Fly-dressing a necessary Acquirement. 129 



former may still be in great numbers on the water. Such 

 caprice cannot be accounted for, and should be met by 

 the Angler in the best way he can. Consequently, many 

 people hold, and rightly think, that one or other of the 

 natural flies which are on the water at the time, and on 

 which the trout are feeding, is necessary to be used in 

 order to fish successfully. In order, therefore, to provide 

 himself with a proper fly, the Angler frequently finds 

 himself compelled to sit down by the waterside and dress 

 the new favourite, since it cannot be expected that he 

 will be able to keep all kinds ready dressed in his book. 

 Necessity, then, may be said to urge every Fly-fisher, who 

 is desirous of having sport, to acquire the art of fly- 

 dressing. 



The pleasure of collecting, arranging, and endeavouring 

 to match the colours and form of nature, by aid of his 

 materials, is infinitely greater to the fly-dresser than can 

 be conceived by an indifferent observer, and offers a con- 

 stant employment for those leisure hours which in un- 

 favourable weather might hang heavy upon his hands. 

 Indeed, I can promise that if he once gets interested in 

 the work, he will not only devote many an hour to it, but 

 will find comparatively as much pleasure in building one 

 of his " killers," as the painter or sculptor has in giving 

 expression, upon canvas or in stone, to those fancies that 

 charm the eye and intellect of every admirer of art. 



The materials for this purpose having been already 

 described, the next thing will be to show how they are 

 to be applied properly to the two different methods of 

 Fly-dressing. 



Nothing is of more importance in this branch of the 

 art than correctness in colour and size ; and next to this is 

 neatness of formation. The exact colour can be obtained 

 only by wetting the materials and comparing them in that 

 state with the colour of the natural insect ; then form 



