256 SALMON AND TROUT. 



' Claret ' is most certainly as a sea-trout fly. and that of the 

 ' Red ' as a brown-trout fly, I can recall occasions when the 

 ' Red ' was the taking fly for the former, and others when the 

 ' Claret ' appeared the most killing for the latter fish. 



I may perhaps add here the formulas for these and one or 

 two others of my patterns and dressings of ' Hackle lake flics ' 

 for sea-trout and brown trout, which I have found very suc- 

 cessful. The flies figured in the illustration represent good 

 medium sizes for the two diflerent classes of fish, but the size 

 will, of course, frequently have to be constantly varied according 

 to winds and waters, and fifty other purely local considerations. 

 The question of size is, in fact, a vitally important one in all 

 sorts of fly-fishing with all sorts of flies for all sorts of fish : — 



HACKLE LAKE FLIES, 

 (for brown-trout.) 



1. 'Hackle Red.' — Body scarlet 'crewel' (wool), ribbed with fine gold 

 twist (not oval) ; dark red (natural) cock's hackle, with darker stem ; whisk 

 three or four fibres of same. 



[This is the fly illustrated in the engraving, fig. i. 1 have found it admir- 

 able for ordinary brown lake trout generally, and in the eailier part of July 

 this year (1889) it did excellently well amongst the Gillaroo on I.ough Melvin. 

 Its proper place is emphatically as the tail fly.J 



2. ' Hackle Yellow.' — Body golden yellow (not orange) silk, ribbed with fine 

 bold twist or oval ; medium red cock's hackle (natural), with darker stem ; 

 tail, three or four fibres of same hackle. With a tail of Indian crow, concave 

 side upwards, but tied ' flat ' on the hook, same as tail of fly in illustration, fig. 2, 

 I have also found it very successful ; but with this dressing my experience has 

 been more limited than with the other. 



[This ^y— employed, N.D. , always as the dropper or bob-Jly — I have used for 

 many years for lake trout, and though, of course, it has sometimes failed or 

 proved only a ' modified success,' still I have never had so much sport with any 

 other fly under such a variety of circumstances in different parts of the United 

 Kingdom. On Loch Leven it did admirably on the few occasions I have 

 fished there ; and both for Gillaroo and sea-trout it has proved itself^take it 

 all round— at least equal to any other dropper I know of. 



I should be inclined to give this fly and and the ' Red' (No. i) a good 

 trial always for brown trout on starting upon unknown waters.] 



3. 'Hackle Green.' — Body apple-green crewel, ribbed with gold tinsel; 

 hackle, black cock's (natural) ; tail, scarlet ibis. 



[This is a good fly on many lakes, both Scotch and Irish, and may be tried 

 if either of the others fail, or as a third fly when tljree are used.] 



