264 PLIES AND KNOTS. 



unlay in winding; wind the silk and mohair together 

 round the shank to the shoulder, leave a space of bare 

 hook sufficient for the wings. Wind in loose coils 

 first the tinsel and then the hackle, and fasten both at 

 the shoulder. Strip two wings from feathers that have 

 been taken from the opposite sides of the bird, place 

 them together, hold them firmly on the hook with the 

 left forefinger and thumb, and fasten them securely. 

 Cut off the ends, insert a piece of herl, wind it over the 

 head and tie it down. Lay the end of the silk back 

 down the shank, and take three turns with the other 

 part over silk, hook and gut ; pass the gut end through 

 the loop three times and draw the silk tight. Two turns 

 of silk should hold the different parts during the entire 

 operation, and a couple of half hitches under the wings 

 at the shoulders are sometimes used to fasten off. The 

 feathers should be mated to make neat wings, and if 

 they . are laid right side out they will close round the 

 hook ; if otherwise, they will stand out. Do not fail to 

 varnish at the head with wood varnish, or some other 

 kind that will dry rapidly. The hackle may be intro- 

 duced at the shoulder. Where herl or floss is used for 

 the body, it is wound on separately from the tying silk, 

 which is sometimes passed in loose coils afterward. A 

 second hackle of a different color, or a feather wound 

 like a hackle, may be introduced after the first, or after 

 the wings and before the head is finished, and is called 

 the legs. The wings must be tied above the dubbing on 

 the hook, or they are liable to turn, especially where 

 floss silk is used for the body. 

 The following is a list of Canadian salmon flies, copied 



