FLY-TYING. 25 



in its place and perform the duty intended. The most im- 

 portant part is the simplest and first, the securing of the 

 gut to the shank of the hook. Unless this is attended to, 

 all your labor is vain and worthless so much time thrown 

 away and wasted. Here comes all the strain, and a thought- 

 less turn or two will cause naught but disappointment. 

 Some anglers, particularly Irish ones, place the wings on so 

 that the feather points from the hook, then double them 

 back and tie them down. In this method much practice is 

 necessary to form a handsome head ; but its advocates 

 claim for it strength. However, I have so frequently found 

 the silk slip, and the feathers consequently point in the re- 

 verse direction, that I unhesitatingly condemn the practice. 

 To make a handsome and serviceable fly, I have always fol- 

 lowed the method of putting the wings on separately, care 

 being taken not to injure the pile of the feathers; and this 

 should be done last, the most minute drop of varnish being 

 used over the silk when the head is finished off. My first 

 effort to tie a fly turned out a thing like a humming-bird, 

 my second like a humble-bee, and so on, till I have succeed- 

 ed in making a good imitation of a gnat. Patience and 

 perseverance have done this, and none will ever excel in 

 fly-tying without exercising these qualities, so essentially 

 useful in every walk in life. As a rule, the bigger the riv- 

 er, a superabundance of water in a stream, and the more 

 boisterous the weather, the larger can be the flies used ; 

 but in summer, when the rivulets and burns have become 

 clear and low, the smallest sizes must be resorted to, thrown 

 with the lightest line, from the most unobservable and most 

 sheltered position. 



Three flies, their coloring and component parts, that I 

 have found successful on almost all waters and at every 

 portion of the open season, I will describe ; in fact, I have 

 so much faith in them that I invariably use all three in 



2 



