear in- 

 structions on many points have not yet been laid 

 down. Many Anglers, who are esteemed best 

 able to form a correct judgment on the matter, 

 affirm that there is no one book which has clearly 

 and concisely described the materials and methods 

 employed in dressing Artificial Flies, so that artists 

 may, from the instructions there given, build them 

 satisfactorily. The same remarks apply to the 

 fitting up of tackle, rods, and the other paraphernalia 

 of the science. Great pains have accordingly been 

 taken in the following chapters to render the in- 

 structions there given as plain and explicit as 

 possible. And it is trusted that what is there 

 laid down, though perhaps not coinciding in all 

 points with the opinions of every professed Angler, 

 will be taken for what they are worth, that is, as 

 facts derived from actual experience, not only of 

 the writer and members of his own family well 

 versed in the art of Fly-making and Fly-fishing 

 for the last half century, but also of various 

 writers on the subject down to his own time. 



From the works of some of these he begs to 

 acknowledge that several valuable hints, receipts, 

 colours of flies, &c. have been compiled. 



Better to aid the ingenious Angler, and enable him 



