April 29, 1893] 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
305 
CONTENTS. 
N,B,—All rights reserved in articles published in this 
paper. 
Angling in Scotland. 
. 305 
Scotch Notes . 
.306 
Notes and Queries . 
.307 
Dorsetshire : its Rivers and Sea-Fishing 
. 308 
The Proposed Thame.s Byo-Laws ... 
. 310 
Stray Casts. 
.310 
Local (Hampshire) Fishing Gossip .. 
. 311 
The Liverpool Angling Association 
. 311 
Waltoniana . 
.312 
Correspondence. 
.312 
- NOTICE. 
The Fishing Gazette is published ever Saturday, 
and can be obtained at Messrs. W. H Smith and 
Son’s Railway Bookstalls and of the principal News¬ 
agents and Fishing Tackle Dealers in London and 
the Provinces. 
Communications relating to the Literary Department, 
Fishing Tackle for Notice, Books for Review, &c., 
should be addressed to R. B. Mabston, Editor of 
the Fishing Gazette, St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter- 
lane, London. 
Correspondents are requested to write on one side of the 
paper only, and give their real names and addresses, 
not necessarily as signatures to their letters, but as 
a guarantee of good faith. Unless this rule be 
adhered to, no notice will be taken of such com¬ 
munications. 
of Sul>sox*ip^ion. 
The Gazette can be had by sending Postal Order or 
Stemps to Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston, and Co., 
Limited, the Proprietors, St. Dunstan’s House, 
Fetter-lane, London, to whom all money payments 
should be made. 
For One Year, post free to any part of Great 
Britain and Ireland . 10s. 6d. 
,, Six Months ditto ditto 5s. 4d. 
,, Three Months ditto ditto 28. 8d. 
To America and the Continent, annual sub¬ 
scription, including postage. 12s. 6d. 
Ad.vex*^isemexxts. 
Applications respecting advertisements should be ad¬ 
dressed to the Manager of the Fishing Gazette, St. 
Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, London. 
Telegraphic Address.—” BIVSAM, London.” 
TELEPHONE No. 2679. 
— mt — 
SATURDAY, APRIL 29th, 1893. 
ANGLING IN SCOM^LAND. 
A CHAPTER ON FLIES. 
By W. Murdoch. 
Before the season has further advanced, and 
ere yet the immense crowds of tourist anglers 
that annnally from the cities and south of the 
Tweed pour into all Scotland, and like swarms of 
locusts spread themselves over all her angling 
waters from Maidenkirk to John o’ Groats, have 
crowded the trains, steamboats, hotels, and 
summer lodgings once again, I think it desirable 
to give for the benefit chiefly of the uninitiated, 
or the but partly experienced in Scotch fishings, 
whet her for salmon, or sea - trout or common 
trout, such hints in the matter of flies as from 
personal experience and the experience of others 
1 have confidence will prove of some service, 
leading probably to the saving of time and 
expense, and the securing of such good sport as 
might not otherwise be obtained. 
As concerns salmon flies I may mention at tbe 
outset—and as a point of the utmost importance 
to observe—that the old theory of a bright fly for 
a dull day, and a dull fly for a bright day has now 
become utterly exploded. I do not mean that dull 
flies never prove of use on bright days, or vice 
versa, but my readers will understand that with 
the water in a normal state (as opposed to being 
muddy or much discoloured) there is most sport 
to be got by the angler who consistently uses a 
bright fly on a bright day, and a dull fly on a dull 
day. 
Another point of importance to note is that on 
purely Highland rivers which run through 
extensive mossy tracts, and so are mainly surface 
fed, the fish, because of the water being darker, 
take most readily flies a good deal larger in size 
than those that are used at the same season with 
the maximum of success on rivers which are 
much clearer in the bottom, of clearer water, and 
possibly of considerably larger size. To illustrate 
this I may be allowed to give an example or two. 
From about the present time of the year and 
onward until the summer has ended, the salmon 
take in the Tweed, in the Dee. and in the Avon, 
freest of all such flies as are little better than 
ordinary sea-trout size, while in the Dionard, 
the Laxford, the Kirkaig, and the Inver, all 
dark water streams, they rarely are at all 
readily caught with flies less than twice the 
size. 
What I consider bright flies are those which 
have a good shine in the water. I do not mean a 
gaudy show; I draw a distinction in this respect. 
Plies may be gaudy and yet not bright; and, 
dissimilarly, a fly may be dark and yet bright. 
A black body well tinselled up is a bright fly— 
bright indeed—in clear water. What I consider 
dull flies are those that are the antithesis of 
bright flies. Areal dull fly usually has a plain 
wing, for example, of dark mallard, with a body 
of mohair, black or brown, and a hackle similar 
or nearly so in tone, and is very sparingly ribbed 
with the narrowest of tinsel. Many other dull 
patterns might be mentioned, among them the 
Black Doctor, which when sparingly tinselled 
and well toned down in the wing, with darkish 
feather and dark green, is a very fatal low water 
dull day pattern. 
For semi-dull days—neither very dull nor very 
bright—of, so to speak, blinky uncertain light, 
such flies as the Jock Scott, Silver Scott, Bull¬ 
dog, Dalhousie, and the like description prove 
perhaps as certain and general killers as any 
that 1 could name. The sizes of hooks required 
for salmon angling during the period I have 
named, are comprised in Bartleet and Sons’ 
scale, the numbers ranging from No. 8 (the 
smallest) to 1,2 (the largest). Seldom for the 
lowest and finest of waters, and the calmest 
and clearest of days is a less size of hook than 
No. 8 required, provided it is not too bulkily 
dressed. But sometimes it may be found that a 
larger than lA is required to ensure success in 
the strong runs of the peat-stained rivers, when 
the water is “ up a bit,” and the weather is dark 
and stormy. 
Among the flies I recommend to be used for 
salmon and grilse fishing on bright days are:— 
Silver Doctor, Blue Charm, Sun-fly, Golden Wasp. 
Golden Blue, Fail-rae-never, Blue Doctor, Green 
Peacock, Silver Blue, Dustv Miller, Dunkeld, 
Green Mantle, Popham, and Kellie. The other pat¬ 
terns excellent for summer fishing, and from 
amongst which may, for dull days as well as 
blinky days, be selected patterns to suit any 
river:—Childers, Black Doctor, Dunt, Jock Scott, 
Claret Jock, Bulldog, Butcher, Silver Gray, 
Thunder and Lightning, Lady Caroline. Purple 
King, Macintyre, Wilkinson, Sir Richard, 
Bumble, Poynder, Dalhousie, Greenwell, and 
Carnegie. 
Loch Trout Flies. 
Not simply as the result of my own experience, 
but as expressing pretty generally the opinion of 
a good many tackle makers, and of lots of anglers 
more expert in trouting than myself, who have 
fished a great deal from year to year on the lochs 
of Scotland, do I submit that the following, as a 
limited number of flies, are unsurpassed as an 
all round range for the trout of the Scottish 
lochs. There is no loch I believe on which one 
or other of them, if dressed a suitable size, will 
fail to bring as good results to the angler as any 
other pattern that may be used. The whole 
range is also, as a general one, particularly suit¬ 
able for sea-trout, andfinnock in the lochs, rivers, 
streams, and estuaries of purely Highland dis¬ 
tricts. The descriptions, given with great 
I minuteness of detail in order to render copy¬ 
ing easy for amateurs, as well as for professionals 
who may wish to have a range which they 
may with confidence recommend to any one, 
are;— 
1. Orange and Bustard. 
2. Scarlet and Teal. 
3. Hecham Pecham. 
4. Dark Heather Moth. 
5. G reen IMantle. 
6. Claret and Mallard. 
7 . Zulu. 
Best Patterns in Genekal. 
1. Zulu.—T ag, silver tinsel; tail, scarlet ibis 
or scarlet wool, ibis greatly preferred; body, 
black floss; ribbed, flat silver tinsel; backle, 
black Spanish hen hackle (full, flobby, glossy- 
green hued, and without any taper on it if possi¬ 
ble), from tag to head. 
2. Green Mantle (excellent loch pattern, 
particularly good in May-fly time).—Tag, gold 
twist; tail, a topping; body, bright green seal 
fur (much picked out), and hackle of the same 
shade all the way down body; ribbed, oval gold 
tinsel; wings, double strips, distinctly marked 
very dark mallard. 
3. Claret and Mallard.—T ag, silver twist, 
and a turn of canary floss ; tail, a topping; body, 
bright claret seal fur, fairly picked out; hackle, 
claret magenta, at shoulder only; ribbed, oval 
gold tinsel; wings, double strips, distinctly 
marked very dark mallard. 
4. Orange and Bustard.—T ag, silver twist; 
no tail; body, medium orange seal fur, very much 
picked out; ribbed, oval silver tinsel; red cock 
hackle at shoulder ; wings, light bustard. 
5. Scarlet and Teal.—T ag, gold twist; tail, 
fibres of teal or widgeon ; body, scarlet seal fur, 
well picked out; ribbed, treble gold twist; 
hackle, red cock, at shoulder only; wings, double 
strips, distinctly marked teal or widgeon. 
6. Hechaji Pecham.—T ag, silver tinsel; tail, 
fibres red cock hackle ; body, hare’s ear (Scolticc, 
hare’s lug); backle, red cock at shoulder only; 
wings, white tip mallard feather, with a nice 
glossy green sheen on it. 
7. Woodcock and Yellow.—T ag, gold tinsel; 
tail, fibres of mallard; body, yellow mohair, well 
picked out; ribbed, flat gold tinsel; hackle, red 
cock hackle at shoulder only; wings, woodcock ; 
cheeks, jungle fowl (with or without as suits the 
fancy). 
8. Watson’s Fancy.—T ag, silver tinsel; tail, 
small crest; body, one third red floss, the 
remainder black floss ; ribbed, flat silver tinsel; 
hackle, black cock hackle ; wings, raven, or any 
suitable jet black feather; cheeks, one small 
jungle fowl spot. 
Best Patterns in Special Cases. 
1. Light Heather Moth.—T ail, fibres of 
mallard; body, mouse colour seal fur; ribbed, 
flat silver tinsel; hackle, grey hen hackle (full 
and fluffy, with sand colour tips—difficult to pro¬ 
cure) from tail to head. 
2. Dark Heather Moth.—T ail, fibres of 
mallard; body, water-rat fur; ribbed, silver 
thread; hackle, dark grey hen hackle (full and 
fluffy, with lightish tips) from tail to head. 
3. White Tip.—T ail, a topping; body, two 
turns yellow, the rest black seal fur, much picked 
out; ribbed, treble silver twist; hackle, black 
cock hackle down the black seal fur; wings, 
white tip mallard feather, with a nice greens heen 
on it. 
4. Cinnamon.—T ag, silver twist; tail, fibres of 
red cock hackle; body, dark cinnamon seal fur, 
not much picked out; ribbed, silver thread; 
black and red cock hackle at shoulder; wings, 
cinnamon-brown hen feather, or partridge tail 
feather, the latter preferred. 
Yellow Trout Flies. 
For the early season free rising large trout of 
the justly celebrated Don, Deveron, and Findhorn, 
as also for the trout of Tay, Spey, Ythan, and 
most of the other rivers and streams of Scotland, 
a range of flies to contain as good patterns as can 
be used between the present date and the end of 
May, I am, from all data in my possession, fully 
persuaded to believe should be somewhat as 
follows:—Light March Brown, Dark March 
Brown, Greenwell’s Glory, Stone-fly. Hare 
Lug, Patterson’s Favourite, Blue Dun, Olive 
Quill, Priest, Cowdung, Partrige Ruff, and 
Professor. 
8. Light Heather Moth. 
9. White Tip. 
10. Cinnamon. 
11. Woodcock and 
Yellow. 
12. Watson’s Fancy. 
