CHAPTER XIII 



TACKLE MAKING AND FLY DRESSING 



On Making Tackle, Knotting, etc. How to Dress the Trout Fly The Method 

 of Dressing the Salmon Fly 



BEFORE going into the mysteries of fly dressing, I 

 may say a few words upon tackle making generally. 

 One of the first acts the tyro will attempt to 

 perform for himself, will be the lashing on of a hook. 

 This process is exceedingly simple, and may be very quickly 

 performed with a little practice. Take a hook, a thread of gut, 

 and some fine but strong silk ; wax it well either with white or 

 cobbler's wax ; bite the gut slightly at the extreme end, so 

 as to flatten it and prevent its slipping ; then lay the gut and 

 the end of the silk against the shank of the hook, the ends 

 reaching rather short of the bend ; then, holding both in place 

 with the bend and shank of the hook between the left finger 

 and thumb, take the silk in the right, and wind it firmly round 

 the gut and hook, commencing at the head or end of the hook, 

 and laying coil beside coil until the gut is covered and bound 

 securely to the hook ; then fasten off the silk either by two 

 half hitches, as shown in the right-hand tie in Fig. 7 of Plate III, 

 page 66, or by the method given on the left-hand side. These 

 cuts render any further explanation needless. I generally 

 prefer the two half hitches, as, although perhaps less neat, they 

 are more secure. The coils should of course be drawn tight, and 

 the loose end of the silk snipped off. The lashing may then be 

 touched with shellac varnish (see Recipes and Notabilia, 

 P- 357) > and the hook put aside in a dry place till required for 

 use. It is always desirable, where you use shellac varnish, to 

 employ it some time before using the tackle, as, if not quite 

 dry, the varnish turns to an opaque white colour when the 

 tackle is used. 



The next thing the young aspirant to skill in tackle making 

 will attempt, will be in tying threads of gut together for lines. 

 Of course the selection of the gut depends upon the purpose it 



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