130 THE WAY OF A TROUT WITH A FLY 



hackles to represent a sedge — or even a similar pattern 

 without wings — is probably taken for a fluttering sedge 

 by reason of the " buzz " effect. 



A floater hackled with a sharp cock's hackle at the 

 shoulder only, and without wings, is probably the best 

 method of suggesting a spinner, spent or still living. The 

 wings of the natural spinner have an iridescent glitter 

 which is well suggested by the extended fibres of a first- 

 rate rusty or honey or blue dun cock's hackle. Such a hackle 

 thus serves (beyond the purpose of breaking the fly's fall) 

 the double purpose of flotation and of imitation of wings. 



A floater may, especially in the minute sizes of fly, be 

 dressed with a soft feather, and may be made to float 

 long enough for practical purposes without oiling. Here 

 the hackle serves the purpose of flotation and of imitation 

 of wings and legs. I have often floated a No. oo Dotterel 

 dun, perfectly dry, over a trout when there has been a rise of 

 pale watery duns, and have found it very killing, particularly 

 in eddies under the far bank. The soft tips of the hackle 

 cause it to make a far less alarming drag than does a cock's 

 hackle. 



Semi-submerged, the fly tied with bright cock's hackle 

 at the shoulder only, and a seal's fur or Tup's Indispensable 

 body of suitable colour, represents a spent spinner often 

 in the most fatal way. Here the hackle enables the fly, 

 the body of which is waterlogged, to cling to the surface. 



Now we reach the sunk flies, and we shall find these 

 present still more complex propositions, according to the 

 way in which the fly is presented to the fish. 



Fished directly upstream, a wet fly (whether winged or 

 not), which is hackled with a stiff cock's hackle, has thrown 

 away one of its chief advantages, the mobility of the hackle. 

 In fact, one might be inclined to think that, if a hackle were 

 not needed to break the fall or to suggest life, such a fly might 



