DRESSING LOCH-FLIES. 189 



of which you are to form the body, also the end of 

 the thread of tinsel. Then lay the gut along the 

 shank of the hook, and tie them firmly together until 

 within five or six turns of the end of the hook, where 

 fasten on, and divide the wings in the usual way, 

 seeing that they stand well apart ; next fasten on 

 the hackle, and turn it round frequently, as close 

 under the wings as possible, giving the silk one or 

 two turns round it to keep it secure, and cut off 

 the remainder, as in dressing a small fly. Then take 

 the thread of worsted, and wrap it firmly round up 

 to where the hackle is, and give the thread a turn 

 or two round it. All that now remains to be done 

 is to wrap the tinsel firmly round the body up to 

 the place where your silk thread is, which you should 

 whip three or four times over all, and finish off as 

 close to the wings as possible. Finishing under 

 the wings makes a very neat fly, and if well done 

 it is hardly possible to tell where it is finished. 

 We do not know if this is the artistic mode of 

 making a loch-fly, but it is the best way we know, 

 and the following illustration shows what like they 

 are when made. 



Flies made of the materials already mentioned, 

 and varied in size according to circumstances, are 

 all that is necessary for loch-fishing in Scotland. 

 To adapt the size to the circumstances is, however, 

 a matter of no small difficulty. The same causes 

 which regulate the angler in fixing the size of his 

 river-flies should be his guide here also. The great 



