> t i t *~1 .GENERAL/ . UBRARY L- ^ 4INIVERSITY Of /j CAHFOMA J L. ^ PLATE I. SALMON TLIES. ROD- FISHING IN CLEAR WATERS BY FLY, MINNOW, AND WORM. WITH A SHORT AND EASY METHOD TO THE ART OF DRESSING FLIES. BY HENRY WADE, ti HONORARY SECRETARY TO THE WEAR VALLEY AAttLING ASSOCIATION. WITH ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLIES. LONDON: BELL AND DALDY, YORK STREET, CO VENT GARDEN. PREFACE. ITHOUT a preface a book is deemed incomplete. It is, accordingly, my duty to supply a few introductory remarks, which shall be made as briefly as possible, though, for a novice, the task is not a little embarrassing. I think I cannot better introduce the subject than by quoting the admirable lines of John Dennys, Esquire, in his " Secrets of Angling : " " Some youthful gallant here perhaps will say, This is no pastime for a gentleman, It were more fit at cards and dice to play, To use both fence and dancing now and then, Or walk the streets in nice and strange array, Or with coy phrases court his mistress's fan ; A poor delight with toyl and painfull watch, With losse of time a silly fish to catch. ***** " Let them that list these pastimes then pursue, And on their pleasing fancies feed their fill : So I the fields and meadows green may view, And by the rivers clear may walke at will, Among the daisies and the violets blew, Red hyacinth, and yellow daffodil, Purple narcissus like the morning rayes, Pale gandergras, and azure Culverkayes. M816429 vi Preface. " I count it better pleasure to behold The goodly compasse of the lofty skie And in the midst thereof like burning gold, The flaming chariot of the world's great eye ; The wat'ry clouds that in the ayre uprolled With sundry kinds of painted colours flie ; And faire aurora lifting up her head All blushing rise from old Tithonous' bed. " The lofty woods, the forests wide and long, Adorned with leaves and branches fresh and green, In whose cool bow'rs the birds with chaunting song Do welcome with their quire the Summer's Queen. ***** " All these, and many more of his creation That made the Heavens, the Angler oft doth see ; And takes therein no little delectation To think how strange and wonderfull they bee, Framing thereof an inward contemplation, To set his thoughts on other fancies free ; And whilst he looks on these with joyfull eye His mind is wrapt above the starry skye." My design in compiling the following pages, and embodying in them the long practical experi- ence of my friends and myself, was chiefly to se- cure to the lover of Angling a share in the advan- tages which generally follow the adoption of any system that has been proved successful. The pleasures of Angling not being confined to any one grade of society, but being open to poor and rich alike, I promise myself the satisfaction of extending these advantages to a wide circle. The days of good old Isaac Walton are long gone by, a new era has arisen, and with it a new and more improved system is daily practised by Preface, vii the votaries of the gentle craft, throughout all its branches. To persons who take no pleasure in Angling it may seem that too much has already been pub- lished on the subject; while, to others who have some little experience in it, sufficiently clear in- structions on many points have not yet been laid down. Many Anglers, who are esteemed best able to form a correct judgment on the matter, affirm that there is no one book which has clearly and concisely described the materials and methods employed in dressing Artificial Flies, so that artists may, from the instructions there given, build them satisfactorily. The same remarks apply to the fitting up of tackle, rods, and the other paraphernalia of the science. Great pains have accordingly been taken in the following chapters to render the in- structions there given as plain and explicit as possible. And it is trusted that what is there laid down, though perhaps not coinciding in all points with the opinions of every professed Angler, will be taken for what they are worth, that is, as facts derived from actual experience, not only of the writer and members of his own family well versed in the art of Fly-making and Fly-fishing for the last half century, but also of various writers on the subject down to his own time. From the works of some of these he begs to acknowledge that several valuable hints, receipts, colours of flies, &c. have been compiled. Better to aid the ingenious Angler, and enable him viii Preface. to dress flies after Nature, plates, carefully coloured from natural specimens, have been prepared by the writer and his son expressly for this work. From description only, colour, shape, and propor- tion in flies would be but imperfectly understood ; indeed the very names of compound colours are to many persons unintelligible. The method of dressing flies, especially the May-fly or Stone-fly, and the invention of many hereinafter named, with instructions as to rods, throwing or casting, trolling and worm and roe fishing, cad -bait and creeper - fishing, as well as that of the natural May-fly and Blue-bottle-fly, have been adopted expressly from the writer's own experience. It is, therefore, hoped that these efforts to lay down sound principles, and render correct instruc- tion in the fascinating art of Fly-fishing, will not be found totally abortive. Relying upon the kind criticism of those for whose especial benefit the following pages were drawn up, and wishing them all " many a merrie fishing daye," he subscribes himself their most obedient and humble servant, HENRY WADE, Honorary Secretary to the Wear Valley Angling Association. Wolsingham, Durham, Dec. 22, 1860. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page RIGIN of Angling; Qualifications for Angling well ; a Plea for Angling ; Studies open to the Angler; Scenery while Angling; Pleasures attending Angling 1 CHAPTER II. FRESH- WATER FISH. The Trout; Difference of Trout; Haunts of Trout ; Seasons for Angling for Trout ; the Bull Trout ; the Common or Burn Trout; the Grayling; the Chub or Chevin ; the Dace or Dare ; the Perch ; the Pike or Jack ; Fishing for Pike; the Barbel; the Eel; the Loach; the Gudgeon ; the Minnow ; the Bullhead 9 CHAPTER III. THE SALMON. Best Times for Salmon- fishing; Fishing for Salmon ; Landing a Salmon ; Minnow and Worm ... 35 CHAPTER IV. THE TROUTING FLY -ROD, LINES, ETC. Defects of a Fly -rod ; Selecting a Fly-rod ; to make a Reel-line ; to make a Cast- ing-line ; the Stinting or Point Line ; Fitting up Stinting- lines ; how to select Hairs for Stinting ; how to throw the Fly ; the Right and Left-round Cast or Throw ; how to fish Certain Waters; to fish fine and far off; to throw against Wind ; how to throw in Small Brooks ; Ocular Demonstra- tion recommended ; how to throw over and kill Trout ; how to fish in a Wind ; Pool-fishing more difficult than Stream- fishing ; how to fish a Pool ; Best Seasons for Fly-fishing ; how to throw the Flies ; Little Feather required in Artificial Flies ; Winged Flies superior to Hackled ; Colour in Flies x Contents. Page proved Essential ; Diversity in Colour of Flies ; Size, Shape, and Colourrequired in Flies ; Causes of Failure in Fly-fishing ; Attributes of an Experienced Angler ........ 43 CHAPTER V. THE TROLLING AND WORM ROD. How to make a Worm- rod ; the Plain Reel most useful ; the Fly-fisher's Requisites ; the Landing-net; how to make a Landing-net; how to use the Landing-net 73 CHAPTER VI. MINNOW-FISHING. Bull-head and Loach Fishing; Advan- tages of Trolling ; Methods of fitting up Trolling Tackle ; the Trolling-rod ; Method of Minnow Trolling ; Clear-water Trolling ; Artificial Minnows ; Fishing with Live Minnows. 82 CHAPTER VII. THE STONE-FLY OR MAT-FLY. May-fly Tackle and Bait- ing ; May-fly Fishing ; where to throw "the May -fly ; May- fly Tackle; May -fly Horn; Mid-current Fishing success- ful ; how to preserve May-flies 92 CHAPTER VIII. THE GREEN AND GREY DRAKE. Green-drake Fishing ; Blue- bottle and Oak-fly Fishing; Clap-bait Fishing; Cad-bait Fishing ; Gentil and Creeper Fishing ; Methods of Creeper Baiting; where to fish with Creeper 101 CHAPTER IX. HOOKS, GUT, ETC. How to make Gut ; to stain Gut, Hair, &c. ; Best Baits for Worm-fishing ; Worms how to scour them ; Worm-fishing in Clear Waters; Worm-baiting for Clear- water Fishing ; Reasons for Up-stream Fishing ; how to fish with a Worm ; Comparison between Worm and Fly Fishing ; Worm-knot a good Bait for Trout ; how to prepare Salmon Roe; how and where to fish with Salmon Roe; how to disgorge a Bait 109 CHAPTER X. FLY-DRESSING. Its Requisites; Feathers for Trout Flies; Mixtures of Colours in Fly-dressing ; Feathers for Salmon Flies ; Miscellaneous Articles used in Dressing Trout and Salmon Flies ; Fly-making a Scientific and Pleasant Art ; Fly-dressing a necessary Acquirement ; Selection and Ar- rangement of Feathers and other Materials for Fly- dressing ; how to dress a Hackled- fly, Dubbed -fly, Spider- fly, and Contents. xi Page Black Midge ; how to dress Winged-flies ; how to dress a Salmon-fly ; Dyes for Hackle-staining ; Recipes for Feather- staining ; how to preserve Feathers ; Waterproof Varnish ; Spirit Varnish ; a Recipe for Potting Charr or Trout ; how to make Wax 125 A FEW GENERAL REMARKS ON ANGLING 144 PROGNOSTICS OF THE WEATHER. Signs from Vapours ; Signs from the Clouds ; Observations on Change of the Moon; Signs from the Dew ; Signs from the Face of the Sky ; Signs from the Sun, Moon, and Stars ; Signs from the Wind ; Sign from Nocturnal Meteors ; Signs of the Change of Weather from the Animal Creation ; Prognostics continued ; more Signs from Animals ; more Prognostics of the Weather taken from the Sun, Moon, and Stars ; more Prognostics taken from the Clouds ; Mr. Worlidge's Rules ; more Prognostics taken from Mists ; more Prognostics taken from Rain ; Mr. Worlidge's Signs of Rain ; more Prognostics from the Wind ; the Signs of a Tempest; Prognostics continued; Rules laid down by Lord Bacon , . 147 NATURAL FLIES 167 A LIST OF 300 ARTIFICIAL FLIES 169 INDEX TO FLIES DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED, ACCORDING TO NUMBEB. N. B. References are sometimes given to the Plates for the shape of the fly only, and not for the colour. ^LDER-FLY, (No. 1 and 2), 157, (pi. vi. cviii.) Ant-fly, 30 Ash Dun or Fox, 2, (pi. in. xcvi.) Ash or Oak-fly, 196, (pi. n. cxcvi.) Ash Palmer, 64 Aunt Sally, 165 BADGER-FLY, 169 Black Ant, 69, (pi. iv. Ixx.) Black Caterpillar, 130, (pi. v. ci.) 190, (pi. v. ciii.) Black docker (night), 210 Black Hackle, 65 Black Herl-fly, 102, (pi. v. ciii.) Black Jack, 52 Black Midge, and Ant, large and small, (No. 1,2,3), 110, (pi. IV. CX.) Black Palmer, 62, (pi. vi. n.) Black Rabbit, 72 Black Spider, 203 Black Trooper, 166 Black Wing Hackle, 5 Black and Yellow, 175 Bloa and Orange, (No. 1), 39, (No. 2), 41, (pi. m. xxxix.) Bloa and Yellow, 40, (pi. in. xi.) Blue Bloa, 44 Brechan or Brecken Clock, (No. 1), 73, (No. 2), 156 Brown Cadis, 103, (pi. iv. civ.) Brown Caughlan, 128, (pi. in. vi.) Brown Moth (night), 208 Brown Shiner, 154 Buss Brown, 188 CANNON-FLY, 19 6, (pi. n. cxcvi.) Captain, 202 Chantrey, 146 Cinnamon-fly, 112, (pi. vi. cxii.) Clock, (No. 1, 2), 56, (pi. vi. m.) Coachman, 150 Cocktail, 201, (as pi. m. xcviii.) Common-fly, 200 Cow-dung-fly, 93, (pi. iv. xciv.) Cream-coloured Moth Anight), 209 Creeper-fly, 54 Creeper (May -fly), 197, (pi. n. cxcvii.) Crooked-back Dick, 80 DARK BLOA, (No. 1), 8, (pi. viii.) (No. 2), 33 Dark Bloa and Purple, 37 XIV Index to Flies Dark Bloa and Copper, 36, (pi. vi. i.) Dark Bloa Fox, 125, 126 Dark Brown Tag Tail, 186 Dark Claret, 124, 140, (pi. vi. cxi.) Dark Dun, 142 Dark Grouse, 14 Dark Loch Awe, 162 Dark Mackerel, 136 Dark Midge, 34 Dark Soldier, 57 Death Drake, 182 Dee Fancy, 158 Dotterels, 31,81 to 91 Dowulooker, 196, (pi. n. cxcvi.) Dubbed Wren's Tail, 189 Dun Drake, 128 Dun Fox, 126 Dun Spider, 205 Dusky Green Parrot, 105, (pi. v. cvi.) EARLIEST GREAT DARK DUN, 75, (pi. v. Ixxvi.) Edmonsoii's Welsh-fly, 152 Evening Bloa, 199, (pi. vin.) FERN BUD, 180 Fern-fly, (No. 1, 2), 76, (pi. vi. Fern Owl, 59 Fieldfare or Brown Dun, 107 Fiery Clock, Fern Fly or Soldier, 55, 114, (pi. iv. cxiv.) GOLDEN HACKLE, 4 Gulden Partridge, 121 Golden Plover, 48 Golden Sooty Dun or Bloa, 167 Golden Wren, 118 Governor, 160 Grannam or Green-tail, 99, (pi. vi c.) Gravel -fly, 98, (pi. vi. xcix.) Great Red Spinner, (No. 1, 2, 3, 4), 134, 135, (pi. m. Ixxii.) j Green Bank-fly, 132 Green-bodied Moth, 32 Green Body, 21 Green CateYpillar, 129 Green Drake, 194, (pi. n. cxciv.) Grey Drake, 195, (pi. n. cxciv.) Grey-legged Bloa, 171 Grizzled Palmer, 63 Grouse Hackle, 119 HARE'S EAR, 122 Hare's-ear Dun, 151 Hare's Lug, 22 Harry-long-legs, 96, (pi. in. xcvii.) Hawthorn-fly, 100, (pi. v. ci.) Hazle-fly, 74, (pi. v. Ixxv.) Heron Dun or Bloa, 177 High Tees Cocktail, 149 Hoffland's Fancy, 147 Huzzard, 181 IRON-BLUE BLOA or Dun, 97 KINGDON, 153 Knop-fly, 179 Knotted Grey Gnat, 176 Knotted Midge, 26 LARGE BROWN GROUSE, 106, (pi. v. cvii.) Large Fern -fly, (No. 1 and 2), 193, (pi. VI. cxciii.) Large Red Ant, 68, (pi. IV. Ixix.) Large Whirling Dun or Bloa, 191 Late Blue Gnat, 116, (pi. iv. cxvi.) Light Bloa, 38 Light Dun, 47 Light Fox, 127, (pi. iii. xcvi.) Light Grouse, 15 Light Mackerel, 137 Light Red, 123 Light Spring Bloa, 12 Lilac Bloa, 79 Little Blue Bloa, (No. 1), 45, (No. 2), 67, (No. 3.), 77, (pi. in. xcviii.) Little Blue Midge, (No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), 108, (pi. V. cix.) Little Coppered Blue, 109, (pi. v. ex.) Little Green Peacock, 173 Little Iron Blue Bloa or Dun, 97 Described and Illustrated. xv Little Pale Blue, 145, (pi. m. xcviii.) Little Pale Blue-fly, 135, (as pi. in. xcviii.) Little Violet-fly, 192 Little Yellow May-fly, 104, (pi. III. CV.) Little Whirling Blue, 144, (as pi. in. xcviii.) Lochaber, 131 Loch Awe, 161 MARCH BROWN, Dun Drake or Cob-fly, (No. 1), 6, (No. 2), 148, (pi. in. vi.) Marlow Buzz, 74, (pi. v. Ixxv.) May-fly or Stone-fly, 197, (pi. ii. cxcvii.) Mealy Brown, 76 Moor-pout and Orange, 50 Moor-pout and Yellow, 51 Mussel-shell, 58, (pi. vi. b.) OAK-FLY, 196, (pi. n. cxcvi.) Orange Beck-fly, 174 Orange fly, 92, (pi. IV. xciii.) Orange Tawny, 178 Orl-fly, 103, (pi. iv. civ.) Owl-fly, 133 PALE EVENING DUN, 115, (as pi. iv. cxvi.) Pale Green, 10 Palmer-fly, 3, (as pi. vi. n. m. 1.) Partridge's Tail, 13 Peacock-fly, 111, (pi. vi. cxi.) (No. 2), 138 Perch- fly, 211, (pi. v. ccxii.) Pewet, 183 Pheasant, 7 Pheasant Brown, 18 Plover and Yellow, 49 Prime Dun, I Pure Red Dun, 46 Purple Hackle, 168 RED HACKLE, 60 Red Legged Blue Bloa, 78, (pi. iv. Ixxix.) Red Palmer, 61 Red Spider, 204 Red Spinner, 71, 134, 204, (pi. in. Ixxii.) SALMON JACK, 53 Sand-fly, (No. 1), 19, (No. 2), 113, (pi. in. cxiii.) Sea- swallow, 70 Shell-fly, 172 Silver Twist Hackle, 143 Sky-blue Bloa, 35 Small Stone-fly, 9 Smoky Dun Hackle, 120 Snipe Bloa, 16 Soldier-fly, 114, (pi. iv. cxiv.) Soldier Palmer, 159 Spanish Needle, 17 Spider-fly or Sand-gnat, (No. 1 20, (No. 2), 141 Spring Bloa, 1 1 Stone Dun or Bloa, 28 Stone Midge, 25 Summer Dun, 101, (pi. v. cii.) THORN-FLY, 184, (No. 1, 2), (pi. v. ci.) WASP-FLY, 170 Watchett, 24 Water Spider, 66 Welsh Cock-a-bondhu, 163 White Moth, (night), 207 Whitterish, 185 Willow Cricket, 187 Winter Brown, 139 Woodcock, 198, (pi in. vi.) Woodcocks, (No. 1, 2, 3) 206 Woodcock and Orange, 42 Woodcock and Yellow, 43 YEASTY DUN or Bloa, 95, (as pi. in. xcvi.) Yellow Dun or Bloa, (No. 1), 29, (No. 2), 94, (pi. m. cv.) Yellow Legs, 23 Yellow Sally, 17, (pi. iv. cxvii.) (No. 2, 3"), 164 Yellow Watchett, 27 IV. l-X.-Xl-X..^ JL Ci Also fourteen classes of Hackled -flies commonly used in all rirers pp. 200-201, and twelve on p 205, (pi. vi.) xvi Index to Flies Described and Illustrated. Salmon Flies for the Awe and Urchay Rivers. FAIL-ME-NEVER, 13 Forth and Teith-fly, 14 Lady Mertown, 1 7 Ness and Beauley, 15 The Awe, (No. 1), 1, (No. 2), 2 The Black Dog, 6 The Black Dragon, 3 The Bright Brown, 7 The Copper Herl, 8 The Dee-fly, 12 The Double -white Top, 21 The Dun Wing, 22,(pl. i. xxviii.) The Nith-fly, 10 The Pencilled Snipe, 19 The Spey-fly, (No. 1 and 2), 9 The Tartan^ 5 TheTay-fly, 11 The Urchay, 4 The White Swan, 18 The White Top, 20 Toppy, 16, (pi. i. xx.) Tweed Salmon Flies. THE BROWN MALLARD, 25 The Canary, 32 The Cree-fly, 31 The Drake Wing, 24 (pi. xxiv.) The Dunwing, (No. 2), 26 The Guinea Fowl, 29 The Mallard, 27, (pi. i. xxix.) The Mottled Turkey, 23, (pi. i. xxiii.) The Mottled Wing, 28 The Silver Pheasant, 30, (pi. i. xxx.) Salmon Flies, Irish Style and Fashion. LASCELLES' GOLDEN-FLY, 39 The Butcher, 37 The Butterfly, 40, (pi. i. xlii.) The Childers", 35 The Doctor, 34 The Dundas, 36 The General, 38 The Irish Drake Wing, 41 , (pi. i. xliii.) The Lewis, 42 The Parson, 33 ERRATA. At p. 80, line 11 ; for " He like all others, &c., is, &c." read " They like all others, &c., are, &c. : At p. 170, No. 3; for "(pi. v. m.)" read " (pi. vi. m.) " At p. 182, No. 95 ; for " (pi. xcvi.)" read "(pi. in. xcvi.)" ' (pi. iv. cxi.)" '(pi. iv. cxvi.)" '(pi. HI. cxxii.)" "(pi. in. Ixxii.)" ' The Brachan Clock," ' The Brechan Clock." At p. 187, No. 116; /or' read * At p. 194, No. 155; for* read ' At p. 194, No. 156 ; for ' read ' HALCYON, OE BOD-FISHING IN CLEAE WATEE. CHAPTEE I. INTRODUCTION. : Fishing is an art, or at least it is an art to catch fish." ISAAC WALTON. " Then let him go to river, brook, or lake, That loves the sport, where store of fish abound, And through the pleasant fields his journey make, Amidst sweet pastures, meadows, fresh and sound, Where he may best his choice of pastime take, While swift Hyperion runs his circle round ; And as the place shall to his liking prove, There still remain or further else remove." The Secrets of Angling, by J. DENNYS, 1613. NGLING, like most other pursuits, origi- nated in necessity. The art owes its gradual improvement to the genius which has ac- companied the successive developments of society. Mention is made of it in the Old Testament,* and it is not without notice in the records of Egypt and Assyria, as testified by the sepulchral and architectural remains of these ancient nations. Greece * Job xli. 1, 2, 7. Isaiah xxxvii. 29 ; xix. 8. Habakkuk i. 15. B 4 A Plea for Angling. Those who, like the sportsman alluded to above, fail in a successful take, are seldom at a loss for excuses ; and though these may be in some cases very plausible, yet are they too frequently foreign to the real cause of failure. This, in nine cases out of ten, arises from what they are unwilling to acknowledge, namely, their own inefficiency; caused most undoubtedly by that want of method, obser- vation, and practice, in the various points connected with the art, which are so constantly and collectively de- manded. But, however this may be, it is a very strong argument in favour of the amusement, that the unsuccessful prac- titioner is not always like the one just spoken of; for, however often some may return home with empty creels, yet their desire to try again does not flag, as is generally the case in other sports, but seems to gain a stronger hold upon them, and the next fine day many of these votaries are again to be seen by the water side, vigorously plying their task. First amongst its many recommendations is to be ranked that peculiar and almost immediate relief which Angling yields to the distressed or uneasy mind, by calm- ing the perturbations which misfortune or other vexatious circumstances may have excited. For here, in the words of the poet, men " bend their way To streams, where, far from care and strife, From smoky house and scolding wife, They snare the finny race." Here, too, alone with Nature, men may hold communion with her God. It is the natural bent of inclination which induces any man to prefer a particular pursuit; and where so many are competitors for the same prize, no wonder the majority fail in the realization of their hopes. Studies open to the Angler. 5 Science and art are here so nicely blended that the one without the other is a superfluous acquisition ; for, whilst the former conducts to the attack, the latter directs its operation. Having said thus much for the gentle art, it behoves me next to mention those Rivers in the North of England, where many of the Flies described in these pages have, for the last fifty years, been more especially used with success. These are the Wharfe, Ure, Swale, Tees, and Wear, with their tributaries. The same Flies will also be found effective in taking Trout, Grayling, Chub, Dace, Perch, and Salmon, in almost any stream in the United Kingdom. The varied scenery that presents itself to the eye of the Fly-fisher, at each bend of the river, is sufficiently attractive to make converts of the hiost sceptical, if not wholly indifferent to the beauties of Nature. Such scenery, and the diversion which the rod affords, cannot fail to delight the sportsman to the highest degree, as he wanders " By burn and flowery brae, Meadow green, and mountain grey." There is no field sport which affords so much pleasure to the admirer of Nature. No sooner does Spring return, and the trees and flowers begin to bud and bloom, and the joyous birds to wake the echoes with their merry notes, than Anglers are to be seen, rod in hand, wend- ing their way along the margins of the rivers and brooks. When his leisure affords time to pursue it, the Angler gathers, along with his sport, fresh stores of information. Health, and new vigour of mind for his home occupations, whatever they may be, are in themselves no mean result of his day's diversion. For to him how many other sources of recreation and study are opened out in connection with his pursuit ! 6 Scenery while Angling. Any and all of these, as inclination prompts, offer intense gratification, and he exclaims, " Thanks to the glorious God of heaven Which sent this summer day." If he is fond of Botany, an abundant field lies before him ; and his " Hortus Siceus" may be enriched by many fine and rare specimens, gathered as he wanders along the dell-side to his fishing. Does Icthyology interest him ? Yes, truly it does ; and the prey he is pursuing affords him examples in abundance, and food for obser- vations, hereafter to be practically applied to his craft. Is he studying Entomology? What a field expands to his view, among the many insects he has to imitate, in order to lure the golden Trout from the streams and pools ! Does Geology interest him ? Here, then, as he wanders over the rocky banks of rivers or streamlets, he finds food for reflection, and fresh stores for his cabinet. If the natural history of Birds, their faculties, architec- ture, or eggs, give him pleasure, here also will he have ample scope for adding to the treasures of his knowledge. But if he be engaged in none of these studies, yet will his eye be delighted, and his mind composed, by the varied objects he meets with in his healthful fishing excursions ; and he may truly say, with Bryant, to his delight, " The fragrant birch above him hung Her tassels in the sky; And many a vernal blossom sprung And nodded careless by." While he pursues his sport no loathsome fogs, tainted with the noisome odours of densely-populated towns, dull his senses. The primrose and the pansy fringe his path, as he goes to the mountain stream for his pastime. The perfume of the wild thyme and the heather floats upon the breeze for his enjoyment. How grand, too, the scenery that he enjoys ! Crags high beetling to the sky, and mighty Pleasures attending Angling. 7 boulders, lie strewed around, resting in ruddy beds of brachen, and of fern, or sternly standing out among the patches of golden -flowered broom or gorse. A stillness here reigns, scarce broken by the beck that murmurs on its endless way, while the hawk sails stealthily on his hunting path. The red grouse clucking " among the heather," the piping note of the curlew, or the plain- tive whistle of the sandpiper, and the shrill call of the plover, at times startle him from his sport ; but all unite to give a zest to his day out among the mountain streams, which cannot be truly appreciated but by those who have experienced it. For " Trouting in a mountain brook is an experience of life so distinct from every other, that every man should enjoy at least one in his day." If his " day out" be to the low grounds, and their purling streams, he may enjoy a landscape lovelier but less grand. The cultivated fields, the pleasant hedgerows, and the embowering woods will enchant him. The songs of countless birds above, and the intensely coloured wild flowers by his path beneath, the cuckoo's welcome notes and the cooing of the ring-dove, all call forth a joyous pleasure in his heart. In fact, every object he sees, every occurrence he meets with, opens a mine of information and redoubles his enjoyment. " These shades are still the abodes Of undissembled gladness ; the thick roof Of green and stirring branches is alive And musical with birds, that sing and sport In wantonness of spirit ; while below, The squirrel, with raised paws and form erect, Chirps merrily. Throngs of insects in the glade Try their thin wings, and dance in the warm beam That waked them into life. Even the green trees Partake the deep contentment ; as they bend To the soft winds, the sun from the blue sky Looks in and sheds a blessing on the scene. Scarce less the cleft-born wild-flower seems to enjoy 8 Pleasures attending Angling. Existence, than the winged plunderer That sucks its sweets. The rivulet Sends forth glad sounds, and tripping o'er its bed Of pebbly sands, or leaping down the rocks, Seems with continuous laughter to rejoice In its own being." BRYANT. Yet, with all these adjuncts to his store of amusement, he will return home better satisfied if his creel be well stored with trout; to which result it is hoped the following chapters may contribute. . Bullheads ** CHAPTER II. FRESH-WATER FISH. I. THE BULL TROUT, GREY TROUT, WHITLING OR ROUND TAIL. PLATE xii. 1. F all fresh- water fishes the Trout is the most beautiful, and for the diversion it affords the Angler, as well as for its superior qualities, is esteemed next to the salmon. In disposition it is singularly capricious and wary, feeding greedily one day upon this coloured fly, or that particular bait, and the next forsaking either the one or the other for a different variety. He is at all times suspicious ; but where the water is much flogged he becomes, from frequent deception, very shy and dis- cerning, and seems to be able to detect the false nature of the lure offered to him, and hence is extremely difficult to capture in some waters, even by the most experienced Angler. The Salmo Fario, or fresh-water Trout, is found in almost every river and brook in England. Its natural history will not be fully given here, but left for abler hands to deal with. Being so universally known it hardly 10 The Trout. even demands a description, though a few words regard- ing it may not be out of place. The form of the Trout is long in proportion to its breadth. It has a round head, and sharp teeth on the tongue and jaws. It is thickly studded with black spots, relieved along the back by a dark olive colour, which gradually mingles with the rich yellow, or bright silver, of the sides and belly. When in perfect season, which is just after the May-fly has gone off, these colours produce a finer effect than is to be met with in any other fresh- water fish. Its perfection of vision is truly astonishing, and is the source of great difficulty to the Fly-fisher. It appears, too, that, like the cat, Trout can see in the dark, for they can observe and take the smallest flies even during the darkest night. Their eyes are so placed in the front of the head that they can see not only in front, but also on each side and considerably backward. This is a beautiful adaptation of Providence, as well to enable them to gain their food from everything that floats down the water, as for their security. Fish have no eyelids, because, it is thought, that it is necessary for them to see even while they sleep, which I am inclined to think is undoubtedly the case. That they see, too, at great -distances under water is well established, and hence the difficulty of ap- proaching them. The female is distinguished from the male by having a smaller head and deeper body, and is preferred for the table. A great variety in shape and colour is observable among Trout, taken even from the same hold. Some persons imagine that there are three distinct kinds ; viz. the Red, the Yellow, and the White Trout, the former of which stands highest in estimation. Every stream where Trout are found possesses a breed peculiar to itself. With regard to the marks found upon those taken in the rivers above alluded to more especially, I have noticed Difference of Trout. 11 the greatest difference. Some were marked with few but large spots-; some with a greater number but still large ; others with smaller spots and more sparse ; others again had spots so thickly set that they almost touched each other ; while some were red finned, some yellow ; and some had yellow sides and bellies, and some white. Whether these are distinct kinds of Trout I leave to the learned in such matters to decide ; they certainly feed on the same food and frequent the same haunts, therefore neither the river nor the food can be regarded as the cause of the above varieties of appearance. Some assert that " this is the only fish that spawns in the cold months, viz. October and November, and that all others spawn in the hot summer-months." How comes it, then, if this be true, that they have been taken from the Wear in every month, from April to November, with roe in them ? And how is it that in this river they rise so badly at the fly in July, except that they are performing some functions of nature ? Perhaps some of my readers can explain this, for I confess it is far beyond any eluci- dation of mine. Undoubtedly the Trout of one river differ much from those of another. For example, the Trout taken from the Wharfe are, generally speaking, when of large size, sparsely spotted or marked, hog-backed, and very frequently pink-fleshed, while those from the lire, above Wensley, are usually thickly spotted, deep coloured, and mostly white fleshed. The Wear Trout are as varied as before described, but commonly silvery and white- fleshed. The Tees Trout, about High Force, are dark and thickly spotted, rather long in proportion to their thickness, and generally white-fleshed, with the exception of the larger fish, which are sometimes of a pinkish cast. Trout taken from waters strongly impregnated with peat or moss are almost always dark, while those taken from clear streams are, like the streams themselves, bright and light coloured. 12 Haunts of Trout. Trout, then, generally partake of the colour of the water which they inhabit. In time of floods, or in dirty water, they have a sickly white appearance; in brown water they partake of the richness of its colour, and their sides become more golden ; while in clear waters they are dark on the back and more silvery on the sides, and the stars on them undergo the same change. The various haunts of Trout, again, present colours as various, and daylight, sunlight, and shadow, as well as the bed of the stream over which the fish feed, affect them. The edible qualities of Trout materially depend upon the water they inhabit, and the food, both in respect of abundance and properties, which they find there. They are mostly of superior excellence where cray-fish abound, as in Simmerwater and the Ure below, and some tributaries of the Swale. Pure, clear, transparent streams, running over rocks and pebbles, especially limestone, always afford excellent Trout. The richness or poorness of soils over which rivers or brooks flow materially affects the growth and qualities of Trout found there. Three brooks may be mentioned as exemplifying this, viz. Burton beck, a tributary of the Ure ; Gilling beck, a tributary of the Swale ; and Aldborough, or Clow beck, a tributary of the Tees ; all of which produce Trout of the best quality, and run through as good land as can be found. When the May-fly season is over, which is about the latter end of June, Trout are in the best condition, and towards the end of July begin to fall off; while at the close of September they get full of spawn, and are not then worth capturing ; in fact, at this time, none should be taken ; it is quite unsportsmanlike to capture them. The haunts of the Trout, or any other fresh- water fish, are best learned from the personal observation of the Angler. Some may be pointed out as seldom failing to hold Trout ; for instance, purling brooks, running over Seasons for Angling for Trout. 13 and among large stones fine gravelly streams in rivers on either side of rapids, and a few yards below the top or head of the stream in the height of the season, and on hot days, the very rapids themselves. Near a rock or stone in the water, where there is a lull from the stream, is at all times a favourite haunt : as into such places, flies and insects, &c. are likely to be whirled by the current, and there the Trout is sure to be on the look out from his lurking-place. Overhanging banks, for the same reason, seldom fail to shelter a good Trout. Between two streams, rapid or gentle, is also a favourite station for him to watch and take his prey. Where any small stream, drain, or runner enters a river, there, or just below it, he commonly lurks, because there he has the feed brought down by it, as well as that of the river. Below falls on either side, or at the tail of the stream flowing from them ; on either side of a rapid or stream, and in the stream itself, more especially where it is just merging into still water, Trout are to be found. Never by any means omit the thin water on the opposite shore above you, as well as on your own side, especially near large stones, roots, &c. for you are almost sure to meet with a Trout there, and he is always best to kill in such a place, since you have him at great advantage, from distance and po- sition. If the water be clear, and you see a large stone covered several inches by the stream, never forget to throw a little above and beyond it, for near such a stone you may make pretty sure of a Trout. You may begin to angle for Trout in February, if the weather be open, and from thence to the end of September. But March, April, May, and June, are the best months. In spring and autumn warm, windy, cloudy weather is best ; but in the hot months cool, dark, cloudy, windy days are most promising. In hot weather, from sunrise till nine, and from two till six, are good hours ; but nine 14 The Bull Trout. in the morning, and three in the afternoon, are the prime times. When the weather is hot, still, and bright, and the water clear, fish the swiftest streams, and most stony parts of the river ; the deeps only morning and evening, very early and very late. If a Trout bite not at half-a- dozen essays, wait no longer there, but try another place. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. " Abdominal Malacopterygii.* Salmonidce. " Salmo Eriox. LINN.EUS. Cinereus aut griseus. WILLUGHBY, p. 193. Griseus sen cinereus. RAY, p. 63. A. 3. Eriox, Grey. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 394. Cambriscus, Sewin. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 91. Eriox, Grey, FLEM. Brit. An. p. 180. sp. 46. " The Bull Trout is distinguished from the Salmon and Salmon Trout by several specific peculiarities. The form of the body of this fish is similar to that of the Salmon, but the nape and shoulders are thicker, the fleshy portion of the tail and the base of each of the fins more muscular ; the males are the strongest in the water, but the females are the most eager for bait, and their teeth are rather smaller. The colours of the males, in the spawning season, are the head olive brown, the body reddish brown or orange brown ; that of the females a blackish grey ; the dorsal fin reddish brown, spotted with darker brown ; the tail dark brown, the other fins dusky brown. The general colour at other times like that of the Salmon Trout. " The fin rays of the Bull Trout in number are " D. 1 1, P. 14, V. 9, A. 1 1, C. 19 ; Vertebra 59. " The Bull Trout sometimes attains the weight of twenty pounds, but it more commonly occurs under fifteen pounds weight. It ascends rivers for the purpose of spawning in the same manner as the Salmon, but earlier in the season ; and the fry are believed to go down to the sea sooner than the fry of the Salmon. This species affords good * Having the fin rays soft. The Common or Burn Trout. 15 sport to anglers, it feeds voraciously, taking any fly or bait freely ; and from its great muscularity it is a powerful fish when hooked ; frequently leaping out of the water. As food it is not considered equal to the Salmon or Salmon Trout. It is to be angled for the same way as the Salmon, though many are taken with small flies while fishing for Trout." YARRELL, Brit. Fish. vol. ii. p. 31-35. THE COMMON OR BURN TROUT. PLATE x. 2. ORDER IY. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Salmonidce. " Salmo Fario. LINN^US. River Trout. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. Hi. p. 399. pi. 70. Trout. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 85. Common Trout. FLEM. Brit. An. p. 181. sp. 47." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. ii. p. 51. 16 The Grayling. H. THE GRAYLING OR UMBER. PLATE x. 3. HIS fish is called Grayling, from the gray colour of its sides, &c. and Umber from the Latin Umbra, either from its quickness in evading the sight, or from his swift motion, as he darts like a shadow in the water. He is not a very common fish in this country, and is seldom found except in streams on whose banks old religious houses are stationed. The old monks, it is supposed, first in- troduced the fish into this country, thus providing them- selves with a winter fish for their winter fast days. The Grayling is angled for in March and April, with the fly, cad bait, gentil or maggot, worm, tag-tail, and trolling minnow. The last of these, Taylor says, they never take ; but he is in error, for I have taken them, both in the Ure and Swale, with the trolling minnow, in clear water. The Grayling frequents the same streams as the trout, though he delights in the swiftest, particularly the tails and sides of them, and he is taken with the same flies, though a small bluish bloa is his greatest favourite. This fish spawns in April and May, at which time the sharp streams are his haunt, and he does not lose his flesh and beauty even at this time, as the trout does. In December he is in his prime, at which time his gills and head are blackish, and his belly dark grey, studded with black spots. Though a leather-mouthed fish, he is very tender in that part, and, from his great activity as I'l.ATK X The Grayling. 17 well, he frequently breaks his hold when hooked. He has no teeth, but his lips are rough like a file. He is a hog-backed fish, with a small head, large back fin, the top of which is reddish, but the lower part, of a bluish purple (as are the fins of the belly), spotted with black ; he has protuberant eyes, and a body finely tapering to a forked tail. He is scaled somewhat like a dace, and the lateral line, common to all fish, is nearer the back than the belly. He has a peculiar smell when taken out of the water, said to be occasioned by his feeding upon water- thyme, whence the Latin name, Thymallus, is supposed to have been given to him. Many epicures prefer the flavour of the Grayling to that of the trout. The Grayling, as I said before, is by no means a com- mon fish in England, and is not to be met with in Scot- land or Ireland. The rivers in Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, and the Dee, which runs through a portion of North Wales, furnish them in sufficient numbers for the Angler's amusement. I would strongly recommend all Angling Associations to introduce this fish into their waters where he is not already established; and thus secure sport for their members during mild weather in the winter months, as well as add to the variety of fishes for their summer SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS SALMO. Salmo Thymallus. Grayling or Umber. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Salmonidce. " Thymallus Vulgaris. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 306. WILLUGHBY, p. 187. No. viiL 20 The Dace or Dare. IV. THE DACE, DAKE, OK SHOWLEK. {Called ALBICELLA by the Romans.} PLATE xni. 3. I] HE Dace is a handsome-looking fish, seldom weighing more than three-quarters of a pound, and is found in almost all rivers where trout are to be met with, and in most brooks which run sluggishly, but seldom in rapid, running, gravelly becks. He is a smarter fish than the chub or chevin, but very like him, being scaled in the same way, yet seldom of so yellow a cast ; like him, also, in inferiority of his flesh and the number of small bones which it contains. Indeed, it is comparatively useless as an edible fish, al- though some Anglers commend its roe. Moreover, he affords good sport for youths and amateurs, since he rises at the fly greedily when on the feed. He is generally best taken by sinking the flies a little under water, and by using a maggot or cad-bait, clapbait or bluebottle-fly therewith. His haunts are still pools or gentle streams, and generally the open parts and shallows. Dace spawn in March, and are reckoned in best season in the winter. The best time to angle for them is in the evening until dark. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS CYPRINUS. Cyprinus Leudscus. Dace. The Perch. 21 " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Cyprinidce. l Leuciscus Vulgaris. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 275. Dace, FLEM. Brit. An. p. 187. sp. 63. " Cyprinus Leuciscus. LINNAEUS, Block, pt. iii. pi. 97. Dace. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 483. . DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 77. " The fin rays in number are "D. 9,P*. 16, V. 9, A. 10, C. 19. " The colour of the upper part of the head and back dusky blue, becoming paler on the sides, and white on the belly ; the irides straw yellow ; cheek and gill-covers silvery white ; dorsal and caudal fins pale brown ; pectoral, ventral, and anal fins almost white, tinged with pale red." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 353, 4. V. THE PERCH. (Called PERCA by the Romans.) PLATE xi. 2. I HE Perch is a fish of prey, having large teeth in his mouth, and a hog-back on which are two fins armed with sharp prickles ; his skin is covered over with thick, hard, dry scales ; and his body is thick and deep. When in season, which is in summer, he is a beautifully-coloured and handsome fish, and possesses the valuable quality of being most wholesome and excellent food. He seldom grows above two feet long, and spawns in February or March (Taylor says in May). He takes bait best in the latter part of spring, and fly in the summer months. The best time to angle for him is from eight till ten in the morning and from three till six in the evening, but he may be taken at all times of the day. He is a very ravenous and bold 22 The Perch. feeder, and devours even those of his own kind. His haunts are chiefly in streams not very deep or swift, and where there are weeds or lurking-places under hollow banks, at gravelly bottoms, at the turning of eddies, and in deep pools in ponds, near weeds or rushes, and in deep holes between weeds and stumps of trees. The baits used for taking him are the worm, minnow, stickleback, a small frog, and the fly, especially one described here- after as the perch-fly. In fishing for him in ponds or still water with a bait, use a float, and fish about a foot from the bottom, or, at times, about midwater. If you bait with minnow, let it be the live one ; use your worm tac- kle, hooking the minnow, near the fore part of the back fin, skin deep, from side to side, so that it is balanced evenly and thus able to swim about. Your line must be shotted to keep him down, and attached to a good sized float, which the minnow cannot take under water. When you have a bite, be sure to give him time enough to gorge the bait. The perch is gregarious, therefore if one be taken, you may be almost certain of others in the im- mediate neighbourhood. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER III. Thoracici. Ventral fins under the pectoral. GENUS PERCA. Perca Fluviatilis. Perch. " Acanthopterygii. Percidce. (Some fiii rays spinous, others flexible.) (The family of the Perches.) " Perca Fluviatilis. LINNAEUS, Block, pt. ii. pi. 52. CUVIER ET VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. des Poiss. t. ii. p. 20. Perch. PENNANT, Brit. Zool. edit. 1812. vol. iii. p. 345. pi. 59. DONOVAN, Brit. Fishes, pi. 52. FLEMING, Brit.AnimalSiip.2I3.sp. 142. PLATK XI . The Pike or Jack. 23 " Two dorsal fins, distinct, separated ; the rays of the first spinous, those of the second flexible; tongue smooth; teeth in both jaws, in front of the vomer, and on the palatine bones ; preoperculum notched below, serrated on the posterior edge ; operculum bony, ending in a flattened point directed backwards ; branchiostegous rays seven ; scales rough, hard, and not easily detached. " The formula of the fin rays may be thus stated " D. 15, (1 + 14), V. (1 + 5), A. (2 + 8), C. 17. " That is, D. 1 spiuous -|- 14 that are soft, &c." YARRELL, Brit. Fink, vol. i. p. 1 4. VI. THE PIKE, PICKEKEL, JACK, LUCE, OK GEDD. PLATE xi. 1. J|S this fish affords good sport, and is taken in some of the rivers which the Fly-fisher visits, it may not be amiss to say a few words on the methods of taking* him, as afford- ing a variation in the Angler's sport. Lord Bacon and Gesner assert that he is the longest-lived of all fishes. He is the tyrant of the waters which he inhabits, and will seize upon almost anything, even those of his own kind, (a provision of nature which serves to check the increase of so ravenous a family,) and is hence called the fresh- water shark. The Pike spawns in February and March. The best are found in rivers, those in ponds be- ing not so good, and, as a rule, the larger the fish is, the coarser the flesh, and vice versa. He is a solitaiy, melan- choly, and bold fish, being commonly found alone, seldom in company with other fishes. The best fish are from seven to twelve pounds in weight, under that they are watery and insipid. Pike may be taken by trolling, the live baity ledger bait, and dipping. 24 Fishing for Pike. Your rod must be stiff and strong, either double han- dled or single, as afterwards described ; and the tackle generally of the stoutest kind. Gimp is the best for your stinting or foot-line, though some, where the pike are not large, use very strong platted gut, on which the hooks for a trout, gudgeon, or other fish are tied as follows : three large double hooks should be tied about an inch and.a half apart ; to this add an extra double hook, as in PL ix. No. 5 ; attach to the top double hook a large single hook, and let it extend as far as the middle double hook of the main tackle, so that it can be inserted on the side of the bait opposite to the main tackle. On this the fish is to be put so as to have a good bend, in order that it may spin well or swiftly. The distance, however, between the hooks is to be regulated by the size of the bait to be used. If you use a minnow, &c. for a bait, fit your tackle up as described for trouting. A large strong swivel is to be looped to the end of your gimp, to which your reel-line is to be fastened by a loop. Troll or traul as for trout, and strike the moment the fish hits the bait. Do not be too hasty to land a pike, as he is a very strong fish, for if he does not break your tackle, he may break his hold away. Though your tackle be of the strongest, bring your fish gradually up, and, if he plunge violently, let him run out, again and again, keeping, how- ever, clear of weeds and roots ; but when he is exhausted haul him along the top of the water to your landing-net or the shore. Beware lest he snap at your hand, for his bite is sharp and very painful afterwards. The best way to take hold of him is with your thumb and finger in his eyes. In dipping, just pitch your bait in any open place be- tween weeds, &c. and then alternately draw it up and let it sink. The haunts of the pike are in deep, strong water near bulrushes, water-docks, weeds, hollow banks, and stumps of trees, &c. Cast up, down, or across, always Fishing for Pike. 25 keeping the bait in constant motion. Two or three casts in a place will be sufficient, for if he is there he will seize the bait within that time, if he intends doing so at all. I would seldom or never give him line enough to let him gorge the bait either in trolling or dipping, the tackle being so well armed with hooks. If, while you are fly-fishing, you have reason to believe that there is a Pike in your neighbourhood, set a ledger for him, and you can then proceed with your own sport. Take one of the small fish you may have caught, and with it bait a large, long-shanked hook, tied on to a piece of gimp, and attached to about twelve or fourteen yards of whipcord. If the bait be alive, a hook with a shorter shank will do. Pass this through the roots of the back fin, so as to balance the fish properly ; keep it at mid- water by means of a float, and under the water by suffi- cient leading. If you use a dead bait, run the hook in at the tail and out at the mouth, the bend of the hook lying by the side of the gills, and dispense with a float. Tie the line either to a branch or stake driven into the ground ; and, in the case of a live bait, use a cleft stick, fixed so as to prevent its taking all the line out, and coil the remainder of the line on the ground near, so that when it is pulled out of the cleft by the Pike he may have this spare line to carry out. You can then leave it for a short time. There are various other methods employed in angling for Pike, but these are deemed sufficient, as the present work is chiefly intended for Fly-fishers. The Pike bites best from the middle of summer to the end of autumn, about three in the afternoon, in clear water ruffled with a gentle gale ; but in winter all day long : in spring early in the morning and late in the even- ing. The best baits for him on dark days are small roach, dace, bleak, smelts, and trout ; but on fine bright days, 26 The Pike. and in clear water, a gudgeon is the best bait. A perch, with his fins cut off, may also be used if other baits can- not be had. All live baits ought to be kept in a tin, with holes in the lid, and the water frequently changed. You may fish for Pike or Jack at midwinter with a live bait, in the same way as for trout ; but in this fishing you should give him time to gorge it before you strike, taking care to use a larger float and one or two larger shot. Always have your bait clear of weeds before you recast it into the water, or the Pike will not touch it, and when it gets water-sopped change it. Pike may be taken with an artificial fly, which is to be made on a very large hook, single or double, and of the gaudiest materials used in dressing salmon flies. The fly should be of the size of the wren or tomtit, or of more than twice the size and thickness of the largest salmon fly. Use several straws of peacock's feathers, with a couple of the eyes of the tail feather for wings, and plenty of tinsel ribbed on the thick body with two beads for eyes, dressing on a length of gimp with a swivel attached. This is best fished just under the water and kept moving. The Pike delights in still, shady, and unfrequented water with a sandy, chalky, or clayey bottom, near bul- rushes, water-docks, weeds, roots, &c. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS Esox. Esox Lucius. Pike. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Esocidce. (Family of the Pikes.) " Esox Lucius. LTNN.EUS, Bloch, pt. 1. pi. 32. ,. Pike. PENN. Brit Zool vol. iii. p. 424, pi! 74. BROCKET, CUVIER, Eegne An. t. ii. p. 282. Pike. DON. Brit. Fish. pi. 109. FLEM. .BnY. An. p. 184, sp. 55. The Barbel. 27 " The fin rays in number are D. 19, P. 14, V. 10, A. 17, C. 19. " Head depressed, large, oblong, blunt ; jaws, palatine bones, and vomer furnished with teeth of various sizes ; body elongated, rounded on the back ; sides compressed, covered with scales ; dorsal fin placed very far back over the anal fin." YARRELL, vol. i. p. 383. VII. THE BAKBEL. (Called MULLUS BARBATUS by the Romans.} PLATE xi. 3. i HE Barbel is so called on account of the barbs or beard under his nose or chops, and is a leather-mouthed and gregarious fish. He has great strength, and though he seldom breaks his hold, yet he not unfrequently snaps either rod or line, or both. It is necessary, then, in angling for him, to use the strongest tackle. The male is considered much better than the female, but neither of them are much esteemed. They swim in shoals, and are at the worst in April and May, at which time they spawn, but soon com'e into sea- son again. The spawn, if eaten, acts as a cathartic and emetic, and the liver is likewise unwholesome. The places to which they chiefly resort are weedy, gravelly, rising grounds, in which this fish is said to dig, and rout with his nose like the swine. In the summer he fre- quents the strongest and swiftest currents of water, under bridges, weirs, &c. among the piles, &c. In autumn he retires to the deeps, where he remains till spring. The best baits for him are lob-worms, gentils, &c. and the earlier you fish for him in June, July, and August, the 28 The Barbel better. For your stinting or foot-line use twisted gut or gimp, leaded so as to rest on the bottom ; and when the fish bites strike directly, and then be careful of your tac- kle, for he will give you some trouble. This fish is plen- tiful in the Swale, from Catterick, down through the deeps, past Topcliffe, till it joins the Ure. The Barbel seldom exceeds seven or eight pounds in weight, and is very tenacious of life, living for four or five hours after he has been taken out of the water. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION". ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS CYPRINUS. Cyprinus Barbus. Barbel. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Cyprinidce. " Barbus Vidgaris. FLEM. Brit. An. p. 185. sp. 58. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 272. " Cyprinus Barbus. LINN^US, Block, pt. i. pi. 18. Barbel PENN. Brit. Zool vol. iii. p. 472. pi. 82. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 29. " Distinguished from Cyprinus in having the dorsal and anal fins short ; a strong, serrated, bony ray at the dorsal fin ; mouth furnished with four barbules, two near the point of the nose, and one at the angle of the mouth, on each side. " The fin rays in number are " D. 11, P. 16, V. 9, A. 7, C. 19, upper half 10." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 321. 4. The Eel 29 VIII. THE EEL. (Called ANGUILLA by the Romans.} PLATE xi. 5. ||ELS are divided into four kinds, viz. the Silver, a greenish Eel called a Grey, a blackish Eel, with a broad flat head, and, lastly, an Eel with reddish fins. The Silver Eel has a dark brown back and white belly, with a small and sharpish head. The Green Eel has a broad, flat head, and is much flatter in body towards the tail than the other, its back be- ing of a green colour, and belly of a whitish green. The Black Eel has a larger head than the two former, a black back, and yellow belly. Its flesh is reckoned unwhole- some, particularly when the fish is taken out of mud or standing waters. Eels are best in season in May, June, and July. Angle for them on the ground with strong tackle, using well- scoured lob-worms, minnows, loaches, bull-heads, &c. when the water is high and thick. They take best in the night. Strike as soon as you find a bite, for they are greedy feeders. They are chiefly taken with night-lines, ledger-lines, &c. 30 The Ed. SCIENTIFIC DESCEiPTioisr. ORDER I. Apodes. No ventral fins. GENUS MUR^ENA. Murcena Anguilla. The Eel. " Apodal Malacopterygii. Murcenidce. "Anguillaacutirostris, Sharp-nosed Eel. YARRELL, Zool Soc. 1831. pp. 133. 159. Zool. Jour. vol. iv. p. 469. omnium auctorum. WLLLUGHBY, p. 109. g. 5. acutirostris, Sharp-nosed Eel. JENYNS, Man. Brit. Vert. p. 474. sp. 163. " Murcena Anguilla, rAnguille. LINNAEUS, Bloch, pt. iii. pi. 73. Common Eel. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 191 . "Anguilla Vulgaris FLEM. Brit. An. p. 199. sp. 109. "Long Bee. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 349. Common Eel. BOWDICH, Brit. Fr. W. Fish, no. 7. " Body cylindrical, elongated, covered with a thick and smooth skin ; the scales very small, lubricated with copious mucous secretion ; mouth with a row of teeth in each jaw; and a few on the anterior part of the vomer ; pectoral fins close to a small branchial aperture ; no ventral fins ; dorsal fin, anal fin, and caudal fin united. " The head is compressed, the top convex, depressed as it slopes forward ; the eyes small, placed immediately over the angles of the mouth ; irides reddish yellow ; the jaws very narrow, slightly rounded at the end, the lower jaw the longest ; nostrils with two openings on each side, one tubular the other a simple orifice ; both jaws furnished with a narrow band of small teeth ; gape small ; various mucous pores about the mouth and other parts of the head ; gill opening a small aperture immediately before and rather below the origin of the pec- toral fin ; the scales on the body rather small ; dorsal fin extending over more than two thirds of the whole length of the fish ; anal fin occupying more than half of the whole length ; both united at the end, forming a tail ; the number of rays in the fins not easily ascer- tained, from the thickness of the skin ; the lateral line exhibits a long series of mucous orifices ; vertebrae 113. The vent includes four distinct openings, the most anterior of which leads upwards to the intestine, the posterior to the urinary bladder in a direction back- wards ; and one elongated lateral opening on each side, communica- ting with the cavity of the abdomen, as in other bony fishes." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. ii. p. 284, and 295. The Loach. 31 IX. THE LOACH. ( Called LOCHA by the Romans.') PLATE xn. 5. j]HE Loach is bearded like the barbel, and frec- kled with black and white spots. He is a small fish, but good for the table, and is nou- rishing food for sick persons. He takes a small worm greedily at ground. His haunts are among gravel in the shallows in brooks and rivers. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IY. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS COBITIS. Colitis Barbatula. Loach. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Cyprinidce. " Colitis Barbatula. LINN^US, Block, pt. i. pi. 33. fig. 3. Loche. PENN. Brit. Fish, vol. iii. p. 379. Bearded Loche. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 22. FLVM.Brit.An.p. 189.sp.69. " Head small ; body elongated, covered with minute scales, invested with a thick mucous secretion; the ventral fins placed far back in a line under a small dorsal fin ; mouth small without teeth ; upper lip furnished with six barbules, four of them in front, and one at each corner ; gill openings small ; branchiostegous rays three. " The fin rays in number are " D. 9, P. 12, V. 7, A. 6, C. 19, vertebra 36." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 376. 9. 32 The Gudgeon. X. THE GUDGEON. (Called FUNDULUS by the Romans.') PLATE xi. 4. [;HE Gudgeon is a leather-mouthed fish, bites freely, and consequently affords capital sport for young Anglers. They spawn three or four times in the summer. Angle for them with a small hook and wasp-grubs, gentils, cads, or a small red worm, which is the best bait, and at the bottom, with or without a float. If you see a shoal in clear water, and can make the water muddy, you can take them quickly. The Gudgeon is considered a fine fish for the table. He chiefly feeds in sandy, gravelly streams, and never rises at a fly. He is one of the best baits for pike. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS CTPRINUS. Cyprinus Gobio. Gudgeon. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Cyprinidce. " Gobio Fluviatilis.WmvGum, p. 264. Q. 8. fig. 4. Gudgeon. FLEM. Brit. An. p. 186. sp. 60. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 273. " Cyprinus Gobio. LINNAEUS, Block, pt. i. pi. 8. fig. 2. Gudgeon. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 476. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 71. " The species of this submenus have, like those of the last, the dorsal and anal fins short ; are furnished with barbules or cirri about the mouth, but have no strong, bony, serrated ray at the commence- ment of either the dorsal or anal fins. In other respects like Cyprinus. " The fin rays in number are "D. 9, P.* 15, V. 8, A. 8, C. 19, upper half 10." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 325. 7. The Minnow. 33 XI. THE MINNOW, MINIM, OR PINK. PLATE x. 4. (Called GiRULUS by the Romans.} j| HOUGH the Minnow is one of the smallest fishes, he is as excellent food as many of tjie most famed. He retires in the winter into deeps. He is taken with gentils and pieces of small worms, and is so well known as not to need fur- ther mention. He is a*n excellent bait for trout, salmon, grayling, perch, and eels. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IY. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS CYPRINUS. Cyprinus Phoxinus. Minnow. " Abdominal Malacopterygii. Cyprinidce. " Leuciscus Phoxinus. CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 276. Minnow. FLEM. Brit. An. p. 188. sp. 68. " Cyprinus LINN^US, Block, pt. i. pi. 8. fig. 5. Minnow. PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 489. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 60. " The fin rays are "D. 9, P. 16, V. 8, A. 9, C. 19. " The top of the head and back are a dusky olive mottled and lighter in colour on the sides ; the belly white, and of a fine rosy or pink tint in summer varying in intensity according to the vigour of the fish ; the irides and gill-covers silvery ; dorsal fin pale brown ; pectoral, anal, and ventral fins lighter ; the tail light brown with a dark spot at the base of the caudal rays." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 373. D 34 The Bullhead. XII. THE BULLHEAD OR MILLER S THUMB. Caput Taurinum. PLATE xn. 4. jjHIS fish, on account of its ugliness, is called the Fresh-water Devil. He is a greedy feeder, and is easily taken with a piece of worm, &c. They spawn in April, and are so well known - that description is needless. The taste of this fish is very good. He is much used as a bait especially in the Weald in high Tees, where it is asserted that the minnow has uniformly failed as a bait for trout. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER III. Thoracici. Ventral fins under the pectoral. GENUS COTTUS. Coitus Gobio. Bullhead. " Acanthopterygii. With hard Cheeks. " Coitus Gobio. LINN.EUS, Bloch, pt. ii. p. 39. CUVIER ET VALENC. Hist. Nat. des Poiss. t. iv. p. 145. River Bullhead. PENN. Brit Zool. vol. iii. p. 291 . pi. 43. DON. Brit. Fish, pi. 80. FLEM. Brit An. p. 216. sp. 157. " Head large, depressed; teeth in both jaws and vomer, small, sharp, none on the palatine bones; preoperculum or operculum armed with spines, sometimes both ; branch iostegous rays six ; gill openings large, body attenuated, naked and without scales, two dorsal fins distinct, or very slightly connected ; ventral fins small. " D. 6 to 917 or 18, P/15, V. 3, A. 13, C. 11." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. i. p. 59. CHAPTER III. THE SALMON. PLATE x. 1. " Along the silver streams of Tweed Tis blythe the mimic fly to lead, When to the hook the Salmon springs And the line whistles thro' the rings ; The boiling eddy see him try, Then dashing from the current high, Till watchful eye and cautious hand Have led his wasted strength to land." MONG the ancient Greeks the Salmon was not known. Pliny, among the Romans, in his " Natural History," (ix. 12,) first notices it, and Ausonius, in the " Mosella," gives the first regular account of it. As this beautiful and delicious fish spends a consider- able portion of its life in the sea, it can be hardly with propriety considered a fresh-water fish ; yet, as it is to be found in most of our rivers which have direct communi- cation with the sea, and as it is productive of such very superior diversion to the Angler, it has been usual to give it precedence as the king of fishes. It is not my purpose here to give the varied opinions of naturalists concerning this noble fish, either with re- 36 The Salmon. gard to its generative functions or its after-growth, the opinions concerning both being so very conflicting. It may suffice, therefore, to make a few general remarks as to the best manner of capturing it, accompanied by a few practical observations as we proceed. Although Salmon are partial to a cold climate, they are seldom to be found in quantities in rivers which are liable to be completely impeded by the severity of frost. Their time of spawning differs in different rivers. At New- castle-upon-Tyne these fish are in season at Christmas ; but in the Welsh rivers they do not run till June. After they have been for a few days in the fresh water, they are, for the most part, in high season, and a well- grown fish, at this time, is a valuable prize. In order to convey some idea of the growth of the fish, after its descent as a grilse smolt, I extract the fol- lowing from Mr. Scroope's " Days of Salmon- Fishing." The experiments were made on the Shin in Scotland, and furnished to that gentleman. When marked. When re-taken. Weight of Grilse Kelt. Weight of Salmon. Febi-y. 18 June 23 4lbs. 9 Ibs. 18 25 4 Ibs. 11 Ibs. 18 25 4lbs. 9 Ibs. 18 25 4 Ibs. 10 Ibs. 18 27 4 Ibs. 13 Ibs. 18 28 4 Ibs. 10 Ibs. March 4 July 1 4 Ibs. 12 Ibs. 4 1 4 Ibs. 14 Ibs. 4 10 12 Ibs. 18 Ibs. 4 27 4 Ibs. 12 Ibs. In rivers which Salmon frequent, immense numbers of smelts or smoults are to be found in Spring. It is Best Times for Salmon-falling. 37 not generally known that the law forbids the taking of these, the prohibition being seldom observed. Those who persist in their capture maintain that they are a distinct species of the Salmomdce, and, consequently, that their capture is honourable sport, but such is not the case. Salmon bite best at small fish on their first coming into fresh water, that is, in February and March, all day long, and well at worms and flies, &c. until September, all day, if the weather be dark and windy ; but in the hot months they will take baits best about nine o'clock in the morning, and three in the afternoon, both at bottom and top ; and at all times best in rivers that run towards the east, and have immediate communication with the sea ; and in all places in clear water and windy weather, especially when the wind blows against the stream. In angling for this monarch of our streams, the stint- ing or foot-line, if single, must be of good, stout, round gut, about three yards in length ; or, for large rivers and heavier fish, when the water is not too bright, of platted gut, the same as the casting-line. A plain reel, as repre- sented in plate viii., should be used ; and not less than sixty yards of good strong hair-line. You are about to use a two-handed rod, say eighteen feet in length. Take hold of it below the reel with your left hand, and with your right grasp the butt about two feet further up. Adopt the same system of right or left round casting or throwing, as described for fly-fishing for trout. Sel- dom have more line out than twice the length of your rod; the shorter you can fish the more command you will have. As Salmon are seldom found to rise from water exceeding ten or twelve feet in depth> care should be taken to fish all places which are underwrought with rocks and holds, &c. Proceed as directed for trouting, with care and circumspection, and show your fly to every fish within your range by under-surface fishing. It is supposed that a fish may see a fly four or five feet, that 38 Fishing for Salmon. is, see it so as to be lured by it. Salmon are not so sharp- sighted as bull-trout, which often take the fly in disco- loured water, and refuse at times to do so when it is clear. When you have made your cast, be particular not to draw your fly so as to plough the surface, but let it sink a short distance under water, recovering it upwards towards your- self by an up-and-down movement or swaying of the rod, urging it by gentle impulses, so that it may have a natural appearance, whether taken as an insect or a small fish. Yet, while you keep your fly well sunk, remember that there is a medium to be observed, and therefore do not let it sink too far. Consequently, at all times, hold your rod well up, and by no means, as I said before, have out too much line. Here, unlike trout-fishing, where striking instantly is requisite, do not, on rising a fish, strike till you feel him on the line; "and this must be done by simply raising the rod, which will be found quite sufficient. If you should see the fish coming to take the fly, do not stop it, but keep it mov- ing at the same rate, and do not be in a hurry to strike, as I have just said, though in some cases I would strike directly, as in trout-fishing. Here, as in trouting, change your flies as seldom as possible, and persevere with what you imagined the fish would take until you have given it a fair trial. Exception, however, may be made to this rule where the fish are scarce, the pools and streams holding them not numerous, or where they are much fished over. At all events, if you rise a fish with one fly, by no means be hasty to change it. After hooking a fish, raise the rod well back over the shoulder, and show him the butt ; this should be done steadily and gradually. If he makes a desperate run, quickly let out line, for the size of a fish is hard to judge of. The more he pitches himself out of the water the less likely are you to kill him, but when deeply and well hooked he seldom shows those antics. Never use unnecessary violence, though Landing a Salmon. 39 your tackle, &c. may, to your fancy, be sufficiently strong to warrant it, for by so doing you greatly risk the losing of your fish ; a moderate degree of pressure, however, is always commendable and highly necessary. To secure your fish, at all times, when possible, use your landing-net, which should be of larger dimensions in the bow, and considerably deeper in the net, than the one used for trouting, with a shaft about a yard and a half long. Have a light strap fixed to the shaft, by which it may be slung across the left shoulder, and readily disen- gaged when required. This is in case you are using a two-handed rod, because then your left hand will not be at liberty ; but, when using a single-handed rod, you can carry it as in trouting. A gaff should be used only where a net cannot ; and, if you use a gaff, do not be so particu- lar in your manipulation as to tickle your fish about the gills, until you force him to struggle off, but into him with it in the most convenient part. It is all fudge to say that this is unsportsmanlike ; it is not half so much so as to see a man drawing a fish among the gravel, to the great detriment of his line, and chance of losing his fish, after the labour and skill employed in getting him so far. In netting the fish, place the butt of your rod against your body, then releasing your left hand, keep your line taut, unloose your net with your left hand, holding it ready, guide him by the line into it, then raise the net quickly, and if your net be deep enough, he is certainly your prize. You will thus have accomplished a feat which but few of our boasted Salmon -fishers ever achieved, and you will have shown them that, in your hands, that " incon- venient convenience" is really a sine qua non to a first- rate craftsman. Never, if you can by any means avoid it, haul a Salmon up stream, for thus you hold him at a disadvantage, but keep below him, because it will give you greater command over him. Of course, if you are not provided with either net or gaff, you will, of neces- 40 Minnow and Worm sity, have to select a good landing-place. Under these circumstances, keep your fish well on the move, and wear him gradually but carefully towards the shore, and when he is exhausted, and comes away smoothly, hasten your speed as he approaches the gravelly slope, and lift him strongly and well up, for this increased impetus, especi- ally if he make a run and you divert him, gives you the advantage of his efforts in addition to your's, and you will thus haul him well up. Then keep a tight line, dash in quickly, seize him just above the tail, where you can grasp and hold him, then with a swing pitch him clear of the water, and by a blow or two on the head dispatch him. A list of Salmon Flies will be found in the appendix. When the weather is cold in March, the minnow has been found an excellent bait. In trolling the minnow for Salmon, do it more leisurely than is recommended for trout, and nearer the bottom. Select bright frosty days in preference to dull windy ones, especially in low, clear waters, and in the months of March and April. The tac- kle for trolling the minnow may be fitted up as for trout- ing, only of much stouter make, and well leaded. The worm tackle for Salmon is to be fitted up with a large hook (plate ix.), or- you may use your minnow tackle. It should have a swivel between the top length of gut and casting-line, and the leads eighteen inches from the hook, consisting of five pellets of No.* 2 or 3 shot. In all cases have it heavily leaded, keeping in mind the force of the water fished. The Lob or Large Dew-worm is the best, and if one is not large enough, use two or three. Bait it, if one only is used, as directed for trout. Use a line the length of your rod, and have a yard or so loose below your right hand, that when the bait is stopped by a fish he may have time to gorge, then strike. Heave your bait across the stream and with the current, your stand being at the head of the stream, bring the bait round delibe- rately, and let it travel deep. When round, let it hang Fishing for Salmon. 41 for a second or two, and draw well out to the side for a fresh cast, cautiously. When a check occurs, be sure to give line instantly, but keep the bait on the alert, that is, do not let it get to the bottom. You will soon detect a peculiar strain upon the line, then raise the rod smartly, and you will have hooked your fish, which, if you manage as before directed, you may safely land. The practice of fishing for Smelts, followed by many Anglers, deserves the most severe condemnation of all true sportsmen, and is one great cause why Salmon do not increase in our rivers in the ratio that they otherwise would. Any Smelts, or young of the Salmon, if taken in trouting, at least, when under half a pound in weight, should be restored to their native element. I shall not, therefore, describe any method of taking them. SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION. ORDER IV. Abdominales. Ventral fins on the abdomen, behind the pectoral. GENUS SALMO. Salmo Solar. Salmon. ' ' Abdominal Malacopterygii. Salmonidce. " Salmo Solar. LINN^US. Bloch, pt. i. pi. 20. female pt^iii. pi. 98. male in autumn. Salmon, PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 382. FLEM. Brit. An. p. 179. sp. 40. " Its stages Parr, smolt or black fin ; grilse, first year ; Salmon. " Head smooth ; body covered with scales ; two dorsal fins, the first supported by rays ; the second fleshy, without rays ; teeth on the vomer, both palatine bones, and all the maxillary bones ; branchios- tegous rays varying in number, generally from ten to twelve, but sometimes unequal on the two sides of the head of the same fish. " The fin rays in number are " D. 13, P. 12, V. 9, A. 9, C. 19 ; Vertebrae 60." YARRELL, Brit. Fish, vol. ii. p. 1. K A THOUSAND foes the finny people chase, Nor are they safe from their own kindred race ; The pike, fell tyrant of the liquid plain, With rav'nous waste devours his fellow train ; Yet howsoe'er with raging famine join'd, The tench he spares, a salutary kind ; Hence too the perch, alike voracious brood, Forbears to make this gen'rous race his food ; Though on the common drove no bound he finds, But spreads unmeasured waste o'er all the kinds. Nor less the greedy trout, and glutless eel, Incessant woes and dire destruction deal ; The lurking water-rat in caverns preys, And in the weeds the wily otter stays ; The ghastly newt in muddy streams annoys, And in swift floods the scaly snake destroys ; Toads, for the swarming fry, forsake the lawn, And croaking frogs devour the tender spawn ; Neither the habitants of land nor air, So sure their doom the fishy numbers spare : The swan, fair regent of the silver tide, Their ranks destroys and spreads their ruin wide ; The duck her offspring to the river leads, And on the destined fry insatiate feeds : On fatal wings the pouncing bittern soars, And wafts her prey from the defenceless shores ; The watchful halcyons to the^eeds repair, And from their haunts the scaly captives bear ; Sharp herns and cormorants their tribe oppress, A harass'd race, peculiar in distress ; Nor can the muse enumerate their foes, Such is their fate, so various are their woes." BEST'S Art of Angling. CHAPTER IV. THE TROUTING FLY-ROD, LINES, ETC. HOW TO MAKE AND USE THEM. F all the implements necessary for a Fly- fisher the Rod takes precedence; there- fore in the choice of it too much care and attention cannot be exercised. Perfect sharpness and even pliability in the Rod may be compared to the perfect boring of a fowling-piece, both being alike requisite to project with certainty and regularity their respective messengers of death. Fly-rods are made in various manners, and of divers lengths, but the materials, in all cases, should be very dry and well seasoned. I will now enumerate the chief properties of a good Fly-rod, and, also, some of the de- fects of an ordinary one. The first essentials of a good rod are lightness and firmness, comprising smartness and evenness of spring, from the middle of the butt, supposing it a three-jointed Rod, to the point. In order to fish pleasantly and throw with precision it should balance as nearly as possible when held in the hand about eighteen inches from the butt, after the reel is on, the line run 44 Defects of a Fly-rod. through the rings, and your casting-line, stinting, &c. attached and ready for use. The length of it for such streams as the Wear, Tees, Swale, &e. should not exceed thirteen feet; under this length, if properly made, it will be perfectly and pleasantly manageable with one hand. It may be considerably shorter than this, say ten or eleven feet, if a man wades, which all Fly-fishers should do, if they expect to pursue their sport satisfactorily. One of the greatest defects which a Fly-rod can have is that of being top-heavy or lob-ended; that is, too pliant in the middle piece, if a three-pieced rod, or in the butt, if of two pieces. When fishing with such a rod you can never know with any certainty where your flies will fall on the water; and when they do come down upon a pool it is like a cart rope, with a great splash. This y ou will find very unsatisfactory to yourself and the trout that may be therein peacefully feeding. They cer- tainly do not require any such notice of your " being out;" they discover that soon enough, even though you may be exerting all your skill to prevent it. By no means have your Fly-rod ferruled but spliced, because ferrules not only add to the weight, but interrupt the even and free spring of it qualities so very essential in a Fly-rod. Moreover the lightest rod is found heavy enough after a hard day's fishing, the sinews of the hand and arm being constantly kept in action. Besides, how- ever well made and fitted the ferrules may be, they are all liable to swell or otherwise go wrong ; and sometimes become so tightly fixed after getting wet, that you cannot separate them at the water side, and are obliged to have recourse to a burning candle when you get home. The only way to loosen them without straining them is to turn them round in the flame so as to make the ferrule expand and permit the other piece to be drawn out. It Selecting a Fly-rod. 45 is a great inconvenience to be obliged to bring your Rod home unfastened. In selecting a Fly-rod take care that its pliability (its apparent or perceptible pliability at least) does not com- mence until about a yard and a half from the butt. The writer has used for some years a three-pieced splice-rod, only eleven feet in length, its weight being eight ounces, not " fourteen" as Col. Hawker recommends. The butt is of well-seasoned ash, the middle piece of hickory, and the top of lancewood. Each piece when made was without a splice in it ; it is therefore truly a three- pieced rod ; and for its fineness he has never met with one of equal power. It has a spring almost as smart as if it were of steel, if he may use the comparison, and it will consequently project a fly with the greatest precision, and yet it is not stiff in the common acceptation of the term, for a stiff rod of that kind is not fit for single-hair fishing. Lightness in throwing and quickness in striking are indispensable in Fly-fishing, therefore your rod should scarcely ever exceed eleven or twelve feet; indeed your rod can never be too light and manageable consistently with the strength required for the kind of fishing you are following.* There should not be a knot in any part of your rod that is brought into springing action, as, if so, there it will most certainly break whenever a strain takes place. If the top and middle piece be made of several lengths joined together, they should be cut from the same plank of wood, if possible, for then their spring will be uniform ; that is, one piece will not be stiffer or weaker than another ; otherwise the Rod will be worthless. When it is said * The writer's finest Fly-rod, in four pieces, weighs only five ounces and a half, and is eleven feet four inches in length. 46 Selecting a Fly-rod. that the Fly-rod should be pliant, it is not meant that it should have the pliancy either of a willow or a cart- whip. The proper method of making a Rod will be found under the description of the Worm-rod, the only difference be- tween a Fly and Worm rod being the greater delicacy and fineness required in the former. Its pliancy should com- mence, as I said before, about a yard and a half from the butt, and continue to the point. * By no means have that lob-ended appendage of whalebone at the point of any of your Rods, for it considerably deadens the spring of any to which it may be applied. Bamboo, if you can procure it good, perhaps makes a lighter top for your Fly-rod than lancewood, and is held in equal estimation as regards its other qualities. A two-pieced splice-rod, having a nice clean straight- grained piece of fir for the butt, and the top of either lancewood or bamboo, is equally as good as the three- pieced, and it has this advantage, that there is only one splice to tie, and only one risk to run of its working loose while angling. On the ground of inconvenience in carriage there can be no objection ; supposing the Angler to use a landing-net, whose shaft is six or seven feet long : in that case he can easily tie or strap his rod to it, which is thus more easily carried and better protected. To make a Reel-line. 47 LINES, HOW TO MAKE AND THROW PROPERLY. To make a Reel-line. " Come live with me and be my love, And we will some new pleasures prove, Of golden sands and crystal brooks, With silken lines and silver hooks." DOCTOR DONNE. ROCURE three quills and cut off the feather part evenly, as if you were going to make three popguns, and fit three wooden plugs into them about a couple of inches long. Next have some horse-hairs selected of any colour you prefer, but the colour is immaterial. Be careful to select four or five good round ones for the thinner end of your line, which you are to make first, in this way : Tie five hairs together at one end, insert two each through two of the quills, and one through the third, and fasten the plugs when the quills are about four inches from the knot, the loose ends coming out past the plugs. Then commence spinning in this way lay the three quills side by side, the plugs up between your left finger and thumb, and twirl or twist them round all at once with your right finger and thumb, every now and then righting the loose hairs at the top. Twist on until the line is made up to the quills ; loosen the plugs and draw up a few inches more ; fasten them, and twist again, until the line is made up to the quills. We will suppose you have now got nearly to the end of the'shortest hair. When you have taken out the plug insert another hair so that you can just see its end through the opposite end of the quill, then put in the plug which will fasten it, and twist again until it is platted 48 To make a Casting-line. in with the others ; and so on with the other hairs ; as you come towards the end of each continue this process, adding an extra hair every two or three yards, according to the stoutness required, until you have made it of the intended length, and you will have a nice tapering line. Then cut off closely all the ends which are standing out ; but if you have put the hairs in nicely there will be very few of these. Next put the thick end through the hole in the axle of your reel, tie a knot securely and wind it evenly on. After this take the thin end and tie a loop with well-waxed silk thread, cutting off a hair every turn or two as you wrap, from the loop, up the line, so that it may taper and not be liable to catch at the rings when being wound up after using ; for, if it does, you will most likely break your rod- top. If you do not wish to take so much trouble as this, purchase a Reel-line at the tackle shop ; remembering that a hair-line is better than one of hair and silk, or one entirely of silk, as it does not get so flabby as either of these and has a springiness which neither of them possesses. Be sure to select one that is well and evenly twisted and smoothly finished. To make a Casting -line. TAKE three well and carefully selected hairs, but do not stretch any of them by pulling, or your line when wet will pirik, that is, one or more hairs will stand out like a loop, a thing which by all means is to be avoided, since your line will be liable to break in that link. Tie these to- gether by a knot at one end, place the knot on the inside of your left hand, holding it uppermost, and put a hair between each of your fingers (or hairs when you have more than three for your length), the separate hairs hanging down from the back of your hand, join your To make a Casting -line. 49 fingers together to prevent their slipping out while plait- ing ; next take hold of the knot between your right fore- finger and thumb and twist it round, pulling the twisted part up as your work proceeds ; separate the loose hairs at the back of your hand when they get entangled ; twist again, again draw up the hairs, disentangle the loose ones, and so proceed until the length or link is complete, and then tie a knot in the end: After you have made a couple of three, a couple of four, and a five length, you must then proceed to tie them together with water-knots; which is done in this way : First, be careful to select your lengths so that they taper; next, lay an end of each of the two three-plaits alongside of the other, and over- lapping it just so far as to allow of your making a loop with them over your left fore-finger, pass a short end and a long one over and bring them through twice ; then take hold of a short and long end between each finger and thumb and draw them up, tightening each where it is required, cut off the short ends and proceed with an end of this and a four-plait ; then with the other four and the five ; tie a loop at the thick end, putting it twice through, as if making a knot, or wrap it with silk thread as for the reel-line, and it is finished. Of course, your line must be of the proper length for your rod, and must be regulated thereby. Remember that your casting and stinting lines together should be only about two yards longer than your rod, or you will not be able to net a heavy fish on your point or end fly without danger to your rod-top, from the loops of your casting and reel line sticking at the point-ring. Also take care that the top lengths of your casting-line are rather heavier when there is a wind, which will enable you to cast better against it. The knots of this line may also be wrapped with silk, if you choose to take the trouble ; but, if neatly tied, they look more sportsmanlike without, and the line 50 The Stinting or Point Line. is so much lighter. Some purchase a twisting machine of one of the dealers ; but great care is required in using this so as not to twist the lengths too hard. The Stinting or Point Line. IN the preparation of the stinting-line the greatest nicety is required, and in the proper fitting up of it the really good Fly-fisher is easily discovered. If the fish you are about to angle for average more than a pound in weight, you must use gut, otherwise single-hair is preferable. Bearing in mind that your line when made up must taper, select some of the finest, roundest, and most transparent lengths, dyed either green, which is the best, or a pale bluish colour, and tie them together, either with water-knots or slide-knots, (see plate viii.) until you have about two yards and a half or three yards for a very low clear water. Shorter may do in coloured streams. You should vary the length of it, moreover, according to the magnitude of the river you are going to fish. Suppos- ing you have not flies dressed ready to tie in, you should leave a piece of gut or hair pointing to the thicker end, on which to dress your drop-fly or flies. These should be about twenty inches apart, and the droppers about two inches in length. By the pieces of gut or hair being thus left (plate viii.) the drop-flies will always stand well off the stinting when the line is drawn against the water, and they are more secure than by any other method. If you use only two, which are generally sufficient and fish much lighter than three, the distance between them may be from two to three feet, except in small brooks, when they ought to be tied nearer to each other, The point or end fly should be the largest at all times, and the top drop-fly the smallest, or it will not cast well. Make the distance greater between your point-fly and Fitting up Stiiiting-lines. 51 middle or top one, which will enable the line to be thrown straighter ; after this dress your flies of any pattern you require ; tie the foot of your casting-line to the top of your stinting, as before described, by a water-knot, loop your casting-line to your reel-line, and your rod and line are now ready for a cast or throw. Of course, it is at the option of the Angler to use two, three, four, or half-a-dozen flies at once, if he can only cast them clear out on to the water ; but more than two or three should not be commenced with, and are generally found sufficient for averaged sized trouting streams. If you wish to kill trout in a very fine low water in the height of summer, where the generality of fish do not run very large, gut should be altogether discarded. All your ingenuity and skill will have to be exercised, during the months of June and July, in very clear and small waters. At such times, and under such circum- stances, you will have to resort to single-hair; and he who once learns to handle his fish tenderly with such a point-line or stinting will very seldom use gut, save in large and partially swollen waters, or when they are a little discoloured. The lightness and sweetness with which hair falls upon the water, and the stiffness it re- tains during a day's fishing, while gut gets flabby and falls heavily, give it such a superiority, that it is now become of general use among those who profess any skill in Fly-fishing. Horse-hair, to be fit for . Fly-fishing singly, should be round, transparent, strong, and of a good length. Like gut, hair may be dyed of any colour re- quired, some of the most useful recipes for which are given in another place. The casting-line which you attach to your single hair stinting, especially where your line and stinting are tied together, must be finer than one used with a gut-stinting. In selecting hairs for this purpose be careful in examining and trying each one, and 52 How to select Hairs for Stinting. be sure there are no flaws, cracks, or bruises in any one of them, and also that they are round. When you hook a fish thus tackled, always use your landing-net, and do not draw him on to the gravel bed if you can avoid it. The writer has lost many a fish and stinting by so doing ; for in thus landing a fish the hair, by some imperceptible means, gets cut or damaged among the sharp stones and gravel, and the next fish hooked most certainly takes the fly clear away, and perhaps a large portion of stint- ing besides ; at any rate, if you do draw your fish on to a gravel bed, always carefully examine your stinting previous to making another cast, for such precaution may frequently save both stinting and fish. Chestnut hair is generally the roundest and strongest, and is very good for a brown or black water ; when of a pale colour it answers equally well in clear waters. Cream-coloured hair, from Flemish horses, is found mostly of excellent quality, round, strong, transparent^ and of a good length. White hair is met with of all qualities. That taken from a tail composed of black and white hairs is often very transparent and strong, though, perhaps, not always very round. The opaque whiteness which some hair possesses renders it utterly useless for the Angler's pur- pose. When white hair is strong and transparent but flat, that shiny appearance which such hair generally has may in some measure be removed by dyeing it, green being the best colour for clear waters ; and then it is rendered nearly as useful as the round. An old and very excellent Fly-fisher used to say, when accused of angling with flat but very strong hair, " Ah, but you see I always contrive to throw it edgeways on, and then the fish can't see it ! " How to throw the Fly. 53 Throwing the Fly. NOTHING gives an Angler greater confidence than when he has mastered this difficult task; and I will pro- ceed to show him how it is to be accomplished, in as succinct a manner as possible. We will suppose that rod, line, and stinting are all ready, save that his gut- stinting is in stiff rings or coils, and does not look as if it could be thrown by any means straight out. To remove these, let him take a piece of India rubber and draw his stinting over it. By this means he will straighten it at once, instead of having to steep his line some time in the water, a process recommended by previous writers ; but which may thus be obviated and time saved, as well as any deficiences discovered in the line before using it. There are few of my readers who will fail to remem-* ber the sport they used to enjoy when boys in making clay balls or pellets, or getting potatoe-apples when they could be had, and casting them from the point of a stiffish hazel stick at any object. If any one should re- member the method of throwing these from the stick, and hitting any object aimed at with them, he will know ex- actly the way in which to throw the fly. He will also not have forgotten how often he used to fail in casting these pellets, &c. forward, and how frequently they fell off behind him, when he was making the cast. Just so if the Fly-fisher does not hit the right time in making his forward cast, crack goes his fly behind him. But if he make the proper sweep, and aim his fly with his rod in the same manner as he used to do his pellet from the hazel stick, he will just as certainly hit the spot aimed at with the fly, as he used to plump the object with the pellet or potatoe-apple. Of course, if there is a wind 54 The Right and Left-round Cast or Throw. at the time of fishing, allowance must be made for the effect it will have in causing the line to deviate ; in such a case his own discretion must guide him. There are two general methods of throwing or casting in ordinary Fly-fishing the Eight-round, and the Left-round casting or throwing. Supposing, then, that you have your line put on, of the length above described, let out a little more reel-line, so that your casting-line, stinting, and what you let out of your reel-line, are together half as long again as your rod. Take hold of your rod, letting the butt end reach nearly to your elbow, with the reel-line between your fore-finger and rod, ready for a run if you hook a large fish, and make the Eight-round cast in the following way : Raise the hand and fore-arm slightly, causing the point of the rod to pass outwardly or on the right-hand side, bring the top part of the butt of the rod over your right shoulder *and towards your right ear, and so forward, and round the same way again, once or twice. By this movement you will get the line on the sweep, which should be in an oval or egg-shaped form, the longer diameter of the loop thus formed being from front to back, and the smaller point of the oval the object you are fishing over or throw- ing at, and this in an oblique position. When it is com- ing the third time round, past your ear, force the point of the rod smartly forward by the action of the thumb, wrist, and arm, but chiefly the thumb and wrist ; aiming, as it were, your end-fly at the place you wish it to light upon. Be careful at the same time not to let the point of your rod touch the water. To prevent this, after you have made the forward movement, gently raise the end of your rod a little, and let the line fall where it is directed. If you are using a very long line your arm will have to be brought into more play, to assist the stronger action required of the thumb and wrist in How to fish Certain Waters. 55 throwing the whole of the line clear out. This move- ment must, as I before said, be made in an .oval form (and not a straight back and forward one) with the point of the rod. The greatest care is required to let the line be well behind you in the oval sweep before you make the forward smart movement, or you will, undoubtedly, either crack off your end-fly, @r your line and flies will beat in a heap just before you, to your no small mortifi- cation. Single-hair fishing with a long line requires very great nicety, on account of the greater delicacy of the material. As I have just before said, in directing your fly when making your cast, aim with the point of your rod at the object ; for you should never throw with- out some definite aim ; just as you would have done had it been a pellet on the end of a hazel with which you were aiming at the object, letting the end of your rod fall so as the whole of your stinting may light upon the water at the same time, and not your point-fly only, as many writers tell you, which is only necessary when fishing a natural fly or in particular and difficult places. Always have your best killer for the tail or end fly, be- cause you thus save much entanglement when netting your fish and can cast it to any point you choose. Besides, as there is hair only on one side, it alights more like the natural fly, and consequently the greatest chance of de- ceiving the sharp eye of the trout. When you wish, then, to cast over a fish that you have seen rise in a still pool, where the water is as bright and clear as glass, then give him the point-fly only, and just on the place where he rose. In fishing small places, nooks and eddies by the sides of rapid streams, &c. let no part of your stinting or line be caught by the stream, if possible ; for, if any part is caught by it, your flies are whipt out of the smooth water in an instant, and before the trout there 56 To fait fine and far off. can well catch sight of them. Moreover, if he should see them dragged over him in so unnatural a way they would only scare him. Throwing into such difficult places is only to be performed by an adept in the art ; and the tyro will only vex himself if he does nothing but try to throw his point-fly on the water every cast he makes, for in regular fishing this is by no means requisite. To fish fine and far o/is one of the greatest excellencies in general Fly-fishing. In using a very long line, which you have to do for this purpose, it is next to impossible with a short rod to make the point-fly beat on the water first. In making a long throw across a smooth pool, which is the place to test good throwing and in which to kill most fish, the following is the practice that I have invariably adopted : Bring your rod well up, round, and back, causing your line to make a fine sweep, and with a strong sharp effort of the wrist cast your line so that it may beat on the water about half way from the point desired, your rod-top coming down from the sweep nearly to the water, and pointing to the spot you wish your fly to fall upon ; raise the point at this juncture, and the line will run on the water with a fine wave-like curl, growing less and less until the end-fly falls as lightly as a feather upon the smooth water. By this means the stinting unfurls itself so lightly through its whole length, that you can only guess where it is by the gentle dimples your flies make as they drop one by one upon the surface of the glassy pool. It is seldom necessary to throw more than once or twice over the same spot in general places. If you do not rise a fish at the second cast it is almost certain that he has just dined. If, however, the water is very rapid and strong a cast or two more will not be amiss, frequent throwing being always practised by skilful Fly-fishers. If you cannot discern your flies upon the water, strike To throw against Wind. 57 as soon as you see a fish rise within reach of them ; and if you miss him, immediately throw beyond and above him and draw or let them float gently over the place ; if he fancy one, he will take it. Always carefully watch that you may strike at the first rising of the fish if you can, and, lest you should not see when you have a rise, strike as soon as you see the line go from you ; and keep your fly always in constant motion in order that it may appear the more natural. By making a long cast, in the way just described, the stinting comes down so lightly that you can scarcely distinguish where it breaks the surface of the water. In throwing a very long line, suppose to the opposite brae side where a fish is feeding close to land, I gene- rally adopt the Left-round cast or throw, as the line, I imagine, is more easily directed this way in such a cast, and falls more naturally from the hand and rod on the water. For this very long throw I bring my rod round to the left in front of me, and so deliver the line by the right side, sending the arm forward vigor- ously, the wrist and thumb also having made that smart thrust, before spoken of, at the exact time, when the line was well behind, so that it rolls out and falls over on the quiet pool like a wave on the beach, the flies alternately lighting like snow-flakes on its surface. When there is much wind this is the only way to make a good long cast against it ; and it is very necessary, in such a case, to thrust your arm well forward when de- livering the line, in the same way you do a cricket-ball when you wish it to tell upon the " timbers." In general fishing, however, a very slight movement forward with the fore-arm is sufficient. In Fly-fishing it is necessary to cast frequently, particularly in clear streams, for in that case the flies must be kept continually on the move and as little immersed as possible. It is always on this account 58 How to throw in Small Brooks. advisable to use a line no longer than can be commanded with comfort, especially in casting up strong streams, and then nothing but your single-hair stinting with the flies wall touch the water. The rod should not be allowed to come down too near the water in casting such a light line, the value of which in fine trout fishing cannot be over-estimated. In order to fish in small brooks, where there is much wood, another style of throwing has to be practised. You have probably seen a coachman use his whip and tickle his leaders on any particular part he wished. The same movements the tyro should practise with his rod and line without any hooks on, say in a garden. Here he should try to throw the point of his line into, under, or over any bushes, &c. in every conceivable way. For by thus practising only will he gain the faculty of calcu- lating distances and the power of guiding his line aright towards any desired spot. In fishing becks a line only the length of your rod can at times be used, and the practitioner will have to angle, as I have just remarked above, as if he were the coachman touching up his leaders. He will here also find opportunities for exer- cising his patience, skill, and observation ; for he has the bushes, &c. to keep his line clear of w r hen out of the water, as well as the roots and moss- covered stones, &c. to avoid in it. Be particular, in delivering your cast or throw, not to stop the rod too suddenly, but slightly raise the point of your rod, and thus retard the downward motion, making the line hang as it were in the air, and then it will fall softly on the water. With regard to Fly-fishing in clear waters ; as a gene- ral rule, fish up and across the pools and streams, which will allow you to throw a shorter line and kill more fish. Always, when possible, face wind and sun, which will Ocular Demonstration recommended. 59 give you an advantage, and never let your shadow fall on the water you are fishing. A little practice of the kind above described will be of great use, because, if it is essen- tial for a shooter to practise before he begins his sport, in order that he may be able to bring down his birds in good style, no less requisite is it for an Angler to follow the same rule, in order that he may fish well. I advocate the striking of fish in angling for the rea- son that when one takes the fly, or bait, he naturally closes his mouth upon either, and, if he be immediately struck, will as suddenly and securely be hooked; and this is the very best reason why the qualifications of quickness in eye and hand are so essential to a Fly- fisher. Any one will find that, by making a rounder and lower throw with a heavier casting-line, he will be enabled to project it against a moderate wind ; remembering that in a wind he is to keep the point of his rod closer to the water, to prevent the line being blown out and carried up by hurried gusts. I am aware that little can be gained from mere description ; therefore, if possible, let the learner go out with a good Fly-fisher, and observe him closely after reading the instructions here laid down ; he will thus be the better able to understand and apply them. Undoubtedly great skill is required to make your line fall lightly on the water, which in all cases it ought to do. Therefore the best way I can suggest is to throw out your line as to an imaginary object, about a yard above, or perpendicular to, where you wish it to drop, and, when it is cast out straight at that point, to let it fall softly and naturally, as it will do by its own weight. This is partially accomplished by raising the point of your rod gently and just before the flies come on to the water. When they light thereon, shake your rod-top with a kind 60 How to throw over and kill Trout. of trembling movement of the hand,* and this will keep the flies in motion, as well as bring them a little towards you. Still, you should let them be borne along by the current, and at intervals gently shake them by a tremulous mo- tion of the hand conveyed to the rod-top, and so to the flies. When you see a fish rise at the natural fly in streamy water, throw about a yard above him and a foot beyond, and not directly over his head, and let your flies move towards him with that tremulous shake I have several times before spoken of, which will show them to him in a more natural way, and tempt him the more to rise at them. If the fish rise in an eddy by the side of a fall or stream, or in a pool, cast your fly on to the very spot where he rose. If you throw above your fish in general stream-fishing, you will see him dart to meet and take your fly as he does the natural one. If he miss it, cast again and again, as long as he rises, until you either hook or kill him, and do not leave him before you do the one or the other. When trout are not feeding well, you may rise them several times without hooking them ; it is, however, far more satisfactory to kill one of these, than half-a-dozen that give you no trouble. When a fish rises strike promptly, as before described, but not too full or hard ; and, if he be very strong, let him run out with your reel-line ; carefully, and always gradually stopping him from making to a hold. If he throws himself clear out of the water, the moment he * Mr. Stewart says in his work, p. 64 : " For an Angler to at- tempt by any motion of his hand to give his flies a living appearance is mere absurdity." Now I venture to suggest that the absurdity lies in Mr. Stewart's own remarks regarding the handling of flies. I grant that with a stiff nine or ten -feet stick and gut it would be very absurd to suppose that such a motion could be conveyed to the flies ; but with a properly made, sharp, springy, fly-rod and single-hair, such a motion has long been and is used regularly on our fine waters by Fly-fishers. How to fish in a Wind. 61 does so put your hand well forward, so as to let him beat easy on the water, and ease your line if he should chance to hit with his tail ; but, as soon as he beats, haul him taut again, and so wind up your line until you can reach him with your landing-net. If, with the line thus shortened, he leap out again, quickly ease him as before, and again hold him firmly, and then, if you have your net held ready and draw him gradually and smoothly over it, he is yours. It often happens that, in striking a fish which has risen at your top-fly and missed it, you hook him in the side, or on some part of his body, with one of your other flies ; if you do so, be careful with him, for he will be twice as strong as if hooked in the mouth. A gentle breeze, as it aids the lure, is always favour- able to Fly-fishing. The natural flies are blown on to the water, from which they cannot rise on account of getting their wings wet, and so become an easier prey to the trout ; the fish* are thus tempted to rise and feed more greedily. There is nothing like throwing against a wind to test the spring of your rod from butt to top : if you find this faulty, either alter it yourself or get some one to do it for you ; for a bad tool never turns out neat work. While fishing you should be constantly watching your flies, otherwise they will be taken at a disadvantage to you, and the fish most probably lost. When a lull in the feed takes place, sit down either to lunch or to rest, or to have your pipe, and you will be ready when the feed begins again, and all the fresher for your work. When the fish are rising badly, and the wind blows up stream, it has been found that by casting against the wind, and allowing it to hold the line and flies against the water, they have been taken. In strong streams, and on warm days, this method frequently answers after all others have failed. But, for general fishing, never forget the oft-repeated advice to fish up and across the stream, 62 Pool-fishing more difficult than Stream-fishing. and the shorter your line the better you will hook and kill your fish. Experience alone can make any person a complete adept in the art, so as to enable him, as he pursues his sport, to throw his flies behind stones, into holds, under overhanging banks or trees, close to roots, and into places where the best fishes are generally to be found. That which chiefly conduces to success is to ac- quire an accurate knowledge of the habits and haunts of the fish for which one is angling, for without this know- ledge little can be expected. If, therefore, any one aspires to be an able disciple of good old Isaac, he will have to exercise his powers of observation continually and earnestly; for, where so many are candidates, and where high and low strive for the prize, he will be counted only a laggard who fails to attain moderate success. Take notice once more that all Fly-fishing is to be done up the water, if possible ; your own side first, then the middle, then the far side, regu- larly. In fishing up stream a trout when hooked rarely breaks the water, owing to his taking the fly a little under it ; therefore, as soon as there is the least indica- tion of a stoppage, and you do not see either your fly or the fish, strike. When the fly is drawn up or across stream, the fish dash at it, being afraid of losing it, and consequently often miss it altogether a strong reason why up-stream fishing is preferable. Fishing in preserved water is like battue shooting, it soon loses its zest. But where the peasant and the peer are alike free to fish, and trout are scarce, then are the merits or demerits of each fully discovered; and every - practical angler knows that to be able to kill fish in such waters is no mean accomplishment. Streams like these are decidedly the best schools for novices, because every faculty is called into active and constant practice, for How to fish a Pool 63 there the trout are both cunning and cautious. Mr. Stewart says in his work, p. 96 : " It is more difficult fishing streams than pools, as it requires greater nicety in casting, and on account of the water it is not so easy to see a trout rise." I totally disagree with him in this remark ; and to any casual observer, much less a practised Angler, it bears inconsistency on the face of it. For how can it be more difficult to cast a line in a rippling stream, so as to deceive the eye of a trout, than on a still glassy pool? Little or no fineness is required in the stream, but on the pool far otherwise the greatest nicety of cast, as well as the utmost lightness must be secured ; for even the natural fly considerably disturbs such a surface, how much more, then, an artificial one, thrown ever so artisti- cally? It might as well be asserted that a pebble cast into a smooth pool would not disturb it so much as it would a stream if cast into it. I therefore maintain that it is the finest feat of a Fly-fisher, because by far the most difficult, to throw on to a clear pool so lightly as to kill fish therein ; and it is without doubt one of the best tests of really fine and good throwing. In fishing a deep still pool cast your flies across, and suffer them to sink a little, then draw them very softly back, giving them a slight shake, without breaking or making circles in the water, and let them swim down a little before bringing them out again for a fresh cast. It is not " useless," as Mr. Stewart asserts in his work, p. 93, " to fish in the still water at the foot of pools when there is no wind," but very difficult, and consequently more exciting to a good Angler who is not a " pot-fisher." I say, miss no water that is likely to hold fish ; the variety is pleasing if not quite so profitable.. Never by any means plunge about in the water needlessly because you happen to be wading, for by so doing you will scare away more fish than you take. 64 Best Seasons for Fly-fishing. In fishing still pools the flies require the neatest and most expert handling, in order to show them to the fish in the most natural form. They should not be left motionless after the cast, but be gently drawn towards you, yet not so as to plough the surface, and this with that kind of tremulous motion of the hand, which I before mentioned, when coming over the spot where the fish that you are casting for rose. Neither should they be left long on the water, but be frequently recast, for in such places fish generally rise immediately on the fall of the flies. The best time for Fly-fishing is undoubtedly the fore- noon, from eight till eleven, taking the season through, and, next to this, the evening, from five till dark ; yet I must say that in May-fly fishing I have found very early morning a good time, as well as midday in the brightest sun. If the day is at first bright and calm, and then changes to cloudy without rain, but with a wind, large fish will come out to feed, and your sport will most likely be good. A word or two may not be amiss regarding the East- wind, so much abused by Anglers. From practice I have found that in spring, when rain is coming on with an East- wind after a drought, fish rise well. I have seldom known an East-wind in the height of summer, after or during a long 'period of dry weather, bad for Fly-fishing, more particularly when the water was very low and clear. This wind blowing up ruffles our East-flowing streams and pools, and thus gives an advantage to the Angler who fishes up stream. Also in an East- wind there is generally a paucity of natural flies on the water; and this also favours the Angler, the feed lasting the whole of the day, and the fish being, perhaps on that account, not so particular. In all streams much flogged by Anglers small flies will be found to kill best, otherwise the larger the fly How to throw the Flies. 65 the more sure are you to hook your fish, and these gen- erally of a larger size; but the kind of river and the colour of the water, as I said before, will in all cases regulate their dimensions. The earliness or lateness of a season is ruled by the weather, as this affects the breeding of insects. In the early part of the season the best sport is obtained at the tails of pools, and in the pools themselves ; but when it is further advanced the streams have the preference. April and May are the two best months for Fly-fishing. Mild showery weather is always good for sport, and frequently, in the height of the season, a downright wet day ensures a heavy creel. There is always " a feed" during some part of the day, and that is the time to kill the bulk of your fish. This is known from the way in which they begin to rise, as they make the water appear quite alive at such times. Take every precaution to throw your flies on the water naturally, that is, in the same way as the insects them- selves alight upon it, and let your imitations have as nearly as possible the same motion through the water, for trout readily detect any unnatural motion. If you learn to throw with the left hand, it will give you great advantage when among woody banks, &c. Mr. Stewart has probably not had much experience in really bright, low, and clear English streams, where trout are scarce, and the water open and much harassed by flog- ging Anglers, or he would never have made such erroneous observations regarding the pre-eminence of colour in general fly-dressing. Any bungler can kill trout in many of the Scotch waters, where they are so numerous, and natural flies, as well as Anglers, proportionately scarce. I do not here allude to flies dressed on gut at all, for that is only a material fit for a novice to use in our clear waters, or where trout 'run very large, but to single-hair. 66 Little Feather required in Artificial Flies. Dress two flies on single-hair of similar shape or form, but one of the colour that the trout are rising at, and the other of an opposite hue, and the true-coloured fly will take fish, when the other will hardly rise one. This is daily proved by professionals who make their living by angling. " Town-made flies," he very justly says, " have gener- ally too much feather;- and practical anglers put only about a third of the amount of feather on their flies, which is unquestionably one reason of their success." Now as Mr. Stewart has not accounted for this we will briefly explain the reason. The wings of the natural insect are, though varied in colour, exceedingly transparent, and the general material used to represent them is feather, which, though to a certain extent it possesses the hue, yet lacks the transparency. Therefore to use feather for the wing of an artificial fly as full and bulky as the ap- pearance of the natural one would at first sight suggest, militates very greatly against its transparency. Conse- quently, on this account a third of the apparently requi- site feather better represents the natural wing of the insect; and the only desideratum to be mindful of, in addition to this, is its proper length of fibre. For the above reason, also, new flies seldom kill so well as those that have got a little reduced by fishing. It is not denied, by any means, that four colours, the sizes varying accord- ing to circumstances, may be useful through the whole season. But to maintain that they are equally as deadly as a good imitation of the natural fly that is on the water at the time, is tantamount to saying that a shilling and a sovereign are of equal value, because they are the same size. Black, brown, red, and dun (or drab), take in a wide field as a basis from which to vary your flies, as they embrace all the varieties I am contending for, if applied through all their changes of light, middle, and dark tint, Winged Flies superior to Hackled. 67 save the mottled and spotted wing. But those four fixed colours will be found, at certain seasons, quite inferior to some of their modifications ; and the assertion of those who recommend them without qualification is altogether at variance with the principles of really practical Fly- fishing in our English clear- water streams. Highly-dressed flies for clear waters are unquestion- ably more killing than a clumsy representation. The great essentials of these are sparseness of wing and hackle, thinness of body and the exact tone of colour, as well as shape of the natural insect that is to be represented. Bear in mind, then, that shape, colour, and lightness are the three essentials in winged flies, as well as spiders. Mr. Stewart, p. 67, ranks spiders or hackles higher than winged flies. With all due deference, I beg to say that the contrary is true on our English streams, as a friend and I have tested over and over again. Trout may take a winged representation for a fly, but a bundle of feather wrapped round a hook can surely never be taken for such a delicate insect. Yet I by no means assert that a neatly-dressed hackle will not at times kill fish. What I do say is, that a winged fly is, when pro- perly dressed, for all clear waters, more deadly. Now I would not insist that the Fly-fisher should be prepared to dress an imitation of every kind of insect he sees the trout feeding upon, but I do urge the necessity of his being able to represent a large class of those that appear the greatest favourites. As we know that trout are exceedingly quick and clear- sighted, it is next to ridiculous to say, as Mr. Stewart affirms in his work, pp. 61, 62, " that it is highly impro- bable that they distinguish colour." Now having fished for nearly forty years, and having, during that long practice in English waters, paid some little attention to the craft, I am prepared to affirm, without the slightest 68 Colour in Flies proved Essential. hesitation, that colour in flies, as being so easily and cer- tainly detected by the quick-sighted trout, is of pre- eminent consequence to the dresser, whose object it is to produce an enticing lure. Mr. Stewart has failed in his endeavour to prove that it is not necessary to imitate any individual specimen of the insect tribe. He goes on to say that " we must now consider what it is necessary to imitate, or what do trout take, or rather mistake, the artificial fly for ? " Did any one ever suppose they took the artificial fly for a whale ? Why so much palaver about " what they take it for ? " They cannot mistake it they must take it for a natural insect, dead or alive, for it represents nothing else. He says also, " a neatly made, natural-looking fly will, where trout are shy, kill three trout for one which a clumsy fly will." What a grand discovery Mr. Stewart has here made ! What becomes of his clumsy-looking hackles after this assertion ? It might as well be asserted by Mr. Stewart that when trout are feeding on the blacJc midge he could kill fish with the white, scarlet, or even a harlequin. Why, too, does he recommend more than one colour if colour is not essential ? He is, to say the least, inconsisent, for he recommends, p. 70, three distinct coloured flies, and, at p. 71, three more. Now, if these colours are essential, why may not other combinations representing natural insects be more so ? If trout can distinguish those colours, it is a very strong argument in favour of their being able to select others; so that, if a dark can be distinguished from a light, we may reasonably presume that a yellow can be distinguished from a brown, and a plain from a mottled wing. I grant that flies of the same species differ much in colour j according either to locality, or season, as early or advanced ; or, to the natural change which they them- Diversity in Colour of Flies. 69 selves undergo ; but because they differ in shades of colour that is not to say that trout cannot distinguish that colour. From this very fact I deduce one very strong argument in favour of their doing so, especially in the case of most of the species of Baetis, such as the Dun Drake, which changes into the Great Red Spinner, &c. This fly is dark when it first comes on the water, and, as the season advances, it also changes to a much lighter hue, but still preserving its original shape a circumstance which does not affect my argument. But in the advanced season, when the light fly is on the water, the dark one is almost totally useless for killing trout. This every experienced Angler in our waters can affirm ; therefore if trout do not distinguish colour, what makes them thus particular or fastidious ? When a certain fly at a certain time of day comes on the water, trout fre- quently all forsake their former favourite and feed upon it. Does caprice seize the whole fry at once ? Or ratheu do they not detect the food designed by nature for them, and arranged doubtless by the All-wise Ruler of the Universe for some wise though to us inscrutable end ? May-flies differ considerably in colour according to the gravel in which they are bred. Lead-coloured gravel producing a similar hue in the fly, and bright yellow gravel a corresponding fine yellow-bodied fly. Three or four seasons back I was fishing the May-fly where the water ran over dark-coloured gravel, and I happened to be using a very yellow-bodied fly ; a trout made several runs at it, but never essayed to take it, and I then changed my fly to one of pure stone-colour throughout, and no sooner did he perceive this fly than he took it, and I killed him. On the same day the very opposite of this also occurred, when I was fishing in a bright gravelly stream with a dull-coloured fly, for here again success re- warded a change of fly. These facts clearly proved to me 70 Size, Shape, and Colour required in Flies. that trout are very nice observers of colour. Conse- quently, I was not a little surprised to find, in a book entitled, f " Angling," &c. by R. Blakey, these very sage remarks : " Now we have long arrived at the conclusion, that anglers are vastly more fastidious about the shape and colour of their flies than trout are. The fact seems to be that when trout are inclined to feed on this kind of bait, it does not much signify what shape or colour your fly is provided the size be strictly attended to. Any great dis- proportion in this particular will decidedly mar all chances of success." It is a pity that such utter trash should have been written by one professing to be an angler and pub- lished by a respectable house. The veriest tyro in the art could confute from experience such unfounded asser- tions. I have yet to learn " that trout will take a larger fly in May than June," as Mr. Stewart, p. 64, asserts. The fact that he has killed trout with the green-drake in May, and could not do so in June, when the fly was on the water in the greatest abundance, must be attributed to his want of skill, and not to the season. The green-drake requires particular fishing, for which directions under that head will be given hereafter. Again, if the trout do not see any resemblance between the imitation and the na- tural fly, why not use any colour and shape ? " If the size and colour suit, it will just kill as well as any other," Mr. Stewart says. " Indeed, a red hackle, dressed with red silk, and twisted round a No. 2 Limerick hook, will kill as well as a neatly dressed winged fly on same sized hook, with the same coloured feather and silk thread, and made to represent the natural insect in shape, as near as may be." If he make that assertion, and if I read his work aright, it amounts to this, I beg totally to disagree with him. It is as much as to say that a child could not distinguish a man dressed in sheep-skins and Causes of Failure in Fly-fishing. 71 one dressed in a suit of superfine black cloth. Why were shape, and colour, and size, given to insects by the Ruler of the Universe, unless it was to direct and guide His creatures in their selection of food at times and sea- sons proper for them ? Their shape and colour surely was not given to please the eye of man only, but for some more useful purpose in the field of nature. Again, Mr. Stewart asserts that " sometimes trout more readily take flies of one colour than another." And, because he can- not understand why this is, he writes against the use of more than three or four colours, and, if size be right, quite discards attention to shape and colour. One great cause of failure in Fly-fishing is, that parties will pursue the old, and now nearly obsolete and erroneous method, of fishing down stream, whereas up and across stream is really the improved and artistic practice. And for these reasons : first, because the Angler is unseen by the trout ; secondly, because he can thus use a shorter line, and kill his fish better ; thirdly, because he can work the stream yard by yard, and miss no place where a fish is likely to lie ; fourthly, because, when he hooks a fish, he does not disturb the upper part of the stream, and thus secures several fish, which, if he had fished down stream, would not have been the case, one or two at most falling to his lure ; fifthly, because, in down-stream fishing, on rising a fish he pulls his fly away from him ; or, if he should hook him, ten to one but in striking, he either breaks his tackle, or loses his fish. These grounds will be found sufficient, I trust, to show that the down-stream fishing ought, in general, to be discarded. Of course, there are times and places where such a practice cannot well be avoided, but it seldom proves good for sport. To gain what is called " an angler's eye" is of mani- fest importance in Fly-fishing, nay, in fishing of all kinds. 72 Attributes of an Experienced Angler. To be able, at a glance, to perceive where fish are almost certain to be, in any stream or water, is solely the result of observation and experience, and cannot be conveyed by any written directions. Without this apparently intui- tive knowledge, a man cannot be an expert Angler ; but with it he casts his flies on the water, morally cer- tain to find the object of which he is in quest, and is seldom disappointed, though he does not always make a capture. Every Angler in the kingdom deserving the appellation has some fixed idea, some general expression or outline, prefigured to his imagination, as to what a good fishing stream should be, and in what portion of it a trout is to be found. It has been remarked that " a fine fishing stream has all the standard elements of permanent beauty, that appertain to the beautiful in every branch of art or science whatever." CHAPTER V. THE TROLLING AND WORM ROD. " With rod and line I sued the sport Which that sweet season gave." WORDSWORTH. HIS, like all other rods, is obtained most easily from a tackle-dealer. If care, how- ever, be not taken in the selection, the Angler will find his purchase heavy, un- wieldy, and comparatively useless. This rod should be light and sufficiently stiff up to the point, or it will not answer for the work to which it has to be applied. It is generally about thirteen feet long, which is sufficient for most trout streams, and this length is comfortably manageable with one hand. A useful and light rod may be made by any handy man, that is, if he has any idea about a rod. For this purpose he should procure a piece of nice straight- grained fir, about an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half in diameter each way, and about seven feet long. This he should plane down square, so that it tapers gradually from one end to the other, but not too small. He should next get some slips of lance-wood, square but tapering, splice and glue them together, having the thick end of the same diameter as the thin end of the butt ; he may then splice and glue the two parts of the rod 74 How to make a Worm-rod. together : this done, the rough rod is laid down. Now comes the nice part of the work. Let him commence at the thin end and plane each side with an even taper to the handle, which must be left sufficiently thick. Wh.en this regular taper is made square from end to end, he should place the rod on its edge, and plane the top edge down, and so on with the other three. He will now be able to discover, by taking hold of the rod, in its octagonal form, the part or parts which require reducing in order to make it spring evenly. This reduction made, let him proceed to taper the eight edges off, as he did the former, but not so deeply, and then round the whole carefully. When he has arrived at this point in his work, he should again try the spring, but gently, for fear of opening the splices, and he will then see where any alteration is required, which must now be very cautiously made, remembering that the butt must be stouter than in the fly-rod, and the top also, though it should have a nice, light, even spring. The next thing is to finish it off with sand-paper, making it smooth and perfectly round, or the spring will be uneven. Steam or damp the splice between the butt and the top, to separate it. After this let him take some well- waxed black silk and wrap all the splices carefully and neatly. The top and butt must now be tied together with waxed thread, and the rod examined by turning it round, in order to see which way it stands the best and straightest, from point to butt. When this is ascertained he will mark the underside of the butt ; for on this side the rings will have to be placed. This is done by tying some thin slips of brass or copper with black silk, on the places marked for the rings, which should be rather nearer to each other on the top than on the butt. Here is the process : Make a wrap or two of silk, and then insert the flat piece of copper and make another The Plain Reel most useful. 75 wrap or two ; put the end of the part that is left through a ring, and press it on each side with your thumb-nail, which will leave a half circle for the ring to play in ; wrap up to the ring with your silk, and so past it, till you have covered the piece of copper fastening, and finish neatly off by two or three loop-knots ; and so on till all the rings are tied on. Then put a couple of brass hoops on the end of the butt ; the end one fixed and the other to slide, first having cut a groove for the flattish brass of the reel to lie in. Rub all the wrappings with any bright hard substance, to make them smooth and level. Stain the butt with ink, and when dry varnish it, as well as your top, which may either be stained the same colour or left as it is, according to fancy, and your rod when dry will be fit for use. Such a rod, if well made, will equal any London rod for the purpose intended ; it is obtained at a much less cost, and will be more highly appreciated, as being your own handiwork. Rings can be procured of any dealer, and are better stamped out of the solid metal than soldered, since they are not apt to open. To make a loop for the point, twist a piece of brass wire twice round a pricker and leave ends sufficiently long to tie it on by, and on no account put a piece of whalebone on the top, as it spoils all rods. The plain Reel is by far the beat for all purposes, and those with a short axle, and the plates of large circum- ference, as the one figured on Plate vin, are much better and stronger than the old-fashioned ones. It should be held to the rod by a sliding ferrule or hoop, passing over one end of the flattish brass, which should be made to fit into a bed prepared for it, by which means the reel is readily shipped and unshipped, as sailors would say. If you have a multiplying or stop reel, present it to the first juvenile angler you meet, not forgetting to give him six- 76 The Fly -fisher's Requisites. pence along with it, and you will be well rid of a useless and vexatious article. The Creel is usually of willow, either round or split, as in Plate vui. If j r ou like to try your hand at making one, I dare say it will amuse you ; but it is better to procure one at any of the shops ready made. Be sure, when you do purchase one, to have it large, for many things are conveniently carried to your fishing station in it, and let the strap be broad for comfort's sake. If you are not an abstainer, a small spirit-flask may be purchased. A Box for Lines. This is a useful article and keeps your lines free from damp, &c. It should be of tin, round, and from an inch to two inches deep, according to fancy. Have circular pieces of card-board, with lips cut in them, to separate your lines. Fishing -book. This can also be purchased at the dealer's of any fashion you may prefer. Any one can, however, make his own, which will answer every purpose, only do not let it be too small. Some have plain books with only two pockets and a flap to wrap over, the sepa- rations within being of fine flannel. This, take care, is not to be prepared or finished with sulphur as many flannels are, else all your tinsel flies will be tarnished. Parchment with cork or gum stamps stitched at the corners to save the flieS, &c. is preferable. The Angler's dress should be warm and comfortable, and generally woollen, but of a grey or darkish colour, not glaring, as it reflects strongly in sunshine. Boots. These I would by all means recommend to be made of leather, like the sea-fisher's boots, but much lighter. They are far superior to India Rubber boots. Waterproof stockings are very convenient if you are going a great distance, but these should be protected by woollen socks outside and in, and always turned inside out when The Landing-net. 77 taken off, to dry the perspiration that sets on the inside. But if the Angler is not far from the water, let him have leather boots by all means. A good pair, well taken care of and properly greased, will last almost a lifetime. See receipt for waterproofing them, given hereafter. The Landing-net. THIS is one of the most essential instruments requisite for a Fly-fisher, especially if he is wading and uses very fine tackle. This article is best procured at the dealer's ; but the Angler must beware of having a cabbage-net put into his hands instead of a real Angler's Landing-net. You can fit up one for yourself in this way : Make a shaft of sufficient stoutness, about seven feet long, of good straight-grained fir, as being the lightest, and see that there are no knots in it. This ought to be stout enough to serve you for a staff by which you may steady yourself among the gravel and stones while wading, &c. as well as in landing your fish. Fix an iron ferrule on the butt end and drive a hook into it, which is used for disentangling your line from anything to which it may get fastened. At the top fix a ferrule also, but one with a female screw in the end into which a male screw fits, which is welded on to a flat piece of iron the width of the net bow, and to which the latter must be securely wrapped with waxed thread. The bow for the net may be made either of a round piece of cane about as thick as a man's little finger, which makes a good, light, and tough one, a briar of the same thickness, or perhaps thicker, or a slip of ash such as coopers use for sieve rims. Bend this, either into a circular or oval form, as in Plate vui, according to fancy; if circular, it ought to be fourteen inches in diameter; and the same length 78 How to make a Landing-net. of hoop may be formed into an irregular oval of an egg shape. The circular rim should be nicely spliced and glued. The oval one is only to be tied on to the thin iron which is bent to suit it and is attached to the male screw. Either of these is to be pierced with holes, according to the number of loops on the circumference of your net. This net should not be so large in the mesh as to let minnows pass through, because it will be found useful in taking them when required. By no means carry a cabbage-net run on to an iron bow with a shaft about a yard long, no one professing to be an Angler would be seen with such an appendage. If you cannot make a net yourself, either purchase one or get some lady friend to make one for you, after this method, which is taken from " Notes on Nets," by the Hon. C. Bathurst : " Net a piece of dead netting of any number of loops in a row, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, but always observe an odd number ; net double the number of rows save one, i. e. 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, that you have netted loops ; this done, draw out the foundation string and fix it in the middle of the square piece and net round and round it. The corner loops want a little humouring at first, for a few rounds. The first mesh at each corner will wear a triangular shape ; but this will be no dis- sight, if carefully managed. Some netters make their square too large, which does not look well, and is by no means necessary. A small square will lay the foun- dation for a good sized net, and you can always increase the circumference by putting in false meshes when you please, but you must observe regularity in this, and divide the circle into equal parts for their insertion, otherwise the net will be lop-sided." After this is netted, if of thread, have it tanned for a few days, it will greatly preserve it ; but silk twist makes the lightest and best net. This done, cut a groove all round your How to use the Landing -net. 79 net rim or bow, from hole to hole, just deep enough to hold a double waxed thread. Next take a needle, not too thick, as it will have to pass twice through each hole, and double tailor's thread, well waxed, and be- ginning from the outside to the in, take up a loop of the net, and pass the needle back to the outside, then along the groove, and then again through to take up another loop or loops, and back again and so on, until all the loops are taken up, and each pulled into, or just through to the outside of the bow, and fasten off securely. All that is now left to do is to tie or wrap the flat piece of iron attached to the male screw securely to the bow, over the splice, with well-waxed thread, and your net head is then ready to screw on to the shaft. Paint and varnish the rim and shaft any colour you fancy ; black or green is, perhaps, the most sportsmanlike ; and when dry it is ready for use. The Proper Use of the Landing-net when Angling. IT is very surprising that so few Anglers really know how to use this instrument in a sportsmanlike style. Indeed, the proper use of it seems to be hardly attainable by some, who in other respects have some pretensions to be experienced Fly-fishers; they, therefore, deprecate the use of it. Often has the writer been amused while following one of these worthies in his frantic efforts to get the fish into his net pursuing the fish now here now there poking it after him as he made desperate efforts to get away, but never once holding the rod up or attempting by it to guide the fish to the net at one time pulling him away with the rod and line, then thrusting the net after him, for no other purpose, apparently, than to make the fish still more crazy, till at last he has cast it away altogether, and resorted to the juvenile method of haul- 80 How to use the Landing-net. ing up the fish, line in hand, and lifting him by it, or attempting to do so, when snap goes the stinting, and the fish takes himself off, to the said worthy's no small chagrin and mortification. Then follows such a lecture on the uselessness of the Landing-net that I almost question the party's sanity. Even Mr. Stoddart, great authority as he is esteemed in the north, seems not to have known how properly to net a fish, as he calls that most useful instrument, a Landing-net, an " inconvenient convenience ! " He, like all others who cannot use it properly, is greatly to be pitied ; for they lose much of the pleasure derived from fine single-hair Fly-fishing, at least we in these fine English waters would fare but badly without it. Rather walk with your fish than give him line, for you lose command of him by so doing; and always after you have hooked one keep your line tight, until you have jockeyed him into the net. In order to describe the proper use of the Landing-net we will suppose that you have hooked a fish while stand- ing in the water. First, then, run the shaft of your Landing-net forward until you are holding it in your left hand, in the same way as you hold your rod in the right, and at the same distance from the butt end, keeping the net head just in the water before you. Do not poke it at the fish to set him away, but keep it there while you draw up your fish with your rod and line, (having first wound the latter up to the proper length,) and pull him steadily towards the net, and, as soon as he is over it, raise it out of the water with him in it ; run your left hand up the shaft so that you can reach the fish with your right ; put your rod under your right arm ; take the shaft of your net under your left arm ; pass the fish to your left hand, holding him round the shoulders with your thumb in his gills ; take the shank of your fly-hook close to the bend How to use the Landing-net. 81 between your finger and thumb nail, getting the nail into the bend, which will save your fly from injury, and so pull it out ; hold your net in your right hand while you basket your fish ; resume the net with your left hand and your rod with the right ; let go the fly ; round with your rod, making a full sweep or two, and so to work again. Always contrive to pull your fish down or across the water to land him, either by your net or otherwise. When a good fish can be landed in this style it is one of the neatest feats of the craft, and at once stamps the practitioner as an accomplished artist. CHAPTER VI. MINNOW-FISHING. " Beneath, a shoal of silver fishes glides And plays about the gilded barges' sides ; The ladies angling in the crystal lake, Feast on the waters with the prey they take : At once victorious with their lines and eyes, They make the fishes and the men their prize." WALLER. Poem on St. James's Park. EXT to the use of the artificial fly, trol- ling with the spinning Minnow is the most exciting, sportsmanlike, and suc- cessful method of killing trout, grayling, pike, &c. Many Anglers have hitherto doubted the killing of grayling with the spinning Minnow. That they can be taken by this method the writer has proved more than once, especially in the River Ure, near Bolton Bridge, in Wensleydale, as far back as 1830. While trolling for jack there, he took several grayling from half-a-pound to upwards of two pounds in weight, with the spinning Minnow. He has also, since that time, killed them in the Swale and Skeeby Beck with the same bait. The best Minnows for trolling are those that have dark backs, and bellies of the brightest and most silvery white. These are to be got in most trout streams or brooks, and in any back-water or " dub-hole" left by the floods, where you may take them with a small Bull-head and Loach Fishing. 83 piece of worm, or a maggot, put on to a small fly-hook with the barb broken off, to save the mouth and bruising of the Minnow when taking it out. Minnows taken from such places are more silvery and better than those found in the thin streams of rivers, hence called Streamers, which have red fins and are tinted with all the colours of the rainbow, the bellies being of a dusky golden hue ; beau- tiful little fellows indeed, but very inferior to those of the silver-belly for trolling. Where Minnows cannot be procured, the stickle-back, loach, and bull-head or miller's thumb may be substituted. The miller's thumb should have the two pectoral or breast fins and back fin cut off, and the stickle-back should be deprived of this last- named appendage. Very large trout are often killed with both the bull-head and the loach. They should be fished closer to the bottom than the Minnow, therefore the line will require heavier shotting or leading. The bull- head is much used by Anglers on the Weald and higher parts of Tees, and is a very great favourite with them. They sometimes cut it into pieces and bait it like a worm ; when cut up it resembles a gray snail. The same Anglers assert that trout cannot be taken by trolling with the Min- now in the Weald, as I have before mentioned, and none are found there, though the bull-head and, I believe, loach are plentiful. It is also stated that there are no eels in the Weald. The first account, if true, is rather curious, as one would imagine that all small fish bred in% fresh waters were food for, and would be taken by trout ; and I am inclined to think that if trolling failed, the live Minnow would there take some noble fish. Minnow trolling may be practised thte whole season, especially in early morning, and is capital exercise both for body and arm, for the latter is kept in full play and the former moving on, while the bait is in a continual spin or troll. 84 Advantages of Trolling. The great advantage of trolling with the Minnow is, that it may be very successfully practised at those periods when the water is unfit for the fly. The strongest streams are best for the purpose; even holding it in white water answers well. I have seen this done with good effect when the water was black or brown after a flood, or when discoloured from any other cause. It is not only a destructive bait in thick or discoloured, but even more so in clear waters, and on the brightest days, when killing fish with the artificial fly is most difficult. At such times it answers well for a change, and is very exciting sport, because you can in clear water see your fish as he rises to take it. If he be a large one, the play tries the nerves a little, particularly if you are very finely tackled, which you should be when angling in this way, the fineness of your tackle tending in no slight degree to increase your sport. There are various opinions as to the best method of baiting with the Minnow, each troller being wedded, as it were, to his own. I will now try to explain a few of these. We will begin with the simplest set of hooks called a Minnoiv tackle. When trout, &c. are on the feed this answers every purpose, and is the least likely to give trouble, because there are fewer hooks to get entangled in the meshes of the net when landing a fish than in the other plans where more hooks are used, and consequently exposed. To carry out this, take a large-sized worm-hook for a middle-sized Minnow, or even one as large as the middle- sized salmon flies are dressed upon for a large Minnow ; that is, adapt the size of your hook to that of your bait, (some use a No. 10, or 11 Limerick,) and tie it on to a good round length of gut, then take a No. 4 Limerick fly-hook and wrap it*on to the same piece of gut, so that the bend of the smaller hook may be about a quarter of Methods of fitting up Trolling Tackle. 85 an inch from the end of the shank of the larger hook. This will leave about half an inch of clear gut between the whippings. The stinting should be of good round gut about two yards long, tied with water-knots, either wrapped with silk thread or not, according to fancy. In this should be fastened two swivels, the one about a foot and a half from the bait, the other three feet distant from it. Two, three, or more split shot should now be fastened on half way between the swivels, for angling in strong or discoloured water, to keep the bait down ; but these are not requisite in clear-water fishing with a very small Minnow. The swivels are best fitted in by loops in the gut. The casting-line should be fine but strong, with not less than four good hairs for the end next the gut, and only about a yard or a yard and a half long, to enable you to fish with a short line in small brooks, &c. and be looped on to the reel-line in the same way as the fly-line, when it will be ready for the bait. The Minnow is baited on such a tackle in the following way: Insert the point of the large hook into the mouth of the Minnow and run it out at the tail, or nearly so, if your Minnow be rather large for the hooks you have on at the time. Close the mouth of the Minnow, insert the point of the small hook, which is called the lip-hook, into the outside of the under lip and bring out at the top side of the upper lip about the middle of the nose, which will keep the mouth closed, and it is ready for use. Be care- ful to bruise the Minnow as little as possible in the above operation, for it is a tender fish, especially in the belly, which generally fails first. The Angler must use his own discretion as to the size of the Minnows he uses. This ought to vary according to the state and size of the water, and the weight of the trout, &c. which he expects to take. The greatest precaution must be taken to ensure 86 Methods of fitting up Trolling Tackle. the Minnow's spinning quickly in the water ; for on this quality success most materially depends, and it is only attained by your Minnow being properly curved at the tail on the large hook. A Second Method of Fitting up a Trolling Tackle. HAYING tied the large hook, as for the last, take a length of gut and tie on three double-hooks, about half an inch apart, between bend and shank, the one on the point, the ^smallest as a fly, tail, or point hook, the others to suit the size of the Minnows you are using. Tie these so that the bend of the top double-hook may be about a quarter of an inch from the end of the shank of the larger hook. To bait with this tackle insert the large hook as before directed, and put the top double-hook either, as before stated, for the single hook or the reverse, stick the middle double-hook in near the back fin and leave the point one, as a fly or tail hook, loose. In thus baiting one hook will stand up and the other down at the lip, one up and another in at the back, the large hook out at the tail, and the point double-hook free. A Third Method for a Trolling Tackle. TIE a small triangle or double hook for the lip-hook, a good sized triangle for the middle, and either a small triangle or double hook for the point, at distances to suit the size of your bait. Insert the lip-hook as before mentioned, then bend the Minnow and run the middle-hook through the roots of the back fin, giving the Minnow, as is re- quired, a good bend, to make it spin well, and leave the point-hook free, as before. This is the best tackle for a one-handed party to use, because easy to bait, and as good as any. Baiting by this method does not injure the Min- The Trolling-rod. 87 now so much as either of the former, which is a great consideration, for much depends- upon a tidy bait. Never troll with a Minnow that has part of its entrails hanging loose ; it is useless in clear water : always take the loose parts off, or put on a fresh bait ; for, if you do not, you must not expect much sport. For a very fine clear water I would only use a small and a large triangle, and no loose fly-hook hanging be- hind the bait, fine tackle, and very small hooks, and Minnow. Tackle of this description has this advantage, that you can use almost any sized Minnow ; only be careful to bend it well before you fix the triangle in the back. As to cramming an ounce of lead down the throat of a Minnow when baiting, those parties may choose to do so who deem it essential. I cannot imagine that it is so, or that it is the least likely way to injure the Min- now. There are, of course, many other plans of fitting up and baiting trolling tackle ; but any of the above are sufficient for the purpose, and a further description of others would not serve any useful purpose. See Plate ix. for these and other tackles. The Trolling-rod and Manner of Trolling the Minnow. THE Trolling-rod for trouting should not be above thirteen feet in length, for if longer it becomes wearisome to the hand, (this fishing being the most laborious of any,) neither if longer is it manageable. It should be made of the very best material, since trolling tries a rod more than any other kind of angling. Strength and stiffness should be combined with a fine even spring ; and it should be proportionately stronger in the butt than the fly-rod, or you will not be able either to cast with precision or troll either against or across a stream, or strike your fish sharply and strongly ; all of which should be done. The 88 Method of Minnow Trolling. action in striking must be perpendicular, or a little down stream, or you will run the risk of drawing the Minnow from the fish instead of killing him with it, should he rise short. When the fish is hooked, the rod should be held upright, as much as possible, by poking the butt of it, as it were, at him : thus the line will have the full play of the rod to ease it, and will hold a heavier fish in this position than in any other. To make your cast, have your line and tackle about a yard longer than your rod, that it may be under full command. Take the Minnow in your left hand, having your rod in your right, the p'oint turned to the left, and about a half a yard from the ground or water ; then raise your rod, passing it outwards and upwards as you let go the Minnow, at the same time aiming the point of the rod to pass over the place, as it were, that you wish the bait to fall upon. When it is nearly out at full stretch, drop the point of your rod down again to within a few inches of the water, and the bait will fall not far from the place you intend. We will suppose that it has done so. Then, sometimes by short and sudden jerks of the rod, sometimes by steadier and longer pulls, force your bait along, either up, down, or across the stream, &c. as you may deem likely for a fish. It is always good to troll downwards across the stream when fish are shy. Drop in your Minnow gently, a little above any likely hold, let it sink a little, then, keeping your rod close to the water, jerk it easily, as above described, and be sure to keep it continually under the water and spinning as quickly as possible. Do not neglect to fish it well out to the edges of the water, because, in coloured water espe- cially, most fish are caught near the edges, these being the haunts of the Minnow. You can scarcely fish too deep, if you only clear the ground. Never regret your bait being out of sight, though it is much pleasanter to Clear-water Trolling. 89 see it ; you will feel the fish easily, or perhaps see the water agitated when he rises ; lift your rod and strike as uprightly as you can, or a little with the water. If you strike in too great a hurry and horizontally, the way you are trolling, you will snatch the bait out of the fish's mouth, whether he will or not, supposing he has struck it clear of the hooks ; but this he can scarcely do even with the simplest tackle, much less with the more complicated. Trout are frequently seen to follow the Minnow to the very edge, yet hesitate to take it. When such is the case, do not halt or stop in your trolling, but keep on at the same speed. The next cast he will per- haps dash at it just as it is emerging from the water, even at the very edge. It sometimes happens that a fish, if either he has not risen when followed, or has risen and missed, will not rise if you continue to troll in the same direction. When this happens, troll past him in the op- posite direction, and he is often tempted, particularly if you troll at a greater speed. That is, suppose you have been trolling against the stream, reverse your plan and troll down stream, fetching it past him like lightning, and you will almost certainly startle him to take it. This has been frequently proved. In all clear-water trolling it is best to wade up stream, and fish before you on either side, for the same reasons as those given under Fly-fishing. Clear- water trolling re- quires finer tackle, smaller Minnows, and less lead ; only keep your bait well under water. In the summer months, or from the middle of April to the end of August, trolling is not so successfully practised in the day time, though the water be clear and the weather dark and windy. The reason of this is probably that in the beginning and end of the season Minnows are a novelty, and they then take them best, while afterwards, when they get cloyed or surfeited with them, and a greater variety of baits 90 Artificial Minnows. comes in, they wantonly forsake them, and turn more readily to other food. Moreover, windy weather causes a scarcity of flies, and a consequent dearth in this supply at the latter end of the season, when a more than ordi- nary appetite is raised, and they then once more take to the Minnow. The best season, then, for Minnow-fishing is considered to be from the middle of March to the middle of April, and again in September, in a west or south- west wind. As a general rule, when trolling keep the point of your rod below your elbow. Remember, as I said before, that the chief consideration and cause of success in trolling is undoubtedly the rapid spinning of the Minnow ; there- fore, if your bait be deficient in this qualification, remedy it immediately, either by curving it more or putting on a fresh one. You should not, at the same time, pass over any place likely to hold a fish, directions for which have been given in the chapter on Fly-fishing. Artificial Minnows of greatly improved make may be procured of any respectable dealer. They vary much in shape, size, and material, but none are so effective as the natural bait ; though when going to a distance, and where baits are not to be had, they may give some little sport. The spoon also, another representation of a spinning Minnow, is deemed by some very effective, though I cannot say much from experience in favour of any of these after having tried them all in the Wear. Doubtless where pike abound they might be found serviceable ; but I speak only from experience, and that in very fine water and where few large fish are to be found. As to their taking salmon I cannot answer ; I have risen bull-trout with the spoon, but was never so fortunate as to take one with it. To fix shot on your gut line : Take a B shot, and, placing it on a piece of board with a little hollow in it, Fishing with Live Minnows. 91 cut it better than half way through with your knife ; into this slit lay your gut, and putting the shot between your teeth, close the two halves of the shot on the gut. This plan may not be good for the teeth, but it is the readiest. If you do not like to adopt it, purchase a shot- cutter, &c. of one of the tackle dealers. Fisjiing with the live Minnow is very deadly and takes the best fish ; particularly trout, pike, perch, and chub, either in river, lake, or pond in clear water. Procure a soda-water bottle, and insert a quill through the cork for air ; in this you can carry about a score of Minnows. Some provide a can with holes in the lid for the same purpose. Have a good strong tackle fitted up, as for worm, with a single hook, and a No. 1 shot about twelve inches from the hook, and a float of such buoyancy as to allow the bait to swim clear of the bottom. Insert the hook through the forepart of the back fin, just within the skin of the back, so as to balance the Minnow. Drop it into any pool or hold where you think there is a good fish, and you will not remain long without hooking one. When a fish bites, which you will see by the float going under water, strike up directly, and land as before described. We are glad to find that the practice of Angling is now become common amongst ladies, and that they may now be frequently seen fishing, either with the Minnow, Worm, or Artificial fly, from boats in ponds or lakes, and a very pleasant pastime it is for them. We hope that many happy fishing days may be spent by them on the " deep blue " lake, the delights of which will never fade from their memories. CHAPTER VII. THE STONE-FLY OR MAY-FLY. PLATE II. xcvu. " Glide gently, thus for ever glide, O Thames ! that Anglers all may see As lovely visions by thy side As now, fair river, come to me. O glide, fair stream ! for ever so, Thy quiet soul on all bestowing, Till all our minds for ever flow, As thy deep waters now are flowing." HIS fly is found under stones, and among gravel, by the sides of brooks and rivers. It is hatched from the creeper and issues from the shell before it has completely gained the use 'of its wings. It is about an inch in length, of a brown or stone colour, with yellow rings round the body, though some are altogether of a stone - colour. There are two kinds, Jacks and Gins, as they are termed by Anglers. The Gins are most esteemed, having four large wings that project beyond the body; while the Jacks have wings only about half the length. It is the most killing of all natural flies, and from its size is the most easy to bait with ; and, as it is the largest, so is it the toughest of natural flies for day fishing. The I'.l.ATK II . May-fly Tackle and Baiting. 93 greatest nicety, however, is required in throwing, to avoid whipping it off, as well as to fish with it scientifi- cally. There are two general methods of fishing the May-fly, namely, above and under the water. To fish it successfully, above or on the surface of the water, requires some practice to accomplish properly ; but when the re- quisite nicety in throwing is attained, the Angler will experience such a degree of pleasurable excitement in fishing it on the surface as words can but feebly de- scribe. Of the two methods of fishing the May-fly the surface has the preference, for when you fish it on the top of the water you see your fly and your fish ; while in the under- water fishing you have, nine times out of ten, to strike when you feel the fish, but do not see him. This latter mode is little better than worm or lob fishing ; while the former equals, if it does not exceed, the pleasure derived from artificial Fly-fishing. To prepare your tackle for this fly, take a Limerick hook, No. 4 or 5, and whip it on to a fine round piece of silk- worm gut with yellow silk. To this tie a stinting of the same, dyed green, about a yard and a half long, round and fine, as the lighter the stinting the less liable it will be to drown your fly, or draw it under the water. Attach to this a good taper casting-line, which loop to your reel-line ; the casting-line should be a little heavier than common, as it will assist in carrying out the heavy fly without using too much force, which would only whip it off, if the back sweep in throwing were not care- fully made. Then, taking the body of your fly between the finger and thumb of your left hand, the wings touching your thumb and the head standing clear, insert the point of the hook through the thick part of the shoulder, so as to come out at the opposite side. The width of the fly should just fill the bend of the hook, 94 May -fly Fish ing. which is to be regulated accordingly. The point of the hook will then lie along the cheek of your fly on one side, and the shank on the other. Having thus baited, you proceed to USQ your fly in this way. Wade into the water, and fish up or across the stream ; for two reasons : first, because you will be unseen by the fish above you and for which you are angling ; secondly, because if you fish down stream every time you raise your rod for a fresh cast you will pull the fly either under the water, which will tend to sop it, kill it, or draw its head off, or lose it altogether by the resist- ance of the stream. Very little of the stinting should be allowed to touch the water for the last reason, even when fishing up the stream, which by all means should be your practice when the waters are low and clear. Your line should seldom be more than half as long again as your rod, which will give you a proper com- mand, and enable you to throw your fly into a place no larger than a tumbler. And in striking, do it straight up, which, with the length of line described, will be sure to tell, there being little or none of it in the water to prevent the stroke taking instant effect. Fishes in their natural element ever lie with their heads up stream ; consequently, by beginning at the tail, and fishing up yard by yard, you may take a dozen fish out of one stream. Whereas, by fishing down, you would at most take two or three, your first fish most certainly disturbing all below. When the wind blows up stream, it will render the fishing up comparatively easy, and it will keep your line out of the water, and thus prevent your fly sinking. Your fly will also ride on the water in the same way as the natural fly, at liberty, would do ; namely, with its head down stream, the wind acting upon its wings as upon a vane. This also applies to small Fly-fishing ; and, if adopted, I doubt not will be May-fly Fishing. 95 found as successful as it has invariably proved with the writer! ' By sometimes throwing your fly on to a stone, bank, or any other projection, and gently drawing it off, so as to drop on the water close by, you will assimilate your practice to the natural habits of the fly ; and, if a trout should have his hold there, you will have the best chance of killing him, for in such a case he will take it fearlessly. Never miss a single spot where you fancy a fish may be laid ; observation and a little practice will soon teach you this. Do not forget that thin water on the side opposite to that from which you are fishing. Amongst stones are the most deadly places in which to use this fly. Wher- ever a little foam stands near a stone by the edge of a stream or losh your fly should be cast ; for there you will most certainly find a fish. By the edges of streams run- ning past grassy banks are always good spots in which to throw it. The greatest delicacy is required in throwing this fly, with a long line, across large pools and streams towards the opposite banks or braes, for it should, generally, just fall on them and be gently pulled off, when a rise is almost certain. Be careful, however, in making your sweep to get your fly well behind before you give the forward motion, or you will whip it off. Fishing the pools in this way, when not too wide, is most deadly. Under trees and bushes, or anything overhanging the water, you should never neglect to cast, for in such localities trout are generally to be found. It is good practice at midday, when the sun is very hot, to fish with the May-fly in very rough white streams, casting to the top and letting it come down to you. In such rapids I have killed some of the largest trout. The best trout, indeed, invariably lie in the deepest and strongest streams at this season. Mr. Stewart, in his work on the same 96 Where to throw the May-fly. subject, says " that the fly is to be kept out of the main current or his flies will come down too fast." I have not yet discovered that a natural fly, riding on the stream, however fast, was ever going at too great a speed for a trout to take. And I maintain that there are few places better, or even so good, in a low clear water, to angle in with this fly, as the most rapid part of the stream ; but then the fly should only be allowed to touch the water. In such places, at such times, and in such waters, the largest trout are to be met with, which has been indu- bitably tested, both in May -fly fishing and Trolling with the Minnow. The sides of such streams are certainly to be fished first ; but when a fish is hooked there, does he not immediately make for the strong water ? If the sides fail, then try the streams, even the roughest. This has answered, too, in small Fly-fishing, and large fish have been taken, especially with the black midge, the smallest of our artificial flies. To prepare a tackle to fish the May-fly under the water : Whip on a long-shanked green-drake hook, and arm it at the end of the shank with a piece of bristle or fine brass wire, on the end and top of the shank the remainder of your stinting and line as before. Insert the point of the hook in the throat of the fly, and run it out at the tail ; then thrust the bristle or wire arming through the head, bringing it out at the top, which will keep the fly right on the hook, and prevent its being dragged off by the water, or whipt off by casting. Throw your fly near some hold, and pull it under water, or let it be carried down by the stream as it winds along; and when your line stops, strike straight up, as in worm-fishing. I have sometimes known this method succeed tolerably well, especially in the early part of the season, when the fly had not got well on to the water, for it then resembles creeper-fishing ; and also, when the fish have been gorged May-fly Tackle. 97 for a few days with the fly it has proved deadly. Yet the surface-fishing has done equally well at such times ; and, for sport, one fish taken on the surface is worth ten taken by a method so closely allied to worm-fishing, by the feei only. The great beauty of Fly-fishing is to see your fish before he takes your fly ; which you will gene- rally do, if you watch your fly. This, too, gives you an idea of what resistance you are to expect from the fish, if you hook him ; while the fishing it under the water is but fishing in the dark. I prefer a tackle fitted up in any of the ways following to either of the other when trout " fight shy." Use two hooks instead of the arming, the point-hook a No. 3 or 4 Limerick, and the lip-hook a No. 2. Or, a small triangle for the point and a lip-hook, No. 2 Limerick. Or, when the fish are very shy, three triangles or double hooks, one at the point to project beyond the fly as in minnow tackle ; these triangles should be very small. Fix the uppermost triangle or double-hook through the head of the fly, the middle one through the. body, and leave the tail one free. The only unpleasant thing is, that, when you have netted your fish with these last-mentioned tackles, the triangles or double hooks sometimes get so fixed in the fish, or entangled in the meshes of the net, as to cause you much trouble in dislodging them, and a great waste of time. May-flies differ considerably in colour, owing, I ima- gine, to the colour of the gravel among which they are bred. Some are of a fine yellow colour in the body, while others are stone-colour, like the wings. The Jacks are preferred by many for under-water fishing, probably because they more resemble a creeper. The May-fly comes on the streams in Yorkshire and Durham about the 98 May-fly Horn. 29th of May, varying according to the forwardness or lateness of the season. It is always earlier on the lower streams of the rivers than on the higher ones, and con- tinues in some seasons, as on High Tees, almost to July. The best method for carrying these flies is by means of a horn like a forester's, bored with plenty of small holes for air ; bung up the wide e.nd, and for the other have a cork with a hole through it for a string to pass through, having a knot at each end to prevent it slipping ; leave a tag at the outer end, pass the string through a hole made in the inner side of the neck of the horn, and attach this to your strap. This will allow the cork to come only a short distance, and when let go, it will be pulled into its place. The." Practical Angler" says : " If the flies are coming down with their wings out of the water, the trout make a fair rise at them, but, what is rather singular and quite unaccountable, rarely take a proper hold. It is better to have the flies thoroughly soaked" [to make them more tender and palatable and hence more tempting ! Is that the case, Mr. Stewart ?] " and under the surface, when the trout take them in a much more deadly manner ; and the first indication the Angler receives is a stoppage of the line, when he should slacken for a moment or two; then strike down stream, and be very careful in landing, as the fish thus taken are very large and strong." Such advice is certainly rather singular and quite unaccountable, Mr. Stewart. First of all, how do the natural flies float down the stream ? Is it not with their wings out ? Most surely it is. Then why try to improve upon nature? Should she not be our guide ? Keep, I say, the fly on the surface of the water with its wings out and dry, and floating down to you with the current ; and when a fish rises strike straight up, as you are generally below the fish ; if not, a little across. Trout sometimes miss the Mid-current Fishing successful. 99 natural fly at the first rise, but they turn again, and very seldom miss the second. Notice him closely, and, if he miss your fly, do not strike ; he will turn again and rise to it, and, if he does, will almost as certainly take it ; then strike as quick as thought, and, nine times out of ten, he will be hooked. Again, when you hook a fish with the May-fly it is generally well fixed ; also, as strong tackle is used, and a length of line that you can command, I advise you to make short work with him. You are supposed to be below him, he is thus pulled back over with the aid of the stream, your landing-net is out, and you guide him by your rod and line right into it, with very little loss of time. Indeed, I have found fish killed faster with the May-fly than by any other means, save the small-fly, and for the above reasons. You will frequently lose your fly if you strike and miss your fish ; but that must not deter you from striking, as it is requisite to fix the hook. The Writer just alluded to also asserts that " the May-fly is most killing when the waters are large and dark-coloured." This may be the case in Scotland, but it is the reverse with us. It is not unfrequently the case that the lowest and brightest waters and the sunniest days are the best in such streams as the Wear, Tees, Swale, Ure, and Wharfe. Again, he says " that the Angler will seldom get a trout in the centre of the current." I affirm that you will frequently get trout in the centre of the current, and those of the largest kind ; therefore, I say, brother Angler, miss not a throw in such places. Large fish are always found in strong, deep, rapid streams. Of course, do not omit the edges and eddies, always throwing above where you expect the fish to lie, as the fly then rides naturally down and over him with the stream. But never be so foolish as to adopt the plan of putting " two or three May-flies on if they be small." 100 How to preserve May -flies. If your flies are small, use smaller hooks ; for the flies naturally never go down the water two together, there- fore follow nature where practicable. Gather your flies the night before you use them, but not earlier, as confinement may kill them, and keep your horn in a damp place, or, better, in your garden, if you have one, and under a bush, to prevent the sun's rays getting at them. They will keep sometimes this way two or three days; under necessity you may use dead flies, if not too dry, though, of course, you must not expect the same sport with them as with the live fly. You may either use your ordinary fly-rod (but if a very fine one you will only strain it, and it would be better, in that case, to use a stronger one), or your worm- rod, if not too stiff. From ten to twelve feet is quite of sufficient length, and the lighter the better for comfort's sake. My method of making the artificial May-fly is given in the list of flies hereafter named, and has proved, on windy days, very successful. The Angler must keep in mind that in those brooks having high banks, and few or no gravel-beds, he will not find the May-fly, or s.tone-fly, but the green-drake ; and, vice versa, though not to so great an extent, some green- drakes being found on almost all streams where willows, &c. fringe the edges here and there. CHAPTER VIII. THE GREEN AND GREY DRAKE. PLATE II. cxciv. HESE are the most beautiful of our English insects, and are taken with avidity tfy trout, chub, and grayling. They are found more or less on all streams, but chiefly where willows and grassy banks fringe the streams. However lightly they may be esteemed, by Mr. Stewart or Mr. Stoddart, for Scotch waters, they are especial favourites with Anglers residing near many Yorkshire and Durham streams, and appear about the twentieth of May. Their bodies are long and slender, and taper to- wards the tail, from the end of which spring the forked whisks, which, turning up towards their backs, give the name of Drakes to these flies. The body of this fly is made of hog's down or light bear's hair, intermixed with yellow mohair, or of barber's yellow silk, only warped with pale floss silk, with a peacock's herl for the head. A bittern's hackle is said to be the best representation of the legs and dark stripes of the body, and for the whisks the long hairs of a sable or fitchet. Other methods of dressing this and the Grey- drake are given hereafter in the list of flies. As no natural feather approaches the resemblance of 102 Green-drake Fishing. the wings of this fly, it is necessary to have recourse to art for imitation. This may be produced by dyeing yellow the spotted breast-feathers of a mallard or drake. Re- ceipts for this dye are given amongst the materials, &c. for fly-making, in another part of this work. This fly kills extremely well at all hours of the day. The natural fly is fished with, but is so tender to bait, and the method so tedious, that it is not much used by Anglers in the northern counties. When it is employed it is best to make use of the blow-line. This is a very light long silk-line, which is allowed to be blown on to the stream by the wind, and is very deadly in consequence of its being put before the fish in so natural a way ; it is raised off the water and let fall again by the slightest motion of the rod. The Green-drake makes its appearance first, then the Grey, though they are sometimes to be seen on the water together. The duration of the latter is about a fortnight ; it is equally as good a killer as the Green. The body is to be made of dirty-white ostrich-herl, or cream-coloured crewel, dressed with flesh-coloured silk, and ribbed with a dark-grizzled cock's hackle ; the head a peacock's herl ; the wings of the mottled feather of a mallard or drake, not very dark ; whisks the same as in the Green-drake. In fishing the artificial-fly great nicety and care is required. One fly only should be used at a time, and, if possible, no part of the line should touch the water. When a fish rises, the fly should be thrown directly over him, and so managed, by being kept moving, as to repre- sent the short flights, up and down, of the natural fly. Seeing the fish take it, you will strike immediately. Good strong round gut is to be used for your stinting, as the fish that are taken with this fly are generally of the largest kind. A rod of about thirteen feet, light, but smart in the Blue-bottle and Oak-fly Fishing. 103 spring, should be used, for you will then be able to keep it well up, and the line clear of the water, and the fly only on the surface. Since the waters are generally very clear and low when this fly comes on, every precaution must be exercised by the Angler in keeping out of sight. Therefore, always fish up stream or across ; creep, crawl on your knees, get behind anything that projects, or by any means keep out of sight, and you will be sure to kill fish. The Blue-bottle Fly. GET a soda-water or other small bottle, tie a piece of string round the neck to attach to the strap of your creel, or carry it in your pocket. Have a cork through which you have inserted a quill for air ; catch your flies, and keep them in this. With a good-sized fly-hook you can fish this fly as the May-fly, and it is an excellent bait, as I have frequently found when every other failed. And for dabbing among bushes it is by far the best. Use for this purpose a stiff nine-feet rod, strong tackle, and a strong wired hook with a short shank ; and when a fish rises, strike and throw him out at once, so that you may" not disturb the water and scare other fish away. These flies are to be used whenever they can be obtained. The Oak-fly or Downlooker. PLATE II. cxcvi. THIS is a fly found on the boles of oak and other trees in April, May, and Juije. Its head is always pointed down- wards ; hence its name. The wings are short in propor- tion to the body and lie flat on the back. Carry and use it as the blue-bottle. It is a very great favourite of the trout; hence the artificial resemblance is a very deadly fly. For further description see fly list. 104 Clap-bait Fishing. The Clap-bait. THEEE are two species of this grub, found under cow- claps from the beginning of May till Michaelmas. The first one is bigger and yellower than a gentil or maggot, but of the same shape, and has two black spots on the thicker end. It is a tough good bait. The second is a grub of a slaty cast very like the Stick Cadis. It has a black head and feelers, and is alsoamost excellent bait, although, being very tender, it requires great care in putting on to the hook. It is found at the same place and at the same time as the first, but continues longer and when the claps are drier. They are both to be kept in a tin or other box, among some of the same earth they are found in. Both should be angled with pretty near the surface, though they are taken when considerably under water. They will take trout, grayling, chub, dace, &c. and should be fished in the same way and in the same places as the artificial fly. Some Anglers use them on the point-fly while Fly-fishing ; but it is better to arm a fly-hook with a bristle projecting from the shank, either with or without a turn or two of a small dark cock's hackle for a head, according to fancy : this should be tied with yellow silk. Run the hook into the first-named grub at the thicker end, and insert the bristle, to keep it on the shank of the hook while angling. These grubs have taken trout in our rivers and tributaries when nothing else would tempt them, and more especially when the waters were very low and clear. The Cod-bait, Cad-bait, Cadis or Case-worm, sometimes called Ruffcoats or Straw-worms. Tihese baits are of three different kinds. The first is found under stones that lie loose and hollow in small brooks, shallow rivers, or very fine gravel, in case or husk, and when best for use are of a yellow colour, rather bigger than a gentil, with a black head. The second is a green sort, found in pits, ponds, Cad-bait Fisldng. 105 and ditches, in still water among rushes, water-weeds, straw, &c. and hence called the Straw-worm. The third is found in pits, ponds, and ditches, in March, coming on before the yellow ones, which are not to be fished with till April, and in July go out of season. This last sort may be used in August again. All the three kinds are to be carried in woollen bags, for the air kills them. They may be fished with either as the clap-bait or creeper. But to fish the Cad-bait it is better to proceed in this way: Provide a nice casting-line, pretty stout, to the foot of which attach a small swivel, and below this about a yard of fine round gut, to which whip a hook, No. 3 or 4 Limerick, hackled with the breast-feather of a mallard, dyed yellow ; this is to be done with yellow silk. To bait it, insert the point of the hook into the tail of a large Cad-bait, and draw it, as little bruised as possible, quite up the hook to the hackle, then hang one or two more, through the shoulders, on the head of the hook, if the first one is not of sufficient size ; though one bait will generally be found sufficient and is preferable. In fishing the Cad-bait select the quickest streams, fish up the water and pitch it in neatly, near to some hold in which you imagine a fish to be resting. The bait should be kept continually in motion, by a short up and down movement of the rod, resembling, what I would call, bastard-trolling. It is generally fished under water ; and, when it is, the Angler should strike either straight up, or with the stream a little, as soon as he feels a bite. In very clear water, and when not fishing too deep in the water, the Angler can watch his bait, and can strike at his own discretion, when a fish rises to it ; but the sooner the better, and in the way above stated. 106 Gentil and Creeper Fishing. The Gentil or Maggot GENTILS or Maggots may be got almost at any time, during the Angling season, at the tan-pits. To breed them, get a piece of liver and scotch it, hang it on a crop- stick over a box, outside, wherein you have crumbled clay and bran, or sand, into which they will drop when large, and from which box you may always take them, well scoured and fit for use. They are esteemed a very universal bait for all river fishes, save pike and salmon, and are considered by some Anglers as so alluring that the Angler should never go out without a supply of them. The writer, however, cannot say so much for them, since he considers them much inferior to any of the cadis-worms, or the clap-bait, and not very pleasant to use ; he, therefore, recommends those, when in season, to be used in preference to the Gentil. The Creeper or Water-cricket. PLATE II. cxcvii. THE Creeper is the Stone or May-fly in its embryo state, that is, in its shell, husk, or case, before " it chips" as the Anglers say. It is one of the very best baits for killing large trout, &c. It is found in becks, among the gravel by the sides, or in the shallows, among smallish stones, and under flattish ones that do not touch the bottom altogether, and by the edges of rivers in similar places. It is, of course, the exact shape of the May-fly, minus the wings. It is a good bait to fish with, being very tough, and will live a considerable time out of water; though it will live longer among wettish moss or grass, and be more lively if kept in a tin box, or horn, well perforated with holes on the top. The fly-rod may be used to fish the Creeper ; but, as Methods of Creeper Baiting. 107 the fish taken with it are generally larger and heavier than the average, your worm -rod will answer better, that is,, supposing you go out expressly to fish with this bait. Select a stout casting-line and a yard and a half, or so, of stout round gut, and tie on to it, with yellow silk, a Limerick hook, No. 4 or 5, with a short shank. The first method of baiting : Take the Creeper between the left finger and thumb, the head near the thumb end, insert the hook in one side of the shoulder and bring it out at the other, and the point of the hook will lie next the cheek on one side, and the shank on the other. The second method is to have a long-shanked hook, armed with a bristle. Insert the hook in the throat and run it out at the tail, then put the bristle from the under- side of the head through the top, to keep it on the shank of the hook when throwing. The third method: : Tie on two hooks, thejend one, of the size above mentioned, with a shortish shank, the other half an inch a,bove, but smaller. Insert the end-hook under the bait, near the tail, bringing it out there, and the other in the under-side of the head, bringing it out at the top ; one hook will then stand up, and the other down, the heavier one keeping the bait, in some degree, the right way up. Or you may put them both through the bait sideways, at the places spoken of, though the other is the better way. The fourth method : Take a small triangle and tie it on the end, and a No. 2 Limerick fly-hook above, accord- ing to the size of your Creepers. Insert the triangle on the under-side of the belly, near the tail, and the other hook in the under-side of the head coming out at the top. The largest and yellowest Creepers are the best ; but any of them are good baits. It should be fished up stream without a sinker, though some Anglers prefer a small one, eight inches Trom the 108 Where tojlsh with Creeper. bait. It kills best on a bright breezy day, and in clear water ; but if the water be only partially clear, it may be fished very successfully in the thin streams, and at the sides, in shallow gravelly nooks among stones, for into such places the trout go to feed on them. On the opposite side to the Angler, and in such localities, the best sport may be expected. He will have to cast a little further above the fish with this bait than when he fishes with the fly. It is comparatively useless in deep pools and still water, therefore streams of all kinds should be selected, and where the tail of the stream is rippling nicely towards the pool over fine gravel. The first week in May is quite soon enough to fish this bait; that is, in the generality of seasons. It is the best about the end of the month, and will kill well all the time that the May-fly is on the water. It is commonly fished like the running- worm. CHAPTER IX. HOOKS, GUT, ETC. PLATE VIII. OOKS are manufactured of different shapes or forms, and are usually distinguished by the names of 1. Limerick ; 2. The Kendal or Round- bent; 3. The Sneckbend; 4. The Kirby. Some Anglers consider the quality of the hooks they use of but minor importance, so long as the size suits their purpose ; but this is a great mistake. A good hook is as necessary to the Angler, particularly the Fly-fisher, as good powder is to the Grouse -shooter in November, both being essential to the killing of their game. The most minute attention, therefore, ought to be paid to the selection of these little implements, on which success in no small degree depends. They should, in the first place, be perfectly tempered ; not too hard, so as to snap readily, nor yet too soft, so as to bend easily ; you may generally try the temper on a piece of cork, or by your thumb nail. All small or large fly-hooks are best if they have tapering shanks, since upon such, flies can be dressed with greater neatness a quality which greatly tends to help the decep- tion. The points should be fine and straight and set as level as possible with the shanks, which should be rather long than otherwise. With regard to the best form of hook for fly-dressing, Anglers differ. The Kendal and 110 Hooks 9 Gut, fyc. Sneckbend I consider upon a par; but neither are so good as the Round or Kendal, or the Limerick or Irish. Be particular in never using very small fly-hooks when larger will serve your purpose, because they hold better when you have hooked your fish, and are more certain. Some Kendal hooks have too little barb and too much point. Some Sneckbends are set too much to the right or left, and this tends, at times, only to scratch the fish instead of hooking him. The straight Kirby hooks ap- proach very nearly to what is required in shape ; but I cannot say so much either for their pointing or tem- pering. The straight Limerick or Irish hooks I have found none to surpass, either in point or temper. I do not refer to the old Limerick, with the very projecting barb, but to the modern-fashioned ones. I am using some of Hatchet's FE of Cork, which, for point, temper, and fineness of wire, I have never seen surpassed. Doubtless many prejudiced Anglers, who may be skil- ful in the art, may not agree with the above remarks, each holding to his fancy ; but it is hoped that beginners will profit by adopting them, in preference to partialities which habit, with nothing more to recommend them, may have rendered familiar. Adlington's and Hutchinson's Round-bent hooks are assorted from 00, the smallest, up to 20, the largest salmon size. Philip's Dublin are assorted, the trouting ones, by letters, thus FE the smallest trouting fly,F the next, then FF, next FFF, then c, and cc ; B, and BB, &c. from B up- wards, have their half-sizes : BB, the largest of the lettered description, being often used as a grilse-hook, is admitted amongst those which rank by number, and stands at the foot of the salmon sizes as No. 9. Above it follow 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4, the last the largest salmon size; and all the numbers have their half or intervening sizes. PLATK VIII . f n How to make Gut. Ill Redditch hooks range from 1 to 7, salmon ; 7 to 17, smallest for trout. Gut, Hair, $c. Gut is a material prepared from the entrails of the silkworm, Plate vin ; and, as it is so generally used by Anglers, some account of it is necessary. It is chiefly fabricated in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sicily, and the Greek Islands. The following method of preparing it is copied from an anonymous treatise on Angling:- " Take the largest and best silkworms you can procure, just when they begin to spin; this may be known by their refusing to feed, and by having a fine silk thread hanging from their mouths. The worms must be kept in strong vinegar and covered close over for twelve hours, if the weather is warm, if not, two or three hours longer will be necessary. When taken out they must be pulled asunder, and you will see two trans- parent guts of a yellowish - green colour, as thick as a straw, bent double, the rest of the inside resembling boiled spinage ; you can make no hiistake. If you find the guts soft, or break upon stretching them, you must let the worms lie longer in the vinegar ; when fit to draw off, you must dip one in the vinegar and stretch it gently, with both hands, to the proper length; the gut thus drawn out must be stretched out on a thin piece of board (Plate vin.), by putting each end in a slit therein, and placed in the sun to dry. This is the real gut, and the mode of dressing it is the cause of its ends being cramped." The directions for choosing gut and hair are simple, but are by no means on that account to be neglected. When possible, select the lengths of silkworm gut, &c. which are round, stiff, bright, transparent, and of an even thickness from end to end. You can procure a machine at the dealer's for reducing your gut to any re- 112 To stain Gut, Hair, fyc. quired fineness. The operation is difficult, although the machine itself is simple, being merely a steel plate with graduated holes for drawing the lengths through until they are of the required fineness. When the waters are discoloured, some people prefer gut stained according to the tinge of the water. White answers very well, if transparent ; but the opaque is useless, save for bottom fishing in muddy water. Indian weed used to be much thought of for angling with, but it is far inferior to gut on account of its ex- treme brittleness. It requires at least an hour's soaking in water before it becomes sufficiently soft and elastic for use. Hair. The angler should neglect no opportunity of collecting good horse-hair. It is always useful for lines, nay, indispensable, and is of the "first consequence to a Fly-fisher who uses single-hair. Where the fish are not very large, and the waters clear and fine, or low, single- hair gives a decided advantage, to the Angler using it, over one who fishes with gut. The finest gut, thrown ever so artistically, falls heavily compared with fine single-hair ; and the single- hair fisher will always, in clear waters, kill more trout than the gut fisher, supposing they both understand the art. To stain Gut, Hair, fyc. a Brown Colour. 1. MAKE a decoction of walnut-leaves, not too strong, and boil your gut- or hair, &c. in it for a minute or so. If left in too long it will be injured. 2. Make some good strong tea, and steep your gut or hair in it for a day or two. This is a good stain and does not rot the material. 3. Coffee, with a little alum, will give a good brown Best Baits for Worm-fishing. 1 1 3 colour to gut, hair, &c. Be sure you have the horse- hair well washed, so that no dirt or grease remains on it previous to staining, or you will be disappointed. 4. To stain a good Green. Take a quarter of a yard of green baize, and boil in water sufficient to cover it. When you think the colour deep enough, take out the green baize and put in your gut or hair and boil it for a few minutes. When the gut or hair is sufficiently coloured, add a piece of alum, say of the size of a marble, or larger, and boil all up again, put the whole on one side to cool, then take the gut or hair out and wash it well in clear soft water, after which hang it up to dry. 5. Ink, with four or five times its quantity of water, stains hair, &c. a beautiful colour for clear waters. Leave it in for a day or two, or boil it, and then hang up to dry, after washing in clear soft water. As the above recipes may all of them be relied upon, it is needless to add more. Worm-fishing. BEFORE treating of Worm-fishing, a description of some of the best worms for the purpose may not be out of place. The Brandling-worm. This is found in old dunghills, rotten earth, cow and hogs' dung, and spent tanners' bark. It has a red head, and its tail is ringed with a fine yellow colour; it has a strong odour, and is only a small worm, but is esteemed the best that can be used by some Anglers for almost all kinds of fresh- water fishes. It may be used at all times, and in all kinds of waters. The Red-head, or Red-worm, is of a pale red colour throughout ; and is found in the same localities as the brandling. It is, by many, considered equal, if not su- perior to it, for general fishing. The Tag, or Gilt-tail, is of a pale flesh-colour, with a yellow tag on its tail. It is found in marl land, or i 116 Worm-baiting for Clear-water Fishing. Or better thus : 2. Take your worm and insert your hook a quarter or half an inch from the tail, according to the size of the worm, run it up to about the knot of the worm and bring the point out ; then take the head of the worm and run it on the point of the hook over the barb up the bend, and to the knot of the worm, where the point was previously brought out, and thus you will not only have the hook properly covered, but the point protected from catching at any weeds, moss, &c. which is a very great desideratum. Fish, too, almost always take any bait by the head, and most frequently a worm ; consequently, by baiting in this way you will have a greater chance of hooking your fish well This method may curtail the life and action of the worm sooner than when the head is not injured ; but that is not a sufficient set-oif against its manifest advantages. It requires baiting a little more frequently, as a maimed or dead bait few trout will snatch at. 3. Some persons employ tackle similar to the May-fly, before described, with two hooks, and link the worm on both hooks. 4. Some use four hooks, as shown in Plate ix. 3. The second method of baiting is most approved by professed Worm -fishers, who use only a single hook, but the reader may adopt that which best suits his own fancy. Your rod should be stiffer in the butt, by some degrees, than your fly-rod, and the top should not be so fine, though it should neither be heavy nor exceed thirteen feet in length, that is, if it be a one-handed rod, and you wish to use it with any comfort and command. Fishing the worm in clear water is best done without shot or lead, in consequence of such getting fast among stones, &c. In fact, in all bait-fishing it is better to dispense with lead altogether, where the strength of the 1'LATK IX Reasons for Up-stream Fishing. 117 streams, &c. will allow of it. Lead is legitimately used only in bottom-fishing in discoloured waters, and when they are large from floods ; but in clear waters it should be altogether dispensed with. I must again take occa- sion to advert to the necessity of your learning the haunts of trout. If you gain this knowledge, you will have acquired one of the greatest secrets of success in this and all other kinds of fishing. Having prepared, in any of the above ways, you commence fishing by throwing your worm, either by the left-round or the right-round cast, up or across the stream, letting it swim down until you have a bite, and then striking smartly and perpendicularly, when you are almost sure to hook your fish, which you may land as before instructed. The finer your tackle, so it be of the strength required, (for you take the best fish with the worm,) the more likely your success. Throwing the worm is performed in nearly the same way as recommended for the artificial fly, and should be done very lightly. To fish the worm properly in clear water it is necessary to wade. The reader must not be weary of having this grand maxim again repeated ; namely, that in all kinds of Angling it is always best to fish up the water, and it is doubly so in clear- water Worm-fishing : Firstly, be- cause you must keep out of sight, or your chance is gone ; and, secondly, your line is generally so short that there is the greatest difficulty in doing this in a clear stream, and on a sunny day, which is the best time for this fish- ing. I do not, however, mean that you are always to wade up the middle ; or, as I said before, that you are always to throw your worm directly up the stream, but across rather, and above you, letting it be carried down by the current. By so doing you have much greater command of your bait ; and when you have a bite, and strike, are more certain of hooking your fish. Again, as 118 How to fish with a Worm. to striking a fish, this is not done with your whole arm raised up to your head, and with all your strength, as if you were intending to pitch him over your shoulders, but by a nice smart action of the wrist, and by slightly raising the fore-arm, and this exactly at the right time. In fishing the running- worm you will have to fish with your arm a little further out than in Fly-fishing ; but not so far out as to prevent your having a due command of your rod, the point of which is to be kept nearer the water than in fly-fishing, in order to let your line run down stream, towards or a little past you. Have as little line as pos- sible in the water, and keep your rod over your bait as it travels down stream. Cast it the same way as you would a fly, but keep your rod lower while the bait moves on. Your eye will tell when the line is stopped by a fish biting ; the hand will then act instantaneously in unison with it, and the movement upward with the point of the rod will be made almost as quickly: but practice, and practice only, will direct the force of the action in striking. It depends upon that sympathy between hand and eye, spoken of before, which is so requisite in angling well and neatly, and which so distinctly marks the difference between a novice and an old practitioner. Should a practical Angler want a dish of trout for a friend, or an invalid, he can almost at any time procure one by means of this bait. Green baize or woollen cloth of any kind is the best material for your worm-bag, taking care always to keep the moss therein damp. In coloured waters fish the tails of streams, and pools, small eddies, and all places where trout are known to go in search of bottom feed, even very thin water, which appears hardly deep enough to conceal them ; indeed no likely spot is to be omitted. Where large baskets of fish are the order of the day, Comparison between Worm and Fly Fishing. 119 Worm-fishing has its admirers ; and its votaries will tell you that it requires far more science than Fly-fishing ; but such an assertion is preposterous. I quite agree with Mr. Stewart, p. 48, in opposition to Mr. Stoddart, that there is more merit in Fly than in Worm fishing, no matter in what state the water may be, and as the former is more difficult, so is there more exquisite pleasure in excelling in that branch which ranks the highest as sport. But we will just compare the two. A Worm-fisher and a Fly-fisher go out for a day's sport. They understand the water they are about to angle in, and the haunts of the trout there. Is it to be allowed for one moment that more science is required to cast a natural bait, into a place where a trout is feeding, than to throw an artificial fly so as to give it the appearance of a natural one ? The natural bait requires no deceptive aid ; but the artificial fly demands the exercise of all the faculties of the Angler to enable him to overcome the disadvantages under which he labours when using it, to say nothing of mental and manual ingenuity that have been called into play in previously preparing it. There- fore, there cannot be a shadow of doubt as to which method requires more science. The fact that at times one Angler can kill more fish with a natural worm, than another can with the artificial fly, does not prove the one more scientific than the other. A good sovereign will at any time pass better than a counterfeit; but to pass a counterfeit for the sterling article requires that it should bear the nearest possible resemblance to it, as well as lay claim to such resemblance, thus rendering the deception doubly difficult ; so it is with the artificial fly : it has to be passed off for the natural one. To the dull monotony which attends the Worm -fisher, or ground-angler, when his mind is not constantly engaged by the avidity of the finny tribe, the Fly-fisher is quite 120 Worm-knot a good Bait for Trout. a stranger, and though the latter may not have been so successful in storing his pannier as he anticipated, yet he returns home gratified with the pleasant variety which his walk has afforded him. He is in constant exercise ; sometimes, indeed, travelling miles in the pursuit of his art, whereas the old-fashioned ground-angler remains in a state of inactivity, beside some favourite pool. Worm- fishing, as now generally practised, in clear water, is certainly an improvement. The diversion, however, of Worm-fishing, without considering the dirtiness of the practice, is so inferior to that which Fly-fishing affords that few who have the opportunity of making choice will hesitate in their preference of the latter. " The simple and cleanly act of forming an artificial fly from feathers and fur, &c. is vastly preferable to the unpleasantness attendant upon baiting with the worm. The first will last a whole day, nay, longer, while the other requires adjusting or renewing after every trifling nibble, without adding anything further." It must, at the same time, be granted, that, when an Angler has had a ten miles' walk to his fishing ground, and then finds water and elements against his Fly-fishing, he would be badly off without his bag of worms ; I would therefore recommend that on such excursions he should never omit to take it, as well as a few salted minnows, if fresh ones cannot be obtained, for by thus preparing himself he will have a double chance of sport. An excellent bait for trout, when the water is clearing after or during a flood, is procured from the thick red knot of the largest dew- worm or earth-worm. Cut this knot out and fix it on your hook, fish with a running-line, and either lead or no lead on it, if the strength of the water allow it. As many as ten or eleven trout have been taken by one bait, without changing or losing it. It has very much the appearance of a bait formed of salmon roe, and is unquestionably very deadly as a substitute for roe. How to prepare Salmon Roe. 121 I cannot conclude this section better than by an extract from Gay's " Rural Sports," so apropos to the subject as the following : " You must not every worm promiscuous use, Judgment will tell the proper baits to choose. The worm that draws a long, immod'rate size, The trout abhors, and the rank morsel flies ; And if too small the naked fraud's in sight, And fear forbids while hunger does invite. Those baits will best reward the fisher's pains Whose polish'd tails a shining yellow stains ; Cleanse them from filth to give a tempting gloss, Cherish the sully'd reptile race with moss ; Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil, And from their bodies wipe their native soil." Fishing with the Salmon Roe. ALTHOUGH I partly consider fishing with Salmon Roe as a species of poaching, yet, as others have treated of its use, this little work might be deemed incomplete without some account of it. I shall, therefore, show our system of fishing with it as well as the Scotch method. I will first, then, advert to the curing of the roe : Pro- cure a sufficient supply for your operations. This must be sufficiently large in the ova or berries, and free from blood, otherwise it is to be rejected. The ova for this purpose should be ripe, that is, taken on the eve of being deposited by the fish in the course of nature ; they should be easy to separate, and each pellet as big as a pea. First cleanse it by washing and picking from all impurities, such as skin, blood, &c. which it may have contracted. To do this, use slightly warm milk and water, and, as the operation advances, transfer that which is cleansed to a sieve to drain. Sometimes it is cured in the leaf by wiping it clean, when it is ready, as the other, for curing. When cool and sufficiently dry, take a jar and lay therein a layer of roe, then sprinkle it well with salt ; some use saltpetre also,, but the less the better as it injures the 122 How to prepare Salmon Roe. flavour ; then place another layer of roe and another of salt till the jar is full ; then cover the jar, air-tight, with bladder or leather. Some run mutton suet on the top, as in securing preserves, and it will perhaps keep longer in this way, as the ova in the jar are then certainly made more perfectly air-tight. It should also be kept in a dry situation, but not too warm. When you wish to prepare roe for a day's fishing take as much as you think neces- sary from the jar and close it up securely and air-tight immediately. This you must put upon a plate and chop or bruise every berry, then set it either in the oven or before the fire, but not too near, and keep turning and mixing it as it dries. You may add a little more salt, for salt attracts fishes as well as other animals. This operation must be carried on until it is of the consistence of stiff clay, and can be made into pellets with the finger and thumb without its adhering to them. Of, when you have taken out sufficient for your day's sport, bruise it in a jar perfectly with a pestle, or the like, till it is of a creamy paste, adding from time to time some salt. When all is properly bruised and incorporated, pour boiling water upon the mass, and it will instantly harden and form into a solid paste, capable of being removed by the hand ; observe that the water must be boiling and poured into the jar containing the roe, and not applied externally. If you wish to preserve the ova for use in their natural form, after salting them for a time sufficient to cure them, dry and separate the pellets by submitting them to the air and heat till sufficiently hard and tough, then store away in jars, &c. protected securely, as before, from the air. So much depends upon the quality of the roe in this fishing that great care ought to be taken in its curing, so that it retain its pristine or natural fishy smell ; if it possesses this it can hardly be too salt. Mr. Stoddart, How and where tojish with Salmon Roe. 123 from whom some of the above receipts are taken, prefers partially bruised-roe for bull-trout and whitlings, as being in his opinion more tempting. Carpenter says, " Having obtained a pound of it, about September or October, put it into hot water, and having boiled it for about ten minutes, wash and clean it, rinse it well with cold water and dry it. When dried, take two ounces of salt and a quarter of an ounce of pounded saltpetre, and mix it up with the spawn, after which it should be spread out on a dish or board before the fire, until it becomes quite stiff; then put it into jars or gallipots, pouring over the top of each melted mutton suet, and covering with a bladder." Trout and eels take this bait greedily; and, according to the authority just quoted, bull-trout, whitlings, and even the Salmo solar itself. In fishing with the roe the size of the bait ought not to be much larger than a coffee bean. It should be put on the hook in a globular form, which the fish may readily gorge without detecting the wire, which should always be covered with the bait. Larger baits, of course, are required for salmon, as well as stronger tackle. When you fish with the roe and a fish bites, give him line and allow a little time, just to be sure that he has hold of it, then strike straight up, and you will invari- ably kill your fish. It is usual in this part of England to fish the roe after this fashion : Two or three friends go out, each with a stiff strong rod, or, more frequently, a couple. They select a long pool where the water comes up to the grass banks, and with a well-shotted and strong line, and a single-worm hook or a triangle, attach the bait. They heave down the stream, and, setting the rod or rods within a yard or two of each other, sit down and watch for a bite. When this happens, they take hold of the rod and strike directly, generally securing their fish, and thus they chat and angle. This is a very companion- 126 Fly-dressing its Requisites. The feathers employed for hackled flies are taken from the inside and outside of the wings, as well as the necks or breasts of birds ; but for winged flies from the quill feathers of the wings, and the nearer to the quill end the better, so that they are not downy. The term Dun is generally in this work applied to reds, as corn-crake, partridge-tail, or red-cock's hackles. Bloa, to all shades of slate and ash colour, such as starling's wing- feathers, snipe, jay, dotterel, &c. Brown, to woodcock, snipe, grouse, &c. Flies made of natural furs always preserve their colours, whilst those made of crewels, worsteds, silks, &c. fre- quently change colour, being acted upon by the mineral peculiar to each water. FEATHERS FOE TEOUT FLIES. Wings of Woodcock. Swift. Landrail. Grouse. Snipe. Starling. Thrush. Lark. Dotterel. Jay. Blackbird. Golden Plover. Sandpiper. Dunling. Grey Hen. Sea- Swallow. Fieldfare. Feathers of Partridge (breast, neck, and tail). Grouse (neck and head). Mallard (back and breast). Woodcock (neck and breast). Teal. Starling (neck and head). Golden Plover. Peewit or Lapwing (crest). Wren (tail). Ostrich (hackles and herls). Peacock (herls). Night-jar (neck). Cock and hen Pheasant (breast). Hen Pheasant (inside of wing) Curlew. Hackles of all colours, from the head and neck of the barn-door cock or hen, are decidedly the most essential feathers for a fly-dresser ; softness, brightness, and nice ' tapering of the feather being the great requisites. The Mixtures of Colours in Fly-dressing. 127 largest hackles will have to be collected for salmon flies, and they should possess the above properties in the highest degree. " It will be useful for the fly-dresser to know that the following mixtures with regard to furs, worsteds, &c. make some of the most useful compound colours, viz. black and white make a russet ; blue and white, a lead colour ; white, black, and blue, an ash colour ; red and white, a carnation or flame colour; blue, brown, and white, a deep purple ; red and blue, a purple ; red and white, a light crimson, and by adding blue, a dark crimson ; blue and green, a violet ; pink, blue, and white, a light green ; white, yellow, and blue, a dun blue; black and red, a brown ; brown, white, and deep red, a flesh colour ; purple and white, a murry ; brown and black, a bay colour." FEATHERS FOE SALMON FLIES. Turkey, all varieties, including white and double-white tops from rump. Duns and dun-white tops. Mottles, streaks, and pure white. Silver Pheasant, male and female, tail arid wing feathers, pencilled and mottled. Golden Pheasant, crest, tippet, and tail. Argus of Sumatra. Jungle-cock, Oobarra, &c. Jay, blue feathers on the wing. Blue Cowrie of Australia. Blue and buff Macaw, tail, &c. Green Macaw, tail, &c. Parrots, for tail tufts, red, yellow, &c. Parroquets, Kingfishers. Common Pheasant, tail, &c. ; White top from Mallard wing. j Swan. Snipe, pencilled feather under wing. Salmon -tailed Gledd. ! Capercailzie. Mallard andTeal,feathers mottled. Domestic Drake. Raven. Guinea-fowl. Wood-duck of Canada. Bustard. Heron, male bird, pendant breast- feathers, &c. Ostrich. Java Dove. Cormorant. Bittern. Peacock. 128 Fly-making a Scientific and Pleasant Art. MISCELLANEOUS AKTICLES USED IN DRESSING TROUT AND SALMON FLIES. 1. Hooks of all sizes, Limerick or Round-bend. 2. Silks, plain and floss, of all colours and shades (fine for trout flies). 3. Gut and hair, natural colour and stained. 4. Gold arid silver tinsels, and threads of various sizes. 5. Fine-pointed scissors. 6. Needle for dividing wings. 7. Tweezers or nippers of strong brass or iron wire. 8. Phial of spirit varnish. 9. Shoemakers' wax, and white wax for trout flies. (See receipt.) 10. Dubbings of all colours, pig's wool, mohair, wools and worsteds of all colours, squirrel's fur and tail, mole's fur, water-rat's fur, hare's lug, combings of cow-hair, monkey's fur, camlet's, mar- tin's fur, fox's lug and breast fur, &c. The necessity of using artificial flies undoubtedly arose from the inability to use such small insects in their natural state. Fly-making is a delicate and minute mechanical process, which is but imperfectly described by the best written instructions, and which can only be effectually learned by imitation, as the making of a coat or a shoe, &c. Let the young Angler get some friend who under- stands fly-making to give him but one lesson in the craft, and the following instructions, carefully carried out, will complete his education, and render him an adept in the art. To dress a fly, which shall imitate the colours and form of the insects to be represented, sufficiently well to deceive the quick- sighted and wary trout, is an art most delight- ful in practice, and one which very materially tends to the otherwise doubtful success of the Fly-fisher. I would recommend every person desirous of having sport to en- deavour to attain the knack of dressing them neatly and speedily. Experience proves that trout feed eagerly for hours on one kind of fly, and that they will suddenly desert their late favourite for another species, though the Fly-dressing a necessary Acquirement. 129 former may still be in great numbers on the water. Such caprice cannot be accounted for, and should be met by the Angler in the best way he can. Consequently, many people hold, and rightly think, that one or other of the natural flies which are on the water at the time, and on which the trout are feeding, is necessary to be used in order to fish successfully. In order, therefore, to provide himself with a proper fly, the Angler frequently finds himself compelled to sit down by the waterside and dress the new favourite, since it cannot be expected that he will be able to keep all kinds ready dressed in his book. Necessity, then, may be said to urge every Fly-fisher, who is desirous of having sport, to acquire the art of fly- dressing. The pleasure of collecting, arranging, and endeavouring to match the colours and form of nature, by aid of his materials, is infinitely greater to the fly-dresser than can be conceived by an indifferent observer, and offers a con- stant employment for those leisure hours which in un- favourable weather might hang heavy upon his hands. Indeed, I can promise that if he once gets interested in the work, he will not only devote many an hour to it, but will find comparatively as much pleasure in building one of his " killers," as the painter or sculptor has in giving expression, upon canvas or in stone, to those fancies that charm the eye and intellect of every admirer of art. The materials for this purpose having been already described, the next thing will be to show how they are to be applied properly to the two different methods of Fly-dressing. Nothing is of more importance in this branch of the art than correctness in colour and size ; and next to this is neatness of formation. The exact colour can be obtained only by wetting the materials and comparing them in that state with the colour of the natural insect ; then form 130 Selection and Arrangement of Feathers and size must have your best consideration. If you do not wet your materials previous to making, always select colours two or three shades lighter than the natural fly to be imitated, because they turn darker in the water. Feathers for the palest bloas or duns can hardly be too light in colour, or fine in texture; consequently, for dressing such flies those of the dotterel are invaluable. The artist must ever have before his eye the faultless child of nature, and in imitating objects so small and wonderfully formed, with their rare beauty of colour, he will have no easy task, and, at best, will build but a clumsy representation. Nevertheless, he must not be disappointed if his early efforts are not so neat as he could wish ; practice in every art makes perfect : that is, so far as human perfection is attainable. Whether a hackled or a winged fly is to be manufactured, it is essentially requisite that the whole of the materials which are to compose the imitation should be properly adjusted before he commence operations. Always use the softest hackles for legs, those of a hen are best, though the small head and neck feathers of the starling, partridge, woodcock, corn-crake, &c. are softer and answer better generally, used thinly. The hackles should be stripped or divested of the soft downy fibres which grow nearest the root, but, if the feather or hackle be very small, it should only be turned back on both sides, ready for twirling or twisting on the hook. If of larger size, one side of the feather or hackle should be stripped off also. (Plate vn. No. 12.) Now the side to be so stripped off may be known by taking the feather between your left finger and thumb, with the outside uppermost, or towards you, then strip off the under side, as seen in Plate vn. No. 12. Great care should be taken in selecting the softest, brightest, and most transparent feathers, in order that your imitation may approach as PLATE VII. and other Materials for Fly-dressing. 131 near as possible to the appearance of the natural insect, for stiff or harsh fibred feathers will not do this; also that the feather should have a fibre very little longer than the shank of the hook. Never, by any means, cut the thin ends of your feather, else your fly will be use- less, but have it of proper length before tieing on, except it be to represent a case-winged fly. The gut, weed, or hair, on which you are going to dress your fly, should next be carefully examined and tried by moderately pulling it, in proportion to the size of the fish it is expected to hold. If gut is much curled and stiff, drawing it over a piece of India-rubber will straighten it ; be careful not to press too hard, for fear of making it rough and pulling fine strands off it. Taking the pre- caution to try his gut before using it will save the Angler much disappointment, and enable him to discover defects not discernible to the eye. Your dubbing should be mixed to the exact colour of the body of the natural fly which you are going to repre- sent ; and a small portion of it should then be wetted and held up to the light, or you may dress your fly too dark, since camlets, furs, &c. are several shades darker when wet than when dry, and in some instances have a totally different hue. For the same reason the floss silk which you use should also be lighter than the natural fly. Next, the hook should be tried as to point and temper, and properly selected as to size. If it is a winged-fly you are going to dress, the feather for the wing is to be stripped from the quill-feather of the bird selected, by an even but sudden pull in the direction of the quill ; or you may cut off sufficient of the feather for your purpose with your scissors, keeping close to the stem of the feather. (See Plate vn. Nos. 9, 10). The downy part near the quill is always to be rejected. You should be particularly careful to have all the fibres even at the points, and as little ruffled as possible. 132 How to dress a Hackled-jly, The Method of Dressing a Hackled-fly. YOUR materials being now in a state of readiness, the hook must be first tied on with waxed silk to the finest end of the hair or gut left after cutting off the curled end, in this manner (Plate vn. No. 1) : Take the bend of the hook be- tween your left finger and thumb, the shank projecting ; place an end of the waxed silk, which should be about six inches in length, and the end of the gut along the underside of the shank ; * pass the silk over until you have wrapped it down to the end of the shank, and two or three turns back for the head of the fly ; take the feather or hackle as prepared (Plate vn. No. 2), put the point of the feather from where it is turned back with the outside next the hook, and hold it there with your left finger and thumb until you pass the silk over it, just where you left off, wrapping it twice or thrice on its downward rounds to the bend of the hook ; take your scissors and cut off the root of the feather, and the superfluous gut under the bend of the hook, leaving it not quite so long as the body of the fly has to be made ; take the thick end of your feather in your tweezers or pliers and wrap it over three or four times close together, following the silk wrappings until it is all, or as much as you deem sufficient, twirled on ; then take your silk and pass over the end once or twice ; cut off the superfluous part of the feather and wrap up the shank with the silk, evenly and regularly, to form the body of the fly, and fasten off by a loop-knot or two ; or, if you want a thick-bodied fly or one of flossed silk, turn down again and fasten off at the shoulder ; cut off the silk left, set the feather right with your needle and finger and thumb, and the fly is made or dressed. This is the simplest method. * Some say " along the upper-side of the hook, for if tied on the under-side the fly will not swim, but continually revolve." Dubled-fly, Spider-fly, and Black Midge. 133 To dress a Dubbed Hackled-fly . PROCEED as described for the simple hackled-fly above, as far as putting on the hackle, then make a loop-knot with your silk; take your dubbing and twirl it round your silk, thickest next the hackle or shoulder, and warp it up to the tail of the fly, making it taper near to the tip. Using only the plain silk to finish, then make two or three loop-knots and pick out and trim off the dubbing with your needle and scissors. If you wish to put in forks at the tail, this must be done, when making the looping knots at the finish, by inserting two hairs from a squirrel's tail and knotting them in neatly on the top of the bend, so that they may stand right ; set your fly as above described, and it is finished. To dress the Spider-fly. WHEN you have tied on your hook two wraps from the head, take a woodcock's feather, prepared as before directed ; tie it in and twirl it round twice or thrice ; tie in the lead-coloured floss-silk, leave it hanging and go up to the tail with your whipping silk and make a loop-knot ; follow over this with the lead-coloured ; tie off with two or three looped knots over the floss-silk ; cut off the ends of both silks neatly ; set the fly properly, as directed before, and it is finished. This fly is to be dressed thickest in the body, near the tail, like an ant-fly. The amateur should practise on largish hooks at first, until he gets into the way of tieing all firm, &c. To dress the Black Midge. TAKE a 00 hook, a small feather from the inside of the wing of a jack snipe, and prepare it as directed above ; 134 How to dress Winged-flies. twirl it on the same way also ; tie a looped-knot ; tie in by one end a black ostrich's herl, and wrap up, not very far ; then follow, with the herl held by your tweezers, or finger and thumb if you can, three or four times round and close, pass the silk over and loop off with two or three knots ; cut away the refuse neatly, and it is done. To dress a Winged-fly. THIS is the nicest operation the Fly-dresser has to per- form, and requires great practice to do it neatly. Having tied on your hook as for a hackled-fly, take the feather nicely stripped from a starling's quill-feather (see Plate vn. No. 10);.' place it with the roots projecting a little over the end of the shank of the hook, No. 1 Limerick, as in Plate vn. No. 5, and hold it there with your left finger and thumb ; take the silk (of orange colour, well waxed) and pass it over, near the root of the feather, twice close to the end of the shank, the points of the fibres reaching as far as the bend of the hook, or a very little further when laid flat ; cut off the root ends that project and make a loop-knot over the head again, being very careful to keep the feather on the top of the shank by your left finger and thumb, and by no means let it turn under the belly, for this is the most difficult matter that a beginner has to overcome ; then raise the feather and divide it evenly with your needle ; pass the silk close under the shoulder to set up the wings, then over between the wings, bringing it under the head, and so round and up over it, between the wings again, and it will thus be crossed there; then take one warp under the wings and a loop-knot. Take your red cock's hackle and pro- ceed with it as for a hackled-fly, tieing it in as repre- sented in Plate vn. No. 6, and making two or three turns with it under the wings; pass your silk over it How to dress Winged-flies. 135 and tie a loop-knot, or hold it till you have cut off all superfluous feather, &c. and then fasten off; take three inches of floss orange silk and tie one end in, close to the hackle ; warp your waxed silk up to nearly the length you require for the body; follow with the floss silk, held with your tweezers over this, and fasten by a loop-knot or two of the waxed silk ; cut off the su- perfluous floss-silk ; make another loop-knot and tie in a piece of gold-tinsel, pass twice round and fasten off with another loop-knot, putting in at the same time two hairs of a squirrel's tail for forks; make another knot and cut all superfluous ends, &c. clear ; set up the wings with your finger and thumb, and pick out the hackle nicely with your needle, and the fly is dressed. If you have managed all this neatly, you will be surprised at the good imitation you have made. To set the wings so that they stand up evenly and neatly, like the wings of a drake-fly or butterfly, is a great test of the Fly-dresser's skill, and to do it well requires great attention and practice. If it is a dubbed fly that has to be ribbed with tinsel or floss-silk, these should be tied in before the dubbing is twisted on to the silk thread, and left to be ribbed evenly and regularly over, after you have twirled it on as before described. When you wish to make your fly with a head of either tinsel or herl, &c. this you must add when you have just tied on the wings, and then proceed as above instructed. For winged trout flies it is best not to run the hackle all down the body ; it makes them too heavy and rough for fine bright waters. Such dressing may be used bene- ficially if you are making flies for large rivers or lakes, or in the case of salmon flies. Generally, however, the hackle is best wrapped under the shoulders, being the natural place for the legs. Care must be taken that the 136 How to dress a Salmon-fly. body be not carried on to the bend of the hook, as that will quite spoil the shape of the fly, and give it an un- natural appearance, however well dressed otherwise. To dress a Salmon-fly. HAVE all your materials arranged, as directed for a trout fly, and begin in this way : Take a No. 7 Phillips' salmon hook, also a piece of your strongest and roundest gut, make a loop round a piece of strong wire, or anything similar, and tie with well-waxed silk the two ends securely on the under-side of the shank, leaving the loop only to project and sit, when flat, at right-angles to the bend ; begin to dress by tieing in the tail- tuft, then your tinsel and the point of your hackle, which must be long and well tapered ; twirl your first-coloured dubbing on your silk and wrap it up, next the other colours, as you require, up to the shoulder, which should be left full, leaving sufficient of the shank to tie on the wings and head ; by means of your tweezers or pliers wrap your tinsel twice round, close to the tail- tuft, having previously cut off the superfluous parts, then rib it evenly and firmly up the body to the shoulders and there fasten it, cutting off what remains; next take the root of your hackle in your tweezers and rib it evenly and firmly between the tinsel up to the shoulders, and make it rather fuller there and fasten it off, cutting away what remains of the root ; take one wing and tie it on one side firmly, and then the other on the other side ; tie in a peacock's herl for a head and wrap it three or four times, then fasten all off by a loop- knot or two very securely; pick out the dubbing and hackle and trim them neatly ; set the wings, and the fly is finished. If you do not use a peacock's herl for a head, wrap securely with your silk, and finish off by varnishing it. Dyes for Hackle-staining. 137 If your fly is not to be hackled up the whole length of the body, and you use floss-silks instead of dubbing, dress it in the same way until the body is formed, then put in your hackle feather for the legs, round the shoulder-frill, then tie on the wings and head, and the fly is dressed. Be sure, if you make your wings of various-coloured feathers, to have them all ready arranged before you begin to dress. I would recommend, as a very great improvement in the form of the salmon fly-hook, that it should be made with a loop at the end of the shank of the same wire as the hook an arrangement which would obviate all chafing of gut-loops as at present used, and be stronger. This would not add anything to the weight, and the flies would all have good and secure loops, so long as they lasted. It might be made, too, rather of an oval form, standing endways from the shank. The fly would thus look neater, and the line would always draw truer from the hook. Dyes for staining Hackles, fyc. for the legs of Dun or Bloa Flies. Pale yellow dun or bloa. Having washed your fea- thers in a warm solution of soap and soda, to get the grease out, steep them in a hot mordant of alum and water, until they are thoroughly saturated; then put them into a dye of sumach, rather strong, and add a very little bit of copperas, about the size of a pea. Or, after the feathers are dyed in the sumach, you can put them into another vessel with a little bit of copperas. Always try one or two feathers first. Pale smoky dun or bloa. Having prepared your fea- thers, as in the last, dye them very lightly with sumach, using a very little bit of copperas. Smoky dun or bloa. Prepare your feathers as before, 138 Recipes for Feather-staining. then dye them very lightly with sumach, with a very little bit of copperas and a pinch of logwood. NOTE. About a pint of water is the most convenient quantity ; this you can put into a small earthen pitcher. A slow fire is best, as a fire too fierce is apt to break the pipkin, or boil the feathers; which, as I said before, injures them : generally speaking, hand- warm water is sufficient. By varying the quantity of sumach and cop- peras, as well as the time of leaving the feathers in the dye-pot, you jean get the most delicate shades, as well as the strongest ; and be quite independent of the blue hackles from the Welch fowls. The following Recipes for staining Feathers, fyc. are taken from Ronalds. 1. To dye ivhite feathers a dun colour. Make a mordant by dissolving about a quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, and slightly boil the feathers in it, taking care that they shall be thoroughly soaked or saturated with the solution; then boil them in other water with fustic, sumach, and a small quan- tity of copperas put into it, until they have assumed the required tint. The fustic and copperas will make a yel- low dun tint ; the sumach and copperas a blue dun (or bloa) tint. The greater the quantity of copperas the deeper will be the dye. 2. To turn red hackles brown. Put a piece of copperas, the size of half a walnut, into a pint of water ; boil it, and whilst boiling put in the red feathers. Let them remain until by frequent ex- amination they are found to have taken the proper colour. 3. To stain feathers an olive dun (or bloa). Make a very strong infusion of the outside brown Recipes for Feather-staining. 139 leaves or coating of an onion root, by allowing the in- gredients to stand warm by the fire for ten or twelve hours. If dun feathers are boiled in this dye, they will become an olive dun ; and white feathers a yellow. If a small piece of copperas be added, the latter colour will become a useful muddy yellow; darker or lighter as may be required, and approaching to a yellow olive dun, according to the quantity of copperas used. 4. To dye a mallard 's feather for the green drake. Tie up some of the best feathers in bunches of a dozen and boil them in the same mordant of alum, as given in No. 1, merely to get the grease out. Then boil them in an infusion of fustic to procure a yellow, and subdue the brightness of this yellow by adding nitrate of copper to the infusion. 5. To dye feathers dark red and purple Hackles of various colours, boiled (without alum) in an infusion of logwood and brazil-wood dust until they are as red as can be made by this means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin, and to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with tin, the solution must be much diluted. If it burns your tongue much, it will burn the feathers a little. 6. To dye red hackles a claret. Boil a teaspoonful of Brazil wood in half a pint of water, and simmer some lightish furniss hackles in this for a quarter of an hour. Then take them out and im- merse them in muriate of tin, with the addition of a little muriatic acid. Wash and dry. 7. To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, and brown. First boil in the alum mordant (No. 1.); secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustic strong enough to bring them to a bright yellow (about a tablespoonful to a pint 140 How to preserve Feathers, of water) then boil them in a dye of mather, beech wood, or Brazil wood. To set the colour, put a few drops of " dyers 9 spirit" (i. e. nitrate of tin, combined with a small quantity of common salt), which may be had from a silk dyer, into the last-mentioned dye. To preserve Feathers from Moth, fyc. " KEEP them in tin cases, with plenty of black pepper ground fine, and leave a bit of sponge also in the case well saturated with spirits of turpentine. " Another, and perhaps the best, is a coarsely-ground powder, of a green colour and penetrating odour, com- posed of the flowers of the pyrethrum, carneum, and roseum, which grow on the Trans-Caucasus, at a height of 5,000 or 6,000 feet. The Trans- Caucasians call it ' Guirilla.' This powder possesses the peculiarity of rapidly stupify- ing the insects, which soon afterwards die. It will kill fleas, lice, and flies, and is an invaluable preventive of the formation of maggots in wounds. It is attended with no disadvantages, unless employed in large quanti- ties in closed bed-rooms. It has long been used as a means of preserving insects, and cannot be too strongly recommended to those who have the care of natural his- tory collections liable to their depredation. It is ex- ported from Russia to Germany and France." CASSELL'S Paper. Waterproof Varnish. " 1. Black Japan for Leather: Take boiled linseed-oil, four pints ; burnt umber in powder, four ounces ; asphal- tum, three ounces ; turpentine, sufficient to give it the proper consistence. Melt the asphaltum, and add the linseed-oil (hot) gradually, then add the burnt umber, and lastly the turpentine. Waterproof Varnish. 141 " 2. Waterproof for Boots : Bees- wax, two ounces ; black pitch, one ounce ; turpentine, two ounces ; linseed- oil, sixteen ounces ; oil of thyme, four drachms. " 3. Another : Linseed-oil, eight ounces ; boiled oil, ten ounces ; suet and bees- wax, each eight ounces. "4. Another: Rock alum, four ounces; acetate of lead, two ounces; gum arabic, one drachm ; water, eight ounces. This would be found useful for fishing tackle. " 5. For Hats : Shellac, eight ounces ; frankincense, three ounces ; borax, one ounce ; water, enough to give it the proper consistence ; dissolve by boiling. The quan- tities mentioned above can be altered to suit the conve- nience of the user, but the proportions must be retained." F. WATSON. " Another for Leather Wading-boots : One pint of neatsfoot-oil ; two ounces of turpentine ; two ounces of yellow wax ; one ounce of Burgundy pitch ; to be melted together above a slow fire, and smeared, when cool, over the leather. This is of tried value. "Another: One pint of linseed-oil; two ounces of bees- wax ; two ounces of spirits of turpentine ; two ounces of best tar ; two ounces of Burgundy pitch ; to be melted all slowly together, and applied as above." STODDAKT. Another: One pint of linseed-oil ; half pound of mutton suet ; half pound of bees-wax ; and a halfpenny worth of resin ; boil altogether, and when milk- warm lay it on your boots, which should be dry, with a brush. Another, from Col. Hawker : One pint of drying oil ; two ounces of yellow wax ; two ounces of turpentine ; one ounce of Burgundy pitch; melt these over a slow fire, and then add a few drachms of essential oil of lavender or thyme. With this your boots are to be brushed, either in the sun or at a little distance from the fire. The application must be repeated as often as the boots become dry again, until they are fully saturated. 142 Spirit Varnish. Spirit Varnish. SANDJCEAC, four ounces ; pale seedlac, two ounces ; elemi (true), one ounce; alcohol, one grain ; digest with agitation till dissolved ; then add Venice turpentine, two ounces. Another : One pint of spirits of wine ; one ounce of shellac ; dissolved in the sun and afterwards well shaken. To make it yellow, add gamboge and saffron ; to make it red, add dragon's blood ; to make it brown, add umber. A Eecipefor Potting Charr or Trout. THREE teaspoonsful of ground black-pepper ; three tea- spoonsful of allspice ; two teaspoonsful of mace ; one tea- spoonful of cloves ; one teaspoonful of nutmeg ; half teaspoonful of cayenne. These ingredients are sufficient to pot one stone of fish, and should be kept carefully corked up in a small 'phial ; when employing them, add a little salt. Wax. DISSOLVE shoemakers' wax in spirits of wine until about the consistency of butter. Use it thus : Put a small portion on the inside of a piece of old kid glove, and draw the silk lightly through it ; after this, draw it through another piece of clean leather, to take off the superfluous wax. The best way to dissolve the wax is, to put a small piece into a gallipot, with a very little spirits of wine, and tie a piece of bladder over the mouth of the gallipot. Next, put the gallipot in a cup or vessel of warm water, and set it on a stove (not too hot), or near the fire, until the wax is dissolved. Keep the bladder tied down when not using it. Should the wax become too hard by long standing, place the gallipot in a saucer or other vessel of hot water for a short time. How to make Wax. 143 Another wax may be made in this way : Melt some resin in a small vessel over a slow fire, and when it has become fluid, take a pure white wax-candle, light it, and let it drop into the melted resin ; there is no rule as to quantity: observation must guide you. Pour out upon a board that has been either greased or rubbed with the candle, one-fourth of the composition; then drop more wax into the remainder, and pour out one- fourth more. Proceed in the same way with the other two-fourths ; and thus you will have wax of four degrees of hardness : that with least wax dropped from the candle being for use in hot weather ; the others for different degrees of temperature of the season. You may tie flies in the hottest weather of summer with the hardest, and in frosty weather with the softest wax. After the com- position has become cool on the board, it should be well worked in the hand as shoemakers' wax is. Always have by you wax, thread, silk, knife, and scis- sors, and you are ready for any repairs. A FEW GENERAL REMARKS ON ANGLING. HE skilful Angler ought to find out, at what times of the year and day, fishes bite best in the water in which he intends to sport. In the hot months it matters not where the wind is ; but, if possible, fish against the wind, and have the sun opposite to you, casting to the shore or side of the river from which the wind blows. He that angles with fine single-hair, and keeps out of sigh*, will take more fish than he who angles with strong tackle, or in sight, and especially if wading and using his landing-net properly. Fishes have had eyes, ears, and nostrils given to them ; consequently, regard should be paid to all these faculties. " Deus et natura nil frustra faciunt." When you rise a fish, or have a bite, be sure to strike uprightly and quickly, but not too hard. When fish bite well, observe the age of the moon ; what kind of night preceded, as to windiness, darkness, or lightness ; whether star-light, or moon-light, or both ; what kind of day it was all day long ; what temperature of air and water ; what month, and what day of the 4 month; what hour of the day; and what flies or baits were taken best, &c. A few General Remarks on Angling. 145 Do this, in order that, upon deliberation, sound judg- ment, and experience, and from the true nature and causes of things and their circumstances, you may be able to draw conclusions for your improvement in the art of Angling " Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas." All scaly-fish swim in shoals, and often mix company. When fish of any sort are hog-backed, and small-headed, they are in the best season. Open the first fish you catch when Fly-fishing ; ob- serve the colour of the flies he has taken, and fit up your tackle accordingly. All fish that take flies sometimes take them the best on the top, sometimes best a little under the water. In the day fish chiefly seek their food by sight; in the night, by smelling ; so fish accordingly : though some writers say they see equally as well in the dark as the light. There is no use in angling for large fish the next day after a dark or windy night, unless the evening of that day be cloudy or windy ; for in dark or windy nights the best fish feed most, and glut themselves, and conse- quently will not bite so soon after. Fish rise or bite badly when there is any snow-broth in the river where you fisfy. Fish bite badly the same day there has been a sharp frost, unless in the evening, and it be fresh weather again. The best time for angling, between the llth of March and the 1st of June, is from sun-rising till 12 o'clock, and from 2 till 6 o'clock ; between the 1st of June and the 24th of August, from before sun-rising till 10 o'clock, and from 3 till 8, or all night when the weather is fine ; and, from the 24th of August to the llth of September, from sun-rising till 12, and from 2 till 6 o'clock. L 146 A few General Remarks on Angling. Fish generally bite well in dark, lowering, close, warm, gloomy weather ; or in a gentle whistling wind which curls the water ; or in fine soft misling rain or dew, or after a sudden smoking shower. When the night proves very light, and the next day dark and windy, and the water is in condition, you are likely to have good sport, for the best fish stir no more in light nights than in bright days. From Michaelmas till April fish bite best in the warmest part of the day, in the deeps at the bottom, the air being clear and no wind stirring; after April, the colder the day, fish the nearer the bottom ; the hotter the day, the nearer the top. Most fish, in most places, bite earlier in a mild, warm, forward spring, than in a cold, backward one ; and later in autumn, as the weather is hotter or colder : and, both spring and autumn, earlier in a warm day than in a cold one, and in the sunshine better than the shade. . In summer all fish bite keener and better in swift, rapid, stony, gravelly rivers, than in such as run gently, and have slimy, muddy bottoms. When you fish in thick, large, or dark waters, use a large-bodied fly; when in small, clear streams, the smallest flies ought to be used. In frost, snow, or exceeding cold weather in the spring, use the smallest bloas'and gnats, if the water be 'clear; and the clearer and smaller the water, the less must be your flies. Beech trees, as I have been well informed, were never known to be struck by lightning ; therefore, if caught in a thunderstorm, seek their shelter in preference to any other kind of tree. FROM BEST'S "ANGLERS' GUIDE." Prognostics of the Weather, independent of the Barometer, extracted from the best Authorities. I S it is highly necessary that an Angler should be able to form a judgment of the change of weather, on which his sport entirely depends, if he observes the following signs, it will soon become familiar to him. Signs from Vapours. IF a white mist in an evening or night is spread over a meadow, wherein there is a river, it will be drawn up by the next morning's sun, and the day will be bright afterwards. Where there are high hills, and the mist which hangs over the lower lands draw towards the hills in a morning, and rolls up their sides till it covers the top, there will be no rain. In some places, if the mist hangs upon the hills, and drags along the woods, instead of overspreading the level grounds in a morning, it will turn to rain ; therefore to judge rightly of the appearances of a fog, it is in some degree necessary to be acquainted with the nature of the country. Signs from the Clouds. IT is a very considerable symptom of fair weather when 148 Prognostics of the Weather. the clouds decay, and dissolve themselves into air ; but it is otherwise when they are collected out of it. " In nubem cogitur aer." VIRGIL. Before heavy rain every cloud rises bigger than the former, and all the clouds are in a growing state. This is most remarkable on the approach of a thunder- storm, after the vapours have been copiously elevated, sus- pended in the sky by the heat, and are highly charged with electrical fire; small fragments of flying clouds increase and assemble together, till in a short time they cover the sky. When the clouds are formed like fleeces, deep, and dense towards the middle, and very white at the edges, with the sky very bright and blue about them, they are of a frosty coldness, and will soon fall either in hail, snow, or in hasty showers of rain. If clouds are seen to breed high in the air, in their white trains, like locks of wool, or the tails of horses, they show that the vapour, as it is collected, is irregularly spread and scattered by contrary winds above ; the consequence of which will soon be a wind below, and probably a rain with it. If the clouds, as they come forward, seem to diverge from a point in the horizon, a wind may be expected from that quarter, or the opposite. When a general cloudiness covers the sky above, and there are small black fragments of clouds, like smoke, flying underneath, which some call messengers, and others, Noah's Ark, because they sail over the other clouds, like the ark upon the waters, rain is not far off, and it will probably be lasting. There is no surer sign of rain than two different currents of clouds, especially if the undermost flies fast before the wind ; and if two such currents appear in the hot weather of the summer, they show that a thunder-storm is gathering ; but the preparation which precedes a storm of thunder is so generally understood, that it is needless to insist upon it minutely. Prognostics of the Weather. 149 Observations on Change of the Moon. THE late Marshal Bugeaud, says the " Emancipation," when only a captain, during the Spanish campaign, under Napo- leon I, once read in a manuscript which by chance fell into his hands, that from observations made in England and Florence during a period of fifty years, the following law respecting the weather had been proved to hold true. " Eleven times out of twelve the weather remains the same during the whole moon as it is on the fifth day, if it con- tinues unchanged over the sixth day ; and nine times out of twelve like the fourth day, if the sixth resembles the fourth." From 1815 to 1830 M. Bugeaud devoted his attention to agriculture ; and, guided by the law just mentioned, avoided the losses in hay-time and vintage which many of his neigh- bours experienced. When Governor of Algiers, he never entered on a campaign till after the sixth day of the moon. His neighbours at Excideuil and his lieutenants in Algeria would often exclaim " How lucky he is in the weather !" What they regarded as mere chance was the result of ob- servation. In counting the fourth and sixth days, he was particular in beginning from the exact time of new moon, and added three-quarters of an hour for each day for the greater length of the lunar as compared with the solar day. Signs from the Dew. IF the dew lies plentifully upon the grass after a fair day, another fair day may be expected to succeed it ; but if after such a day there is no dew upon the ground, and no wind stirring, it is a sign that the vapours go upwards, and that there will be an accumulation above, which must terminate in rain. Signs from the Face of the Shy. IF those vapours which the heat of the day raised from the earth, are precipitated by the cold air of the night, then the sky is clear in the morning ; but if this does not happen, and they remain still in the air, the light of the morning will be coloured as it was in the evening, and rain will be the consequence. 150 Prognostics of the Weather. There is commonly either a strong dew, or a mist, over the ground, between a red evening and a grey morning ; but if a red morning succeeds there is no dew. It is a bad symptom when a lowering redness is spread ' too far upwards from the horizon, either in the morning or in the evening ; it is succeeded either by rain or wind, and frequently by both. When such fiery redness, together with a raggedness of the clouds, extends towards the zenith in an evening, the wind will be high from the west or south-west, attended with rain, sometimes with a flood. Before the dreadful hurricane of 1780, at Barbadoes, and the other West- Indian Islands, a redness like fire was observed all over the sky. When the sky, in a rainy season, is tinged with a sea- green colour, near the horizon, when it ought to be blue, the rain will continue and increase ; if it is of a deep dead blue, it is abundantly loaded with vapours, and the weather will be showery. Signs from the Sun, Moon, and Stars. WHEN there is a haziness aloft in the air, so that the sun's light fades by degrees, and his orb looks whitish, and ill- defined, it is one of the most certain signs of rain. If the moon and stars grow dim in the night, with the like haziness in the air, and a ring or halo appears round the moon, rain will be the consequence. If the rays of the sun, breaking through the clouds, are visible in the air, and appear like those horns of irradiation which painters usually place upon the head of Moses, the air is sensibly filled with vapours, which reflect the rays to the sight ; and those vapours will soon produce rain. If the sun appears white at his setting, or shorn of his rays, or goes down into a bank of clouds which lie in the horizon, all these are signs of approaching or continuing bad weather. If the moon looks pale and dim, we are to expect rain ; Prognostics of the Weather. 151 if red, it is a sign of wind ; and if white, and of her natural colour, and the sky clear, it will be fair weather ; according to the poetical adage : " Pallida luna pluit, rubicunda flat, alba serenat." If a new moon appears at twelve at night, rain is lately observed to follow. If the moon is rainy throughout her course, it will clear up at the ensuing change, and the rain will probably com- mence again in a few days after, and continue ; if, on the contrary, the moon has been fair throughout, and it rains at the change, the fair weather will probably be restored about the fourth or fifth day of the moon and continue as before. ' " Sin ortu in quarto (namque is certissimus auctor) Pura, neque obtusis per ccelum cornibus ibit ; Totus et ille dies, et qui nascentur ab illo Exactum ad mensem, pluvia ventisque carebunt." VIRGIL, Georgic, lib. I. 1. 432-435. " But four nights old, (for that's the surest sign,) With sharpen'd horns, if glorious then she shine; Next day, not only that, but all the moon, 'Till her revolving race be wholly run, Are void of tempests." DRYDEN. 1ST. B. A gentleman who cuts hay for his own consump- tion will seldom fail to find his account in making this observation ; but a farmer who has much business to do cannot contract his work into so small a compass, as to save himself by the benefit of this observation, because some of his work must be done to make way for the rest. Signs from the Wind. WHEN the wind veers about, uncertainly, to several points of the compass, rain is pretty sure to follow. Some have remarked, that if the wind, as it veers about, follows the course of the sun, from the east towards the west, it brings fair weather ; if the contrary, foul : but there is no prognostic of rain more infallible than a whistling or howling noise of the wind. 152 Prognostics of the Weatfier. Sign from Nocturnal Meteors. WHEN an Aurora Borealis appears after some warm days, it is generally succeeded by a coldness of the air, as if the matter of heat was carried upwards from the earth to the sky. Signs of the Change of Weather from the Animal Creation. So long as the swallows fly aloft after their prey we think ourselves sure of a serene sky ; but when they skim along near the ground, or the surface of the water, we judge the rain is not far off; and the observation will seldom fail. In the year 1775, a drought of three months' continuance broke up at the summer solstice ; the day before the rain came upon us the swallows flew very near the ground, which they had never done in the fine weather. In the mountainous country of Derbyshire which goes by the name of the Peak, the inhabitants observe that if the sheep wind up the hills in the morning to their pasture, and feed near the tops, the weather, though cloudy and drizzling, which is very frequently the case in those parts, will clear away by degrees, and terminate in a fine day; but if they feed in the bottoms, the rains will continue and increase. Dogs grow sleepy and stupid before rain, and show that their stomachs are out of order by refusing their food, and eating grass, that sort which is hence called dog's grass ; this they cast up again soon afterwards, and with it the foulness that offended their stomachs. Water-fowl dive and wash themselves more than ordinary ; and even the fish in rivers are affected, because all Anglers agree that they never bite freely when rain is impending. Flies, on the contrary, are particularly troublesome, and seem to be more hungry than usual ; and toads are seen in the evening craw- ling across the road, or beaten path, where they seldom ap- pear but when they are restless with an approaching change. Before any considerable quantity of rain is to fall most Prognostics of the Weather. 153 living creatures are affected in such sort as to render them some way sensible of its approach, and of the access of some- thing new to the surface of the earth, and the atmosphere. Moles work harder than ordinary, they throw up more earth, and sometimes come forth ; the worms do so too. Ants are observed to stir about, and bustle more than usually for some time, and then retire to their burrows be- fore the rain falls. All sorts of insects and flies are more stirring and busy than ordinary. Bees are ever on this occasion in fullest employ ; but betake themselves all to their hives, if not too far for them to reach before the storm arises. The common flesh-flies are more bold and greedy : snails, frogs, and toads appear disturbed and uneasy. Fishes are sullen, and made qualmish by the water, now more turbid than before. Birds of all sorts are in action ; crows are more earnest after their prey, as are also swallows and other small birds, and therefore they fall lower, and fly nearer to the earth in search of insects and other such things as they feed upon. When the mountains of the north begin to be capped with fogs, the moor-cocks and other birds quit them, fly off in flocks, and betake them- selves to the lower lands for the time. Swine discover great uneasiness, as do likewise sheep, cows, and oxen, ap- pearing more solicitous and eager in pasture than usual. Even mankind themselves are not exempt from some sense of a change in their bodies. Prognostics continued. 1. " A DARK, thick sky, lasting for some time without either sun or rain, always becomes first fair, then foul, /. e. changes to a fair, clear sky, before it turns to rain." This the Rev. Mr. Clark, who kept a register of the weather for thirty years, (since put into Mr. Derham's hands by his grandson, the learned Dr. Samuel Clark), says, he scarce ever knew to fail ; at least when the wind was in any of the easterly points : but Mr. Derham has observed the rule to hold good, be the wind where it will. And the 154 Prognostics of the Weather. cause is obvious : the atmosphere is replete with vapours, which, though sufficient to reflect and intercept the sun's rays from us, yet want density to descend ; and while the vapours continue in the same state, the weather will do so too. Accordingly, such weather is generally attended with moderate warmth, and with little or no wind to disturb the vapours, and a heavy atmosphere to sustain them, the barometer being commonly high. But when the cold ap- proaches, and by condensing drives the vapours into clouds or drops, then way is made for the sunbeams ; till the same vapours begin, by further condensation, to be formed into rain, and fall down in drops. 2. "A change in the warmth of the weather is generally followed by a change in the wind." Thus, the northerly and southerly winds, commonly esteemed the cause of cold and warm weather, are really the effects of the cold or warmth of the atmosphere, of which Mr. Derham assures us he has had so many confirmations, that he makes no doubt of it. Thus it is common to see a warm southerly wind suddenly changed to the north, by fall of snow or hail ; or to see the wind in a cold frosty morning north, when the sun has well warmed the earth and air, wheel towards the south ; and again turn northerly and easterly in a cold evening. 3. " Most vegetables expand their flowers and down in sunshiny weather, and towards the evening; and against rain close them again," especially at the beginning of their flowering, when their seeds are tender and sensitive. This is visible enough in the down of the dandelion, and other downs ; and eminently in the flowers of the pimpernel, the opening and shutting of which, Gerard observes, are the countryman's weather-wiser, whereby he tells the weather of the following day. The rule is, if the flowers are close shut up, it betokens rain and foul weather; if they are spread abroad, fair weather, (Ger. Herb. lib. 2.) " Est et alia (arbor in Tylis) similis, foliosa tamen, ro- seique floris qua noctu comprimens aperire incipit solis Prognostics of the Weather. 155 exortu, meridie expandit; incolae dormire eum dicunt." Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xii. c. 2. " The stalk of trefoil," my Lord Bacon observes, " swells again, strains and grows, more upright ; and the like may be observed, though not so sensibly, in the stalks of most other plants." He adds, that " in the stubble fields there is found a small red flower, called by the country people ' winco-pipe, which opening in the morning is a sure indica- tion of a fine day." That vegetables should be affected by the same causes that affect the weather is very conceivable ; if we consider them as so many hydrometers and thermometers, consisting of an infinite number of tracheae or air vessels, by which they have an immediate communication with the air, and partake of its moisture and heat, &c. These tracheae are very visible in the leaf of the scabeus, vine, &c. Hence it is, that all wood, even the hardest and most solid swells in moist weather; the vapours easily in- sinuating themselves into the pores thereof, especially of that which is lightest and driest. And hence we derive a very extraordinary use of wood, viz. for breaking rocks and mill-stones. The method at the quarries is this : Having cut a rock into a cylinder, they divide that into several lesser cylinders, by making holes at the proper distances round the great one : these holes they fill with so many pieces of sallow wood, dried in an oven ; which, in moist weather, becoming impregnated with the humid corpuscles of the air, swell, and, like wedges, break or cleave the rocks into several stones. The speedy drying of the surface of the earth is a sign of a northerly wind, and fair weather ; and its becoming moist, of southerly wind and rain. Hence the farmer may be instructed never to trust a sunshiny day while the surface of the earth continues wet, and to rely on a change to dry weather as soon as he observes the moisture dried up, even though the appearance of the clouds should not be favourable; for the air sucks up all the moisture on the surface of the earth, even though the sky be overcast, and 156 Prognostics of the Weather. that is a sure sign of fair weather : but if the earth con- tinues moist, and water stands in shallow places, no trust should be put in the clearest sky, for in this case it is de- ceitful. More Signs from Animals. BEFORE rain, fleas bite more than common ; spiders crawl ; bees stir not far from their hives. On the contrary, spiders' webs in the air, or on the grass, or trees, foretell very fair and hot weather ; so do bees, when they fly far from their hives, and come late home ; and likewise a more than usual appearance of glow-worms by night. If gnats play up and down in the open air, near sunset, they presage heat, if in the shade, warm and mild showers ; but if they join in biting those that pass by them, cold weather, and much rain may be expected. Larks rising very high, and con- tinuing to sing for a long time, and kites flying aloft, are signs of fair and dry weather. In men, frequently aches, wounds, and corns are more troublesome, either towards rain, or towards frost. Virgil's beautiful description of this sense in animals is thus rendered by Mr. Dryden : " Wet weather seldom hurts the most unwise ; So plain the signs, such prophets are the skies; The wary crane foresees it first, and sails Above the storm, and leaves the hollow vales ; The cow looks up, and from afar can find The change of heaven, and snuffs it in the wind ; The swallow skims the river's wat'ry face; The frogs renew the croaks of their loquacious race ; The careful ant her secret cell forsakes, And draws her eggs along the narrow tracks ; Huge flocks of rising rooks forsake their food, And, crying, seek the shelter of the wood ; Besides, the several sorts of wat'ry fowls, That swim the seas, or haunt the standing pools, Then lave their backs with sprinkling dews in vain, And stem the stream to meet the promised rain. Then, after showers, 'tis easy to descry, Returning suns, and a serener sky. Prognostics of the Weather. 157 Their litter is not toss'd by sows unclean, And owls, that mark the setting sun, declare A star-light ev'ning, and a morning fair. Then thrice the ravens rend the liquid air ; And croaking notes proclaim the settled fair ; Then round their airy palaces they fly. To greet the sun, and seiz'd with secret joy When storms are overblown, with food repair To their forsaken nests and callow care." The crow has been particularly remarked by the ancients to presage rain when she caws, and walks along on the sea- shore, or on the banks of rivers and pools. Thus Virgil, in the first Georgic : " Turn cornix rauca pluviam vocat improba voce, Et sola in sicca secum spatiatur arena." " The crow with clamourous cries the shower demands, And single stalks along the desert sands." DRTDEN. Pliny makes the same observation, in the 35th chapter of his 18th book: "Et cum terrestres volucres contra aquas clangores fundentes sese lavantesque sed maxime cornix." " It is a sign of rain when land-fowl, and especially crows, are clamorous near waters, and wash themselves." Horace also expresses himself to the same purpose, in the 17th Ode of the third Book, where he says : " Aqua3 nisi fallit augur, Annosa cornix." " unless in vain Croaks the old crow, presaging rain." Likewise in the 27th Ode of the same Book, he calls the crow, " Imbrium divina avis imminentum ;" " prophetic of impending showers." More Prognostics of the Weather taken from the Sun, Moon, and Stars. 1st RULE. If the sun rises red and fiery, wind and 158 Prognostics of the Weather. 2nd Rule. If cloudy, and the clouds soon decrease, certain fair weather. These rules may be extended to all the heavenly bodies ; for as their rays pass through the atmosphere, the vapours in the air have the same effect on each. When the farmer, therefore, sees the sun or moon rise or set red and fiery, or sees the clouds and horizon of that colour, he may expect wind and rain, owing to the unequal distribution of the vapours, or to their being already col- lected into watery globules by some preceding cause. But if, according to the second rule, the sun rises cloudy, and the clouds soon decrease, the vapours are more equally distributed in the atmosphere ; which equal distribution is also promoted by the warmth of the rising sun. Hence we may account for an observation adopted into all languages : " The evening red, the morning grey, Are sure signs of a fair day." For if the abundance of vapours, denoted by the red evening sky, falls down in dew, or is otherwise so equally dispersed in the air that the morning shall appear grey, we may promise ourselves a fair day, from that equal state of the atmosphere. If, in the morning, some parts of the sky appear green between the clouds, while the sky is blue above, stormy weather is at hand. The great Lord Bacon gives us the following rules to judge of the ensuing weather, from the first appearance of the moon ; and it is said that these rules of his have never been known to fail : " If the new moon does not appear till the fourth day, it prognosticates a troubled air for the whole month. " If the moon, either at her first appearance, or within a few days after, has her lower horn obscured or dusky, or any ways sullied, it denotes foul weather before the full ; but if she be discoloured in the middle, storms are to be expected about the full ; or about the wane, if her upper horn is affected in like manner. " When the moon, on her fourth day, appears fine and Prognostics of the Weather. 159 spotless, her horns unblunted, and neither flat nor quite erect, but betwixt both, it promises fair weather for the greatest part of the month. " An erect moon is generally threatening and unfavour- able, but particularly denotes wind ; though if she appear with short and blunted horns, rain is rather expected." Most of the foregoing rules are taken from the following beautiful passage of Virgil : " Observe the daily circle of the sun, And the short year of each revolving moon : By them thou shalt foresee the following day ; Nor shall a starry night thy hopes betray. When first the moon appears, if then she shrouds Her silver crescent, tipp'd with sable clouds : Conclude she bodes a tempest on the main, And brews for fields impetuous floods of rain. Or if her face with fiery flushings glow, Expect the rattling winds aloft to blow. But four nights old, (for that's the surest sign,) With sharpened horns, if glorious then she shine, Next day, not only that, but all the moon, Till her revolving race be wholly run, Are void of tempests both by sea and land. Above the rest, the sun, who never lies, Foretels the change of weather in the skies For if he rise unwilling to his race, Clouds on his brow and spots upon his face ; Or if through mists he shoots his sullen beams ; Frugal of light, in loose and straggling streams ; Suspect a dazzling day with southern rain. Or if Aurora, with half-open'd eyes, And a pale sickly cheek, salute the skies ; How shall the vine, her tender leaves defend Her teeming clusters, when the storms descend. But more than all the setting sun survey, When down the steep of heaven he drives the day . For oft we find him finishing his race, With various colours erring on his face ; In fiery red his glowing globe descends, High winds and furious tempests he portends ; 160 Prognostics of the Weather. But if his cheeks are swoll'n with livid blue, He bodes wet weather by his wat'rv hue ; If dusky spots are varied on his brow, And streaked with red, a troubled colour show, That sullen mixture shall at once declare Winds, rain, and storms, and elemental war. But if with purple rays he brings the light, And a pure heav'n resigns to quiet night; No rising winds, or falling storms are nigh." More Prognostics taken from the Clouds. 3rd RULE. Clouds large, like rocks, great showers. 4th Rule. If small clouds increase, much rain. 5th Rule. If large clouds decrease, fair weather. 6th Rule. In summer, or harvest, when the wind has been south two or three days, and it grows very hot, and you see clouds rise with great white tops, like towers, as if one were on the top of another, and joined together with black on the nether side, there will be thunder and rain suddenly. 7th. Rule. If two such clouds rise, one on either side, it is time to make haste to shelter. Mr. Worlidge gives us the following Rules. " IN a fair day, if the sky seems to be dappled with white clouds (which is usually termed a mackerel sky), it gene- rally predicts rain." This is confirmed by a very ingenious gentleman, who has constantly observed that, " in dry weather, so soon as clouds appear at a great height, striped like the feathers in the breast of a hawk, rain may be expected in a day or so." " In a clear evening, certain small black clouds appearing, are undoubted signs of rain to follow ; or, if black or blue clouds appear near the sun, at any time of the day, or near the moon by night, rain usually follows. " If clouds grow, or appear suddenly, the air otherwise free from clouds, it denotes tempests at hand, especially if they appear to the south or west. Prognostics of the Weather. 161 " If many clouds, like fleeces of wool, are scattered from the east, they foretell rain within three days. " When clouds settle upon the tops of mountains, they indicate bad weather. 44 When the tops of mountains are clear, it is a sign of fair weather." More Prognostics taken from Mists. 8th RULE. If a mist rises in low grounds and soon van- ishes, fair weather. 9th Rule. If it rises up to the hill tops, rain in a day or two. 10th Rule. A general mist before the sun rises, near the full moon, fair weather. More Prognostics taken from Rain. ' llth RULE. Sudden rains never last long: but when the air grows thick by degrees, and the sun, moon, and stars shine dimmer and dimmer, it is likely to rain six hours, usually. 12th Rule. If it begins to rain from the south, with a high wind, for two or three hours, and the wind falls, but the rain continues, it is likely to rain twelve' hours or more ; and does, usually, rain till a strong north wind clears the air : these long rains seldom hold above twelve hours, or happen above once a year. " In an inland country," says Mr. Mills, " it may not rain for more than twelve hours successively ; but I doubt this will not hold as a general rule, either of its duration or frequency, in all places; for near the sea rain happens often which lasts a whole day." 13th Rule. If it begins to rain an hour or two before sunrising, it is likely to be fair before noon, and to con- tinue so that day ; but if the rain begins an hour or two after sunrising, it is likely to rain all that day, except the rainbow be seen before it rains. 162 Prognostics of the Weather. Mr. Worlidge's Signs of Rain are the following. "THE audibility of sound is a certain prognostic of the temper of the air in a still evening ; for if the air is replete with moisture over us, it depresses sounds, so that they be- come audible to a greater distance than when the air is free from such moisture and vapours. From whence you may conclude, that in such nights, or other times, when you hear the sound of bells, noise of water, beasts, birds, or any other sounds or noises, more plainly than at any other times, the air is inclinable to rain, which commonly succeeds. " If the earth, or any moist or fenny places, yield any extraordinary scents or smells, it presages rain. " If dews lie long in the morning on the grass, &c. it sig- nifies fair weather ; but if they rise or vanish suddenly, and early in the morning, it presages rain. " There is a small bird, of the size and nearly the shape of a martin, that at certain times flies very near the water, which is a most sure sign of tempestuous weather ; never appearing but before such weather, as hath been constantly observed by the boatmen on the Severn and the Channel between the Isle of Wight and the main -land. "Ducks and geese picking their wings, washing them- selves much, or cackling much, denote rain. " If after rain comes a cold wind, there will be more rain." " The nightly virgin, whilst her wheel she plies, Foresees the storm impending in the skies, When sparkling lamps their splutt'ring light advance, And in their sockets oily bubbles dance." DRYDEN'S Virgil. More Prognostics from the Wind. 14th RULE. When the wind turns to north-east, and it continues there two days without rain, and does not turn south the third day, nor rain the third day, it is likely to continue north-east for eight or nine days all fair, and then to come south again. Prognostics of the Weather. 163 15th Rule. If it turn again out of the south to the north-east with rain, and continues in the north-east two days without rain, and neither turns south, nor rains the third day, it is likely to continue north-east two or three months. The wind will finish these turns in three weeks. 16th Rule. After a northerly wind, for the most part of two months or more, the wind then coming south, there are usually three or four fair days at first, and then on the fourth or fifth day comes rain, or else the wind turns north again, and it continues dry. 17th Rule. If it return to the south within a day or two, without rain, and turns northward with rain, and re- turns to the south in one or two days, as before, two or three times together after this sort, then it is likely to be in the south, or south-west, two or three months together, as it was in the north before. The wind will finish these turns in a fortnight. 18th Rule. Fair weather for a week, with a southerly wind, is likely to produce a great drought, if there has been much rain out of the south before. The wind usually turns from the north to south with a quiet wind without rain, but returns to the north with a strong wind and rain. The strongest winds are when it turns from south to north by west. 19th Rule. If you see a cloud rise against the wind, or side-wind, when that cloud comes up to you the wind will blow the same way the cloud came. The same rule holds of a clear place, when all the sky is equally thick, except one clear edge. When the north wind first clears the air, which is usually once a week, be sure of a fair day or two. The following are the Observations of Lord Bacon. " When the wind changes conformably to the motion of the sun, that is, from east to south, from south to west, &c. it seldom goes back, or, if it does, it is only for a short time ; but if it moves in a contrary direction, viz. from east to north, from north to west, it generally returns to the former point, at least before it has gone quite through the circle. 164 Prognostics of the Weather. " When winds continue to vary for a few hours, as if it were to try in what point they should settle, and afterwards begin to blow constant, they continue for many days. " If the south wind begins for two or three days, the north wind will blow suddenly after it ; but if the north wind blows for the same number of days, the south will not rise till after the east has blown some time. " Whatever wind begins to blow in the morning, usually continues longer than that which rises in the evening." Mr. Worlidge observes, " that if the wind be east, or north-east, in the fore-part of the summer, the weather is likely to continue dry ; and if westward, towards the end of the summer, then will it also continue dry : if in great rains the winds rise or fall, it signifies that the rain will forthwith cease. " If the colours of the rainbow tend more to red than any other colour, wind follows ; if green or blue are pre- dominant, rain." The Signs of a Tempest are these. " FOR ere the rising winds begin to roar, The working sea advances to the shore ; Soft whispers run along the leafy woods, And mountains whistle to the murm'ring floods ; And chaff with eddying winds is toss'd around, And dancing leaves are lifted from the ground, And floating feathers on the water play." DRTDEN'S Virgil. Prognostics continued. 20th RULE. If the last eighteen days of February, and the first ten days of March,* are for the most part rainy, then the spring and summer quarters will be so too ; and I never knew a great drought, but it entered in at that season. 21st Rule. If the latter end of October, and beginning of November are for the most part warm, and rainy, then * Old style. Prognostics of the Weather. 165 January and February are likely to be frosty and cold, ex- cept after a very dry summer. 22nd Rule. If there is frost and snow in October and November, then January and February are likely to be open and mild. Mr. Claridge gives us the following observations, made by our forefathers : *' Janiveer freeze the pot by the fire. If the grass grow in Janiveer, It grows the worse for't all the year. The Welchman had rather see his dam on the bier. Than see a fair Februeer. March wind and May sun Makes clothes white and maids dun. When April blows his horn, 'Tis good both for hay and corn. An April flood Carries away the frog and her brood. A cold May and windy Makes a full barn and a findy. A May flood never did good. A swarm of bees in May Is worth a load of hay ; But a swarm in July Is not worth a fly." The following Rules are laid down by Lord Bacon. " IF the wainscot, or walls, that used to sweat, be drier than usual in the beginning of winter, or the eaves of houses drop more slowly than ordinary, it portends a hard and frosty winter ; for it shows an inclination in the air to dry weather, which in winter is always joined with frost. " Generally, a moist and cold summer portends a hard winter. " A hot and dry summer, and autumn especially, if the heat and drought extend far into September, portend an open beginning of winter, and cold to succeed towards the latter part, and beginning of spring. 166 Prognostics of the Weather. " A warm and open winter portends a hot and dry summer, for the vapours disperse into the winter showers ; whereas, cold and frost keep them in, and convey them to the late spring and following summer. " Birds that change countries at certain seasons, if they come early, show the temper of the weather, according to the country whence they came ; as, in the winter, wood- cocks, snipes, fieldfares, &c. if they come early, show a cold winter ; and the cuckoos, if they come early, show a hot summer to follow. " A serene autumn denotes a windy winter ; a windy winter, a rainy spring ; a rainy spring, a serene summer ; a serene summer, a windy autumn ; so that the air, on a balance, is seldom debtor to itself; nor do the seasons suc- ceed each other in the same tenor for two years together." Mr. Worlidge remarks, " that if at the beginning of the winter the south wind blow, and then the north, it is likely to be a cold winter ; but if the north wind first blow, and then the south, it will be a warm and mild winter. " When there are but few nuts, cold and wet harvests generally follow ; but when there is a great show of them, hot, heavy, and dry harvests succeed. " If the oak bears much mast, it foreshows a long and hard winter. The same has been observed of hips and haws. " If broom is full of flowers, it usually signifies plenty." " Mark well the flow'ring almonds in the wood ; Tf od'rous blooms the bearing branches load, The glebe will answer to the sylvan reign, Great heats will follow, and large crops of grain. But if a wood of leaves o'ershade the tree, Such and so barren will the harvest be. In vain the hind shall vex the threshing-floor, For empty chaff and straw will be thy store." DRYDEN'S Virgil. MATE III . NATURAL FLIES. ITH regard to the particular classes of insects that fish feed upon, a few general remarks may be interesting to the Fly-fisher. The EPHEMERAE, or day-flies, deserve the first place amongst the insects suitable for Anglers. They are a most beautiful tribe, and great favourites of the trout and grayling. The Green and Grey Drake, (Ephemera vul- gata) (Plate n. cxciv.) ; the March Brown (vi.), the Red Spinner (Ixxii.), Bloa and Orange (xxxix.), Bloa and Yellow (xi.), all on Plate HI. are specimens. They are produced from larva which inhabit rivulets and becks, &c. ; becoming nymphce, they crawl to the water's edge, burst from their covering, and assume the form of winged insects. They enjoy a sportive life of but a few hours ; nay, some even exist only one hour ; perform all the functions of nature, and die upon the water from which they so lately sprang into existence. Were it not for this wise dispensation of Providence, and the life of these myriads of insects were protracted to the usual period, the air would be thronged beyond human existence. The earliest appear in February and March, and the latest in October and even in November. They change their appearance as the season advances ; the browns become orange and yellow, and the reds change to cream colour ; the blues, from a deep hue to a paler bloa cast; and again, as the summer's light declines, so their sizes not only diminish, but darken in colour, suiting them- 168 Natural Flies. selves to the varying season, and catching the diminished heat, &c. on their peculiar colours. The PAPILIO, or BUTTERFLY ; under which is generally classed, by Anglers, the night flies, such as the white, the mealy, the brown, and the black moths, from the species noctua and cossus. The PHRYGANE^: are divided into two kinds ; those that have two whisks at the tail, and those that have none. They are next to the ephemerae in importance to the Angler. They are not all spring flies, but are produced at various periods through the spring and summer. The Alder Fly (Plate iv. civ.) ; the Fcetid Brown ; and the largest is the Stone, or May-fly (Phryganea grandis), of our waters, pro- duced from the creeper, (Plate n. cxcvii.) The HYMENOPTERA, or PIERCERS, have four wings, as the Cynips, or Gall-fly, the Oak-fly, (Plate n. cxcvi.) the C. viminalis or little yellow willow-fly, &c. The TENTHREDINES, or SAW-FLIES ; as the Black Cater- pillar, or Thorn-fly, &c. (Plate v. ci.) The FORMICA RUBRA, RED ANT, (Plate iv. xlix.) and the FORMICA NIGRA, BLACK ANT, (Plate iv. Ixx.) Woody spots are more favourable for the red, and mea- dow or pasture-grounds, for the black, ants. The DIPTERA, as the Tipula, or Crane-fly, commonly called the Harry -long -legs (Plate m. xcvii.), have two transparent wings only, and are without ailerous or petty wings, &c. The smaller tipula are very numerous, and of great variety, and are generally to be met with throughout the year. The MUSCA, COMMON or FLESH-FLY, &c. The M. VOMITORIA, the BLUE BOTTLE, Culex, the Gnat ; (Plate iv. ex.), &c. As to putting two or three natural flies or baits upon one hook, I will leave that to those who imagine they can im- prove upon nature. All I advocate as reasonable in the prac- tice of angling is, to observe and imitate Nature as closely as may be ; for it will be found that the closer you approach to her forms, colours, sizes, and habits, the more successful will you at all times most certainly be. A LIST OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES For taking Trout, #c. ; the Materials of which they are made, and the Proper Seasons to use them. " THE waters not too high, too thick, too clear, When Sol's bright beams do not at all appear, Nor yet the wind too low, nor over high ; On purling streams, if then you'll cast the fly That right in season is, and of true make, Well like to such, the Trout now best will take ; I dare engage, have you but any skill, You will not fail the' nimble Trout to kill." 1;LL flies come in earlier or later every year, and every month of the year, according to the cold- ness or warmth of the season. Sometimes fish change their flies several times in a day, and in the same part of the river ; and that fly which is taken in one part of a river may not be taken in another part of the same river, and at np great distance of place neither. A little time before any sort of fly goes out and dies, it comes on rivers in great numbers, and then is greedily taken by the fish, who do not change till that sort be gone. Then they take many kinds until another is of great plenty, when they forsake all for that which is .most nume- rous, and in greatest perfection, and change not again until they have glutted themselves as before ; and this is their course through the season. 170 Artificial Flies for taking Trout, t-feather of a mallard or tamo drake, dyed yellow ; l>odv, yellow floss- silk, or crewel, ribbed with brown or black silk ; head, pea- cock's herl; legs, same feather as wings, but a small on.-, or a pale red hackle; tail, two strands of bear's hair, or two strands of same feather as wings. This, and the fol- lowing, to be made on a long-shanked No. 4, 5, or 6, Lime- rick hook, and the body taper, or turned off the shank as in Plate ii. cxiv., and the spinner (PL in. Ixxii.), which is done in this way : Procure a piece of gut, bristle, or hair about an inch long ; take one end between your finger and thumb, and pass your silk two or three times over to the end that projects, where tie in your two or three whisks; next fasten on your floss-silk by a loop-knot of your dress- ing silk, which is to be brown and waxed, leaving it hanging until you have wound on your floss-silk, of the desired length, towards your finger and thumb with your tweezers ; and then rib it regularly with your dressing - silk which was left near the whisks. This part of the body is now ready to be tied on to the shank of the hook, as seen in the plate, by the part you hold between your finger and thumb, carrying the body up and finishing under the shoulders, (Plate ii. cxciv.) May. 195. THE GREY DRAKE. Wings, the breast-feather of a mallard; body, greyish-white or pale yellow floss-silk, ribbed with reddish brown or black ; legs, a pale red haclile ; whisks, same feather as the wings ; head, black peacock's herl, (Plate n. cxciv.) May. 196. THE OAK-FLY, DOWNLOOKER, OR CANON-FLY. Wings, from a yellowish-brown hen ; body, under wings, hare's lug ; in the middle, orange and yellow ; and towards the tail, a brownish dun, ribbed with brown silk ; legs, a red hackle, thin. Wings to be shorter than the body, and made to lie flat. Found on oak, ash, willow or thorn trees near the water, and its head always pointing downwards. An ex- cellent fly. Limerick hook, No. 3 or 4. This and the two former are fished with as natural flies, (Plate n. cxcvi.) April, May, and June. (Vide pp. 101, 10-2, and 103.) 200 Artificial Flies for tailing Trout > -c. A variety of Hackled-flies which have been found to kill well in almost all the Rivers and Broohs in the United Kingdom. CLASS 1. The Woodcocks. These may be dressed from the feathers of the woodcock, taken from the neck, back, and inside or outside of the wing ; and purple, brown, claret, copper-coloured, slate, crimson, scarlet, orange, and yellow ; silks of all shades may be used either plainly, as used for whipping the hook on, or floss-silk warped over the body. Limerick hook, No. 0, up to 4. This and the following fourteen classes may be used throughout the season, only varying the sizes to suit the time and the state of the water. CLASS 2. The Snipes. These are dressed from the same parts of the bird as described for the woodcocks, using the same silks. Limerick hook, No. 0, or 1 . CLASS 3. The Pheasants. These are made either from the cock or hen pheasant's breast-feathers, and silks as for the woodcocks. Limerick hook, No. 1, or 3. CLASS 4. The Partridges. Breast, neck, and back-fea- thers, and silk as for the woodcocks. Limerick hook, No. 1, or 2. CLASS 5. The Thrushes. Chiefly reddish feathers, from inside of wing ; and orange, yellow, and pink silks. Limerick hook, No. 1. CLASS 6. The Daker-hens, or Corn-crakes. From the neck, breast, and inside and outside of the wings ; silks, as for the woodcocks. Limerick hook, No. 1, or 2. CLASS 7. The Moor-pouts. Inside of moor-pout's wing, and neck-feathers ; the former with yellow and orange silks, the latter with orange chiefly ; but some drab, ash-colour, and sky-blue. Limerick hook, No. 0, or 1. CLASS 8. The Starlings. From neck, inside and outside of wings ; the former with brown, copper-coloured, purple, or black ; the latter, with orange, or yellow silks. Lime- rick hook, No. 1, 2, or 3. CLASS 9. The Sandpipers. Neck, inside and outside of the wings; silks, chiefly orange, and yellow. Limerick hook, No. 0, or 1. Artificial Flies for taking Trout, fyc. 201 CLASS 10. The Dotterels. As the last. Limerick hook, No. 0, 1, 2, or 3. CLASS 11. The Fieldfares. As the last. Limerick hook, No. 0, 1, 2, or 3. CLASS 12. The Tom-tits. Chiefly the tail-feathers, and brown, orange, copper-coloured, slate, and yellow silks. Limerick hook, No. 0. CLASS 13. The Creepers. As for the Sandpipers. CLASS 14. The Fern- Owls, or Night- Jars. As the last. CLASS 15. The Golden Plovers. As for the Woodcocks. For the very small flies, such as are used by many of the Fly-fishers on the Wear, the feathers from any small birds, such as sparrows, torn-tits, &c. and the various shades of silks, with a little tinsel, or a very small quantity of worsted, the colour of the silk you warp with, for the head, and dressed on No. hooks, sometimes kill well in very small and clear waters. For waters that run very clear and small in summer, I would never dress flies with any dubbing ; they are at such times worthless. Silk, in almost all cases, makes the neatest body for general use. If you wish, however, to have a fly as near as may be to the substance and appearance of a natural fly, make the bodies of your artificials with the very finest transparent strip of India-rubber over the coloured silk, similar to the colour of the natural fly, beginning under the shoulder and making it, for all the drake-shaped flies (as those on Plate in.), nicely tapering to the tail, and add forks. If thus warped on to the body of a winged-fly, neatly done, it is the most perfect resemblance of the natural fly that can be built : except perhaps the outer portion of the quill- feather of a starling's wing, shaved thin from the outside stem, which will come off like a piece of hair. Of the hackled-flies, some should be dressed full in feather andbody, while for fine waters you can hardly have the feather too scant, and the body too thin, provided it is long enough. 197. THE MAY-FLY, OR STONE-FLY. Tie securely a long-shanked green-drake hook on to a 202 Artificial Flies for taking Trout, (?. length of fine round gut : prepare two pieces of whalebone, which must be scraped very thin, the shape and the size of the wings of the natural fly, for which feather is a bad sub- stitute ; these are to be cut narrow enough to be tied neatly on at the shoulders, and laid flat to the back ; wrap a pea- cock's herl for the head, or, better, India-rubber, the same as the body is to be made of; for legs, twirl a feather, taken from the outside of the woodcock's wing, under the shoulders after the wings and head are made ; two feelers are to be tied in, when the head is made, of two hairs taken from a bear's skin ; dress the fly with strong yellow silk, wrapped nearly as thick as the body of the natural fly, and over this wind closely a strip of fine light-coloured India-rubber, which you will get by unravelling a piece of elastic band or brace, this will show the yellow silk through ; add two short, thickish whisks at the tail from two strands of a woodcock's feather ; lastly, take a very fine needle and a piece of very fine yellow silk well waxed, pass the needle through the wings from the inside, and so back again from the outside, and tie securely under the belly near the tail of the fly, thus fastening down the wings to lie as those of the natural fly, of which you will now have made a very close representation. You may either rib the body with yellow silk or not, as you please. If dubbing is used for the body, as is the custom of some persons, it must be nicely mixed, and not so full as the na- tural fly, and cut close, (for the dubbing swells when wet), and ribbed with yellow floss- silk. India-rubber is by far the best, since it does not absorb the wet, floats more lightly, and has the nearest resemblance of the natural fly that can be obtained. The artificial fly cannot, of course, be so captivating as the natural ; but in a very windy day, in the height of the season, and in streams, it has been successfully used. One great advantage in using the artificial fly is ,that it saves much time and trouble in gathering the flies and in baiting. It is to be used in the same way as described for the natural fly, and mostly on the top of the water ; and is to be fished somewhat quicker, always keeping it in motion. Artificial Flies for taking Trout, fyc. 203 It is absurd to talk of this bait being deadly, and that bait being deadly ; all natural baits are deadly, if fished in the places where the fish are accustomed to feed on them in their natural course. So an artificial fly is deadly, if it is a good representation of, and put on the water, like a natural one, and in spots in which fish are known to feed. This is the grand secret in killing fish. Observe carefully the haunts of fishes when feeding, and cast in such places. A person fishing in a horse-pond, which is dry half the summer, will take as many trout in a day as some amateurs will while fishing in a river where trout are plentiful, unless they hook one by accident. These certainly flog, flog away, but seldom within many yards of the places where trout abound and feed. (Plate n. cxcvii.) May and June. 198. THE WOODCOCK. Wings, woodcock ; body, brown spaniel's ear and a little squirrel's fur well mixed; two strands of copper-coloured feather of mallard for forks ; red hackle for legs, dressed with orange silk, and body not too full, but tapering. Good on windy days, and by some considered the best fly we have, Limerick hook, No. 1, 2, or 3, (Plate in. vi.) May to August. 199. THE EVENING BLOA. Wings, from a jay's light wing- feather ; body, white mohair or silk ; pale dun hackle for legs ; head and tail brown silk, whisks of light dun hackle. (Plate vin.) Limerick hook, No. 0. 200. THE COMMON-FLY. Wings, spare and short, from a starling's quill-feather ; legs, a dark grizzled hackle ; body, black silk, ribbed with silver twist. Limerick hook, No. 2. 201. THE COCK-TAIL. Wings, from inside feather of a teal's wing ; legs, a hackle of the same colour ; body, from mole's skin ; tail, two fibres of a white cock's hackle. Lime- rick hook, No. or 1, same shape as Plate in. xcviii. 202. THE CAPTAIN. Wings, from the tail-feather of a hen grouse or woodcock's wing ; body, dull orange mohair ; legs, a partridge's hackle. Limerick hook, No. 2. A good fly. Spider-flies, recommended by Mr. Stewart. 203. " THE BLACK SPIDER. Made of the small feather of the cock starling, dressed with brown silk. 204 Artificial Flies for taking Trout, fyc. 204. THE KED SPIDER. Made from the feather taken from the outside of a daker-hen's wing, and dressed with yellow silk. 205. THE DUN SPIDER. Made from the dun or ash- coloured feather taken from the outside of the wing of a dotterel, or inside of a starling's wing. Winged-flies, from Mr. Stewart. 206. " 1. WOODCOCK. Wings, with a single turn of a red hackle or landrail's feather, dressed with yellow silk, freely exposed on the body. For dark waters, scarlet silk thread. 2. A hare-lug body with corn-bunting's or chaffinch's wing, or a woodcock's, inside of wing. 3. The same wing as the last fly, with a single turn of soft black hen's hackle, or small feather taken from the shoulders of a starling ; dressed with dark-coloured silk." Night-flies. 207. THE WHITE MOTH. Wings, from the mealy feather of the white owl, large and broad, the length of the body ; white peacock's herl, or white hares's fur ; legs, a soft white hackle. The body should be as thick as a very large straw. This and the following are dressed on an ordinary-sized worm-hook. 208. THE BROWN MOTH. Wings, from the mottled brown feather of an owl ; body, fur of a weasel's tail, yellow mar- tin's fur and brown spaniel's fur from the ear, well mixed ; legs, a bittern's hackle ; and head, either of peacock's herl or silver twist. 209. THE CREAM-COLOURED MOTH. Wings, from the yellow owl, of a deep cream-colour ; body, fur from a white weasel's tail, wrapped with straw-coloured silk ; head, pea- cock's herl ; legs, a yellow hackle. 210. THE BLACK CLOCKER. Wings, the black feather of a rook or any other black bird ; body, a black ostrich's herl ; legs, a black cock's hackle, wrapped rather full. These night- flies are dressed on Limerick hook, No. 6, or, on ordinary worm-hooks ; but you may vary the size according to fancy. 211. THE PERCH-FLY. This is a mixed winged-fly, con- Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. 205 sisting of strands of golden pheasant top, crimson macaw, green parrot, common pheasant's tail feather, three or four strands from the eye of a peacock's tail-feather, &c. ; legs, a bright red cock's hackle ; body, brown, orange, crimson, blue, or yellow floss-silk, ribbed with gold or silver tinsel ; tip, golden pheasant's top feather, and a strand or two of scarlet macaw or parrot ; to be dressed on along-shanked hook, similar to those for the green and grey drake, (Plate v. ccxii.) SPECIMENS of a dozen Hackled-flies are given on Plate vi. all of which have been used, in various rivers in the north, with great success, by many Anglers, for a number of years, and are preferred by some to the winged-flies ; but the writer does not so esteem them : Woodcock and orange A. Dark snipe, and purple, claret, or copper . I. Woodcock and yellow D. Bloa and orange ...... E. BlueBloa F. Black-fly G. Corn-crake and yellow ..... H. Black Midge . . . . . C. Corn-crake and orange K. Clock M. Red Palmer L. Black Palmer N. Salmon Flies for the Awe and Urchay rivers. Chiefly Mr. Lascelles' Flies. 1. THE AWE. 1. Wings, mottled, black and white tail- feather from turkey ; body, olive-coloured mohair, ribbed with gold twist, black hackle ; shoulder, black hackle wrapt close under wing ; tip, orange -wool and small projection of turkey's feather. 2. THE AWE. 2. Wings, the speckled-brown feather from mallard ; body, blue mohair, ribbed with silver twist, blue hackle ; shoulder, blue hackle ; tip, golden pheasant crest-feather. 3. THE BLACK DRAGON. Wings, from raven; body, 206 Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. black mohair and black hackle ; tip, golden pheasant's crest- feather. When the waters are clear and bright, this is reckoned very deadly in the Awe, and west-coast rivers. 4. THE URCHAY. Wings, mottled, black and white tail- feather of turkey ; body, dark-blue mohair, touched off with twitch of orange ditto, two turns of light-blue floss-silk and ostrich's herl, black hackle, gold tinsel ; shoulder, claret- coloured hackle, over twitch of the same coloured mohair ; tip, golden pheasant's crest-feather, ostrich's herl. 5. THE TARTAN. Wings, dark speckled brown of tur- key's tail, mixed with twelve peacock's herls ; body, a mix- ture of every imaginable colour, forked with dark fibres of mallard's feather, blood-red hackle, gold twist; shoulder, copper-coloured mohair ; tip, forks of dark fibres of mal- lard's feather. The body of this fly is made with each colour separate, from yellow to black. 6. THE BLACK DOG. Wings, of blue heron's feather mixed with turkey's; body, lead-coloured mohair, ribbed with gold lace, large black hackle ; shoulder, dark green mohair. Divide the wings with gold twist, and make it ap- pear about the head. 7. THE BRIGHT BROWN. Wings, reddish-brown speckled feather from turkey's tail ; body, bright brown hair, or fur of bear mixed with gold-coloured mohair, black hackle, gold ribs ; shoulder, deep red hackle over red mohair. 8. THE COPPER HERL. Wings, mottled grey turkey's tail ; body, copper-coloured peacock's herl ; pewet's topping ribbed with silver, dark grizzled hackle, dress with dark red silk ; tip, two long fibres of pheasant's tail-feather. For various Rivers. 9. SPEY FLY. 1. Wings, brown mottled feather, taken from the back of the mallard ; body, black and brown mo- hair, or pig's wool, mixed; hackle taken from pendent breast-feathers of male heron, broad gold or silver lace lapped on widely ; tuft, yellow or orange. A thread of blue silk is often wound on by the side of the silver lace, and the side-feather of a barn- door-fowl instead of heron. Artificial Flies for tolling Salmon. 207 2. "Wings, a pair of crest-feathers from the golden phea- sant ; body, black mohair, black hackle, silver tinsel ; tail- tuft, yellow. 10. NITH FLY. Wings, red turkey, with yellow or white tip, under wings of grey turkey, teal, or pea-hen ; body, light brown wool, peacock's herl with dark root and edge, tarn- ished gold twist ; shoulder, dark brown or black wool ; tuft, yellow. 11. TAY FLY. Wings, mottled turkey's feather, either brown or white ; body, dark mohair, heron hackle, silver tinsel ; shoulders, a twitch of yellow or orange mohair ; tail- tuft, yellow. 12. DEE FLY. The same as above. Wingless hooks, like palmers, on a large scale, are sometimes used on the Dee and Don by salmon-fishers. 13. FAIL-ME-NEVER. Wings, mottled feather from tail of argus pheasant ; body, black mohair, black hackle, silver twist; shoulders, a twitch of orange mohair; tail-tuft, yellow. 14. FORTH AND TEITH FLY. Wings, yellow feather tipped with white; body, black mohair, black hackle and silver twist ; tail-tuft, yellow. 15. NESS AND BEAULEY. Wings, turkey, peacock, gledd or mallard-feather; body, dark, fancy, with silver tinsel. Wings made of peacock's herls, considered taking in Beauley in snow-water. It is well known that under a clear sky, and on low clear waters, a glittering fly is most killing ; while on dull windy days, one of sober hue developes its powers more attrac- tively, especially in brown waters. When a large fly fails, try a small one, if you change, and vice versa. 16. TOPPY. Wings, a feather from the turkey's back, tipped with white; body, a black cock's hackle; legs, the same ; head, crimson or yellow worsted ; tip or tail, a golden pheasant's crest-feather, (Plate i. xx.) 17. LADY MERTOWN. Wings, from a mottled feather of a teal ; head, yellow worsted or mohair ; body, water-rat's fur, and near the tail crimson worsted; legs, a black or dusky cock's hackle; tip, the yellow feather of a golden 208 Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. pheasant's crest or yellow wool, over the crimson worsted a red cock's hackle, continued from the black one, under the wings. 18. THE WHITE SWAN. Wings, made of six strands of a swan's white quill-feather for each; body, dark blue or black pig's wool in the upper part, succeeded by claret- coloured pig's wool ; legs, a dark cock's hackle, edged with brown, in the upper part, crimson hackle ; further down, silver tinsel ; shoulders, light blue hackle, intermixed with mohair of the same colour ; tail-tuft, light yellow. Ad- lington hook, from No. 15 to 20. In the spring sizes of salmon-flies, lace and tinsel are preferable to gold and silver twist. 19. THE PENCILLED SNIPE. Wings, from the finely pen- cilled feathers found in the inside of a snipe's wing, one feather for each wing, or the pencilled feather of a silver cock pheasant ; body, the same as No. 3 ; shoulders, the same also, or scarlet hackle and wool ; tail-tuft, yellow or crimson. Hook, as above, or Philips' hook, from No. 4 to 6. 20. THE WHITE TOP. Wings, from the tail-feather of a turkey, with a white or light top or edge ; body, nearest wings, black worsted, next, claret-coloured, next, blue or red near the tail-tuft; legs, black hackle; body, ribbed with silver tinsel: or, shoulders, light blue or crimson to correspond with the lower extremity of the body ; tail-tuft, yellow, or orange. Hook, as above. 21. THE DOUBLE WHITE TOP. Wings, a variety of the above, No. 18 ; body, black mohair in the upper part, relieved below by light blue and yellow mohair, black and fine yellow hackles in succession, ribbed with silver and gold tinsel ; shoulders, fine orange hackle ; tail-tuft, crimson and yellow side by side. A favourite fly in cold weather. .look, as above. 22. THE DUN WING. Wings, taken from the salmon- tailed glede or buzzard; also, from the turkey, Egyptian goose, and mountain-pheasant, &c. ; body, dark mohair, re- lieved by red or deep orange, black hackle with orange one succeeding it, silver or gold tinsel ; shoulder, light blue or crimson; tail-tuft, to correspond with shoulder in colour. Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. 209 The dun-white top is preferred, which is best obtained from the turkey. Hook, as above. (Plate i. xxviii.) Tweed Salmon Flies. 23. THE MOTTLED TURKEY. Wings, from the mottled turkey's tail-feather ; or, better, from the silver pheasant. The white mottled is better than that of a brownish tinge ; body, dark blue mohair in the upper part, wound over with a dark fibred hackle, yellow below with orange hackle, rib- bed with silver tinsel ; shoulder, orange mohair or hackle ; tail-tuft, deep yellow. Hook, as above. (Plate i. xxiii.) 24. THE DRAKE-WING. Wings, taken from the white mot- tled feather of the mallard's or corn-crake's breast ; body, black wool or mohair to orange dubbing above tuft, a black hackle or orange hackle, silver twist; shoulder, black or orange hackle ; tail-tuft, orange or yellow. Hook, as above. (Plate i. xxiv.) 25. THE BROWN MALLARD. Wings, the brown mottled feather taken from the back of the mallard, or, better, from the back of the tame drake, which is more finely marked ; body, orange -coloured mohair or pig's wool, dyed fine brown hackle, gold twist ; shoulder, dark hackle ; tail-tuft, yellow. A favourite fly when the water is clear. Hook, as above. This fly may be varied by using, for the body, dark mohair touched off with blue and orange ; or, olive-coloured through- out, with a fine brown hackle with dark interipr and gold tinsel. Hook, as above. It may also be varied again by using for the body, black mohair, touched off near the extremity with a twitch of blue, a black hackle and silver twist ; shoulders, blue or crimson ; tail-tuft, a fine crimson or orange tuft, which are to be used also with No. 23 variation. Hook, as above. In the smaller sizes, the large fibres of the hackle shoulder the fly sufficiently in most cases. A head of ostrich's or peacock's herl gives the fly a more finished appearance ; two or three wraps are generally sufficient. 26. THE DUN-WING, No. 2. Wings, from the dun turkey's feather, dun white top preferred ; body, dark-coloured mo- 210 Artificial Flies for taking Salmori. hair, touched off with blue and orange, or olive-coloured, throughout, with a twitch of orange occasionally under the wing and near the tip; tail-tuft, a paroquet's breast-fea- ther, or floss-silk, or worsted of crimson or yellow. Hook, as above. This fly may be varied in body, by using dark-coloured mohair ; blue, purple, or black in the upper part ; a twitch of orange below, and a black hackle, and silver or gold twist. 27. THE MALLARD. Wings, taken from the brown-mot- tled feather on the back of the mallard ; body, dark blue, green, or orange mohair, black or brown hackle, and gold or silver tinsel; shoulder, a light blue hackle, sometimes wound in ; tail-tuft, yellow fibres from, golden pheasant's tippet - feather, or a small crest -feather of the same bird. Hook, as above. (Plate i. xxix.) The mottled feather is used on the Tweed and its tribu- taries, and is most effective when the water is small and clear. In the north of Scotland, a dark-coloured state of the water is no hindrance to its success ; and it is esteemed a great favourite there. It may be observed, that there the summer sizes are most of the adaptations of the spring sizes of salmon-flies em- ployed on the Tweed. 28. THE MOTTLED-WING. Wings, from the tail of the silver pheasant, hen bird ; also, from a mottled turkey's feather ; body, dark blue mohair, touched off" with orange, and a fine dark-brown hackle; shoulder, light blue or crimson hackle ; tail- tuft, crest-feather of golden phea'sant. Hook, as above. 29. THE GUINEA-FOWL. Wings, from the finely-marked feather of the guinea-fowl ; body, light blue mohair, touched off with orange below, silver tinsel, and a dark hackle ; shoulder and tuft, &c. as No. 25. Hook, as above. 30. THE SILVER PHEASANT. Wings, from the silver phea- sant; body, black, or dark blue, black hackle, and silver tinsel ; tail-tuft, crest-feather of golden pheasant, (Plate i. xxx.) Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. 211 31. THE CREE-FLY. Wings, brown feather of the mal- lard's wing ; body, orange mohair ; shoulder, blue dun and blue hackle ; tail-tuft, lemon worsted ; forks, two strands of wing-feather. 32. THE CANARY. Wings, two orange or canary coloured feathers from under the wings of the macaw, with a mixture of blue, yellow, and crimson fibres of the tail-feathers of the same bird, and strands from a silver pheasant's tail ; crimson hackle over butts of wings; head, a black ostrich's herl ; body, dark mohair, ribbed loosely with silver tinsel and orange hackle, which is to be full under the wings ; tip, silver tinsel and long tags of crimson and orange silk ; tail, from a golden pheasant's topping, or sprigs of golden pheasant's neck- feather. Phillips' No. 4, long-shanked hook. Salmon Flies, Irish style and fashion. 33. THE PARSON. A bright yellow. Wings, formed of golden pheasant's crest, with slips from the blue and buff macaw ; body, yellow floss-silk and gold twist ; tail, golden pheasant's crest-feather below ostrich's herl. Most of these are favourites on the rivers Ness, Beauley, and Shin. 34. THE DOCTOR. Mixed wings, composed of golden pheasant's tippet, or tail-feather, bustard, brown mallard, capercailzie, &c. &c. along with macaw slips, which latter are reckoned indispensable ; body, blue floss-silk, silver twist; shoulders, blue feather from wing of jay used as a hackle ; the cserulean of the blue lowrie is more esteemed ; tail, as the Parson. 35. THE CHJLDERS. Mixed wings, composed of a pair of golden pheasant's crest and macaw slips, &c. &c. ; body, yellow, resolving into orange in the upper part, made roughish, gold thread ; ptarmigan feather, used as a hackle under the wing ; tail, as the Parson. 36. THE DUNDAS. Wings, mixtures, golden pheasant's feather most prevalent ; macaw slips ; body, greenish yel- low ; golden plover's feather used as hackle ; tail, as the Parson. 212 Artificial Flies for taking Salmon. 37. THE BUTCHER. Wings, mixtures; body, blue and red floss-silk, silver twist ; legs, a black hackle ; tail, as the Parson. 38. THE GENERAL. Wings, like the Parson ; body, blue floss-silk ; tail, as the Parson. 39. LASCELLES' GOLDEN-FLY. Wings, mixtures. Golden pheasant's, common ditto ; parrot, peacock's herl, mottled turkey, along with blue jay feathers placed on each side ; body, green floss-silk ribbed with gold, red hackle or saddle feather ; shoulders, green mohair. Silver fly for the same, only rib with silver, and a dun hackle for legs. 40. THE BUTTERFLY. Mixed wings, as above; body, black; shoulders, red, blue, yellow, and red; tip, golden pheasant's crest-feather, dark grey mallard or blue jay fea- ther for legs ; ribbed with silver or gold twist. (Plate i. xlii.) 41. THE IRISH DRAKE-WING. Wings, the red mottled feather from mallard's breast ; golden pheasant's top, and two or three strands from the eye of a peacock's feather ; legs, the blue feather from a jay's wing; body, under wing, orange mohair tapered to yellow, ribbed with gold or silver twist ; tip, golden pheasant's top feather. (Plate i. xliii.) 42. THE LEWIS. Wings, body, and legs, of the most flaming red feathers and silk that can be procured. Salmon have been taken with such a fly from the waters of the Island of Lewis when no other colour would tempt one even to rise. OniSWlOK PRESS : PRINTED BY W1JITT1KGHAM AND \VILKINS, 100MS COURT, CHANCKH Y LANE. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. llApr'SOflT LD LD 21A-50m-4,'59 (A1724slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley YB IG5C7