BLACKER’S,
ART OF FLY MAKING, &c.,

BLACKER’S,
ART OF FLY MAKING, &c.,

[i]

CONTENTS.

[v]

PREFACE.

I know not how to apologise for submitting
a Second Edition of this little Book to
the notice of the Angling few, after the
appearance of so many by clever writers,
except the many calls I had for it, and a
sincere desire of improving farther upon a
craft that has not hitherto been clearly promulgated
by a real practitioner; consequently
my great object is to benefit and
amuse my readers, by giving them something
practical, which at the present time may be
particularly wanted by those who love to
make their own flies, whose wants, without
doubt, will be found sufficiently supplied in
this book; the tyro will appreciate it as[vi]
valuable to him, and the senior angler who
may, perchance, be in possession of it, and
who may be singularly fond of making his
flies, and amusing himself dyeing the hackles
and colours, &c., will, I am persuaded, consider
it a treasure.

My endeavours have been unceasing for
many years past, in striving to please the
great Salmon Fishers and Trout Fishers of
this Country, and I must confess that my
labours have not been in vain; they have
generously conferred upon me their very kind
patronage and good will, benefits for which
I hold them in very great estimation. Under
these circumstances, I have taken much pains
to write the book in a befitting manner to
suit their tastes and purposes, although my
inability in many instances has been an
obstacle, nevertheless with all my faults I
claim the title of Fisherman, an humble and
unimportuned name which no reasonable
dispensation can deprive me of.

From my boyhood, I took great delight in
ranging along the banks of the beautiful and[vii]
romantic streams of my native land, Ireland;
and having also been for many years a skilful
Fly Fisher of no little commendation, in both
Great Britain and Hibernia, it is my desire to
impart to the world, plainly and easily, the
knowledge I have acquired, that all those
who wish to become masters of the art,
may, by patience and practice, and a close
adherence to the instructions I shall lay
down, derive the fullest benefit from my
experience.

I have endeavoured in the following treatise
on Fly-making, to divest the subject, as far
as possible, of all technicalities and superfluities;
at the same time, I have entered into
such full details in the construction of the
Fly, that by adopting the process I have
pointed out, and following the instructions I
have given, the aspirants to the art of Fly-making
may speedily become proficients.

In this little book there will be found
nothing imaginary, but it is purely written
from the practice of angling, so that I may
without scruple, justly entitle it The Art[viii]
of Fly-making, Angling, and Dyeing
of Colours. It is also interspersed with
many useful remarks that will no doubt
agreeably entertain my readers.

No man has taken such pains to improve
upon the angler’s craft as I; on every article
in the whole range of fishing tackle I have
made some improvement on rods, flies, lines,
reels, and tackle of every sort; and in these
pages have left a lasting memorial of my
handicraft to the fly-fisher, from whom I
have hidden nothing that might retard him in
his progress, and who will appreciate it for
the great deal of matter propounded in little
compass to prevent incumbrance; that the
lovers of fly fishing, which has superior
claims, may have an opportunity of keeping
it in their side pocket,—to be convenient and
handy when on their piscatory excursions, the
exercise and variety of which will be found
advantageous to the health, and the calming
of the mind—things not to be purchased;
enjoying at the same time the harmonious
notes of the warblers of the grove, and musing[ix]
upon the diversity of the prospects around,
while straying along the beautiful streams
and vallies of this delightful country.

The list of flies I have given, will be found
very valuable, and the tyro will take great
delight in imitating these flies necessary for
use, and suiting the colours exactly to each,
keeping to their symmetrical forms as they
appear with his light materials. This beautiful
branch of fly-making, peculiarly my own,
cannot fail to perfect the angler who is
scientific and ingenious, the result of which
will be never-failing success.

I have added to the art of fly-making full
instructions, and the most approved receipts
for dyeing mohair, pighair, feathers, and other
materials most useful and appropriate for
imitating the natural flies and stuffs the most
killing for Trout and Salmon; and which
will retain their brilliancy through all the
vicissitudes to which they may be exposed.

To bring the Engravings of the flies to
the greatest perfection, I have stood at the
elbow of the artist who executed this part of[x]
the work, that they might be turned out
exact to my own models, which renders them
and the descriptions more intelligible, as the
shade in the fibre of each feather is shown in
the plate, in the clearest and finest manner
imaginable, that it may be properly seen
how these artificial flies are constructed,—the
resemblance of those beautiful ones, the
productions of the Great Author of Nature,
that Trout and Salmon do love to feed upon.

I have also given the principal rivers of
England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with
the flies best adapted to each, which will
enable the fisher to have all things in readiness
on his arrival at their localities, and
sally out on the finny tribe fearless of disappointment;
and for the younger branch of
anglers, I have shown the various sorts of
fish, with the tackle and baits best adapted
to catch them.

The catechism of fly making which I have
introduced will be found very curious and
instructive to the young beginner, and will
afford him every opportunity of retaining[xi]
the whole process, that when rehearsed in
the mind, and perfectly understood, he may
apply, with more certain facility, the hand
to both material and hook.

[xii]

[v]

List of Plates.

“The Art of Fly Making, Angling & Dyeing
of Colours. By W. Blacker,—Mr. Blacker has been
a celebrated trout and salmon angler from early boyhood,
and he is known to be the best maker of trout and salmon
flies alive. We have never seen such flies as his, for
naturalness of shape, appropriateness of colour and for
beauty and solidity of finish. In making flies he has[vi]
“caught a grace beyond the reach of art,” and this he
exhibits in the Sanspareil work before us. It contains no
fewer than seventeen engravings on steel and copper, of
trout and salmon flies, in every stage of fabrication, from
the whipping of hook and gut together to the finishing of
the head. These engravings, every plate crowded with
figures, are executed after his own models and under his
own Surveillance, and carefully and beautifully coloured,
he standing, as he says, “by the artist’s elbow.” They
contain coloured representations of hackles, wing-feathers,
fur, silk, tinsel, in their natural state, and prepared for
forming the artificial insect. His profusely illustrated
instructions for making salmon-flies are entirely original
there being nothing at all like them in any work extant,
and he must be a dull scholar indeed, who shall not, after
brief study of them, become his own salmon fly dresser.
Mr. Blacker withholds no secret and spares no pains in
developing by the aid of pen and pencil his own method,
and we consider it the best, of making artificial flies for
every variety of trout and salmon. He gives numerous,
well-tried recipes for dying feathers and all other materials,
the colours necessary for the successful operations of the fly-maker.
He points out how rods are best made, the best
sort of winches, lines and hooks, and proves himself a safe
guide to the purchaser. He teaches how the rod, and line
and flies, are to be used—the art of casting with them, how
a river is to be fished, and how a fish, whether trout or
salmon, is to be struck, hooked and landed. He describes
the best trout and salmon rivers in the empire, the right
season for fishing them, and gives an illustrated list of the
flies, stating the materials of what they are to be made,
that kill best on them. On flies, favourites of his from
experience, he dwells with pleased and pleasing minuteness,
and for the first time discloses how the “winged larva,” a
deadly invention of his own, is to be constructed. Never,
was a book more honestly and conscientiously written. It
glows with deep-felt enthusiasm for his art, and with a
generous desire of revealing everything that pertains to the
perfect acquisition of it in all its branches. It is a work of
great labour and long pains-taking, unique at all points, and
no one could have written it but a practical angler of long,
passionate, and devoted experience in the capture of salmon
and salmonidæ, and of ne plus ultra perfection in the art of[vii]
making artificial flies, and concomitant fishing tackle. The
work is published by himself, at 54, Dean Street, Soho, and
we recommend it more earnestly than we have ever done
any other work of the sort.”

“I shall copy a few of Mr. Blacker’s patterns as given in
his recently-published and very valuable work, entitled Art
of Fly Making, &c. He is by far the best flymaker I have
ever known, and his opinions on flies and fly-fishing deserve
the attention of us all. In the book just named he says of
the Yellow Sally:—”This is the forerunner of the green
drake or May-fly. The trout take this little fly freely if
made after this description:—

[viii]

[1]

THE ART OF FLY-MAKING,

ETC., ETC.,

To give something that will convey a
durable and correct idea of Fly-making,
Angling, and Dyeing of Colours to my pupils,
is what I aim at, and desire they should
understand: for when they are inhaling the
fresh breezes on the river’s bank, observing
with delight the varied tints and delicate forms
of the winged insects skimming the surface,
and the sportive trout, pitching over and over,
taking them down, this is the time, no doubt,
when far from the din of a busy town they will
thank me for my trouble in directing their
attention to the proper shades, which is the
most essential of all things in the Art to be
considered. The amusement and pleasing
recollections of the Fly-fisher, (when studying[2]
the various colours and materials necessary for
the formation of the artificial fly—those fanciful
ones which salmon take so freely, and the
imitating, if possible, by the aid of these
materials, those beautiful ones in Nature), will
be infinitely more pleasing than can be well
comprehended by a careless observer of the
craft. Many a pleasant hour may be spent,
that otherwise would prove tedious, when
confined to quarters of an unfavourable day,
far from home, looking over your dubbing
book and tying a fly. It gives relief to the
uneasy mind by calming the disorders that
disappointments may have caused, and by
cheering the hearts of those who pursue it as a
relaxation and enjoyment. The recommendations
on Angling are without number, and
there is nothing can delight the heart of the fly-fisher
so much as to see the fish rise at the flies
on the surface of the water, and their beautiful
appearance when landed on the bank; this,
with the varied scenery which the windings of
the river presents to the imagination, as you
roam along, are inducements that cannot fail
to gratify the admirer of sportive fish and
rushing streams.

[3]

I have seen, in days when the fish are not
in the humour of taking, a fly tied neatly near
the tint, somewhat gaudy, will unquestionably
entice them to rise, and will decidedly be more
advantageous than fishing without plan. In
days when the natural flies are most numerous,
the trout will not take the artificial fly so freely;
on the contrary, when these insects are rarely
to be seen, if the angler can find the colour
that is then prevailing, and imitate it, his
success will be considerably increased.

In these pages will be found descriptions of
Flies that will kill well in every river and lake
in the United Kingdom. And those in the
“Hand Book of Angling,” and the “Book of
the Salmon,” by the celebrated “Ephemera,”
will also be found excellent throughout the
Kingdom.

AN EASY METHOD TO MAKE THE TROUT FLY.

The tyro will provide himself with a dubbing
book, containing numerous compartments, to
hold feathers, furs, pig hair, mohair, hackles,
wing feathers, silk, tinsel, scissars, pliers, knife,[4]
and every other article necessary for fly-making—all
of which may be procured at my
Shop, 54, Dean Street, Soho, with Rods,
Reels, Lines, Gut, Hooks, Artificial Baits,
and every denomination of Fishing Tackle,
of the most superior quality in London.

Having laid out your materials on the table,
seat yourself by a good light, and proceed as
follows:—Take a piece of fine silk, and pin one
end of it on your knee, take the other end
between your left fore-finger and thumb, and
with the right, take a small piece of shoemaker’s
wax, well tempered, and rub it all over
the silk, keeping it tight in your left till it is
all covered with the wax, rub it well on the end
you are about to tie on the hook with, to keep
it firm, for it will be found a very great object
to use the wax throughout the making of the
fly, as with the working of the tying silk it
rubs off with the hand. There is a very
beautiful silk of all colours to be had on spools,
which ribbons are made of, that works very
finely on the hook; when you wax it, take
two or three folds of it, and pin it evenly on
your knee, as before (or hold it between your
teeth and twist it), twist it gently between your[5]
fingers a little so that you can wax it well, provide
a piece of leather about an inch wide and
an inch and a half long, double it, and lay a
piece of nicely tempered wax between the folds,
flatten it, and when you wax the silk, take the
leather between your fingers, open the edge of
it, and rub the wax on the tying silk in the
same way as before, and you will not break the
silk so easily, or dirty your fingers with the
wax. You now take the hook by the bend in
the left fore-finger and thumb, give two or
three turns of the silk round the shank, flatten
the end of the gut a little, which keeps it from
drawing off, and tie it on underneath about
half way down the hook firmly, this done, lay
on a little varnish with your pencil. Take a
piece of finer silk to make the fly with, and
fasten it near the end of the shank, do not bring
the silk to the extreme end of the shank to
leave room for the wings, as they are apt to
slip over on the gut if tied on too near. You
strip off two pieces from the woodcock or
starling wing, and lay them together evenly
at the points, that the wings may be double
when tied on (see the Trout-fly wing cut out of
the woodcock feather, in the Plate), see that[6]
you do not make the wings too long when tying
them on, let them be a little longer than the
bend; press them tightly with your nails on the
hook where you tie them on, and do not clip the
ends of the wings with your nails, which gives
them an unnatural appearance, but whether
you lay them on first, or tie them on the
reverse way and turn them back, make a judgment
of the proper length; you now tie the
wings on the reverse way at the end of the
shank, with two or three rolls of the silk, give
a running knot over it, and clip off the refuse
ends of the roots of the feather; now before
you form the body or tie on the hackle, turn
the wings up in their place with the thumb
nail of the right, and divide them in equal
parts with a needle, draw the silk in and out
between them, take a turn or two over the
roots to keep them firmly in their place, and
fasten with a running knot behind them next
your left; then tie on the hackle, to suit the
size, by the root (the soft flue previously picked
off), close to the wings on its back, and give
a knot over it, take the hackle by the point in
your pliers, and roll it over the shank close
under the wings two or three times on its side,[7]
keeping the outside of it next the wings, then
draw it (the hackle) right through them, let the
pliers hang with the point of the hackle in
them at the head, and take two turns of the
tying silk over it, fasten on the end of the
shank which was left a little bare, cut off the
silk and hackle points, give another knot or so
to secure it before so doing, and lay on a little
varnish at the head; now tie on a piece of fine
tying silk opposite the barb on the shank, take
two fibres of a mallard feather and tie them on
about three-eighths of an inch long for tail, to
extend over the bend of the hook, and with
one knot tie on a piece of fine floss silk about
three inches long to rib the fly; mix a little of
the hare fur with yellow mohair, and draw a
small quantity of it out of the lump with the
right hand, take the hook by the bend in your
left, lay the silk and hair over the end of the
third finger, the hook being held in, twist the
silk and hair together and roll it finely to the
shoulder, give a running knot or two with the
silk close to the hackle, take care to have a
little more of the fur next the shoulder to
make the body nicely tapered; you may continue
to make the body from where you rolled[8]
on the hackle first, and fasten at the tail, and
roll the hackle over it if the fly is to be of a
long description; tail your fly, and tip it with
tinsel, and with two running knots finish
opposite the barb, at this point before you
finish, wax your silk well, and touch with your
varnish pencil: if there are any fibres of the
hackle or of the wing, or the hair standing in a
wrong direction, clip it off with your scissars,
and your fly is completed. You may tie on
floss silk or peacock’s harl for the body the
same as the mohair; and you can perceive
that you may finish at the tail or at the shoulder,
according to fancy—do not lose sight of
this plan.

AN EASY METHOD OF MAKING A PLAIN SALMON FLY.

Tie on the salmon hook to a length of twisted
gut or loop (see the gut and hook tied on in
the Plate of Salmon Hook, No. 1) firmly with
strong marking silk well waxed, and lay on a
little varnish; then take two pieces of turkey
tail feather of equal size, or mallard feather,[9]
according to the colour of the wings you intend
to make (see the turkey tail and mallard wings
prepared, in the plate of feathers), tie them on
the reverse way, a little longer than the bend
of the hook where they are turned up (see the
wings tied on the reverse way, Plate VII., on
Salmon Hooks); these are tied on as the trout
fly wings just described, and when turned up
appear like the wings of plate No. 1, in an
easy method of making a salmon fly—in this
plate may be seen every thing necessary in
making a plain salmon fly—these flies will be
found good killers a great way up rivers from
the sea. You hold the hook by the bend, and
tie in the hackle at the head of the fly by the
root end, and the tinsel to rib it in like manner
(see the hackle tied on and the tinsel, Plate II.);
about the same place where the hackle is tied
on, tie three or four harls of the peacock’s tail,
twist them round the tying silk, and roll it
down to the tail, and fasten with a running
knot (see the body of Plate II.) the tying silk
is now left hanging at the tail, where may be
seen a small portion of the harl left cut, to
shew where it was fastened; you roll the tinsel
over the body to the same place and tie, three[10]
turns of the tinsel is sufficient; you then take
the hackle by the end in your right hand, and
roll it sideways in rotation with the tinsel,
twisting it in your finger and thumb as you
turn it over, to keep it slanting from the head,
tie it in at the same place with a running
knot, and clip off the ends of the hackle; you
may tie in a short tail at this place, wax your
silk, and finish with two or three running
knots, cut off the tying silk, and touch them
with a little varnish, to keep them from slipping—press
down the hackle between your fingers
which slants it to the tail—as the hackle is
run over the body from the head to the tail of
this fly, it will appear in the formation of the
body (Plate III., on Salmon Hooks); when the
fly is made with the hackle only struck round
the shoulder, take two or three turns of it
under the wings, and tie it in there (see Plate
III., in an easy method of making a Salmon
Fly). The body may be seen in this fly with
the tinsel rolled over it, and tied in at the tail;
a piece of the harl, tinsel and silk left to shew
how it is done. The tinsel and harl are cut
off, and with the tying silk, which is seen
hanging, tie on a tail of topping, or mohair,[11]
feather of macaw, mallard, or any other to suit
the taste or colour of the fly; you may tie on
an ostrich harl, or peacock’s harl, head like
Plate I., where the tying silk may be seen
hanging: the three flies on this plate, which
are correctly engraved, will be found most
valuable to the young beginner; and it is an
expert method for the salmon fisher, when in a
hurry, to make a fly or two for immediate use.

When you wish to mix plain wings without
dividing, tie them on first at the end of the
shank, and form the head like No. 1 in this
plate, which I think is the neatest of any, and
suits best in rivers not very full of water. If
you notice this plate correctly, it will be seen
to correspond with the shape of the natural
dragon fly; and as this fly, of various hues, is
reared at the bottom of the water, it must be
an alluring bait for the salmon and large trout;
for when it first leaves the element of its birth,
and proceeds to the banks of the river in a
very feeble state, directly it receives strength it
commences skimming the surface, preying upon
the insects flying in the air at this time, and,
when it comes weakly out of the water, the
fish, no doubt, take it freely.[12]

There is another sort of fly that proceeds
from the water, about the size of the flies on
this plate, the body of which is of the colour
of the blue feathers on the peacock’s neck
exactly, its legs are a dark brown colour, almost
black, hanging long, and few of them; the
wings, which stand upright on its back, or I
may say, its head and shoulders, for the head
and wings at the roots, and legs spring all out
of the one lump which is very thick here in
comparison to its beautiful slender body of
many joints; the wings, I say, are a bronze
brown with a moon in all the four like the
peacock’s tail feather, which in the artificial fly
would be just the colour mixed with a little
drake feather; there are some of them all
brown, and some with bright green bodies, and
blue green as above; all these beautiful insects
must afford food for the fish. This of course
accounts for the artificial representation in use,
and it cannot be denied that they take them
for natural ones, which the fly-fisher, according
to fancy, forms most fantastically, varying on
most of the rivers.

[13]

TO MAKE THE TROUT FLY, IN THE BEST AND
MOST APPROVED METHOD.

The reader will lay out his materials before
him on the table, which consist of hook, gut,
wings, hackle, feather for tail, body of fur, floss
silk, or peacock harl, silk to rib it, wax, tying
silk, &c., all things now ready, proceed as
follows:—Wax a piece of fine China silk, about
a foot in length; if it is spool or ribbon
silk, twist two pieces together, and take one
end between your teeth, twisting with your
fingers and thumbs, not too much; take the
other end in the left, and wax it up and
down till it is covered with the wax all over;
you may pin it on your knee as in the first
plan, and wax it; take the hook by the bend
in the left hand, say a No. 6 or 7 to begin with,
placing your silk just waxed on the shank
under your left thumb nail, and give two or
three turns of the silk towards you, flatten the
end of the gut a little, and tie it on to the
hook about half way down the shank, at the
same time hold the gut and hook tightly
between your nails, and shift it as you go up[14]
or down, on the hook shank with the tying
silk; the hook firmly tied on, take out one of
the wing feathers of the hen pheasant, and cut
out of the centre of it two equal pieces to
compose the wings, (see the piece cut out for
the trout fly wing in the plate of Feathers), you
lay these two pieces together even at the points,
take them between the nails of the right hand,
place them on the end of the shank between
the finger and thumb of the left, and give two
or three turns of the silk over them tightly,
winding the silk towards you, cut off the roots
of the feather slantingly with your scissars, as
this swells the fly at the shoulder when forming
the body; the wings are now tied the reverse
way, (see No. 7 Plate, at the sign of the
“picker.”) The three flies at top of this plate
I will explain, when I show how the wings
are turned back in their place. You now turn
the hook in your fingers and hold it by the
head, and of course you roll the tying silk
from you; form the tail, body, and hackle,
while holding your hook by the shank shift
it in your hand till the nails are opposite
the barb, where you tie on a tail (see Plate VII)
You now draw a little mohair or fur out of the[15]
piece lying on the table, and lay it along the
tying silk sparingly, twist it round the silk,
and roll it up to the shoulder, or nearly so, and
give a running knot; take a small hackle and
cut it at the point (see hackle at the bottom of
this plate), or, instead of cutting it, draw it
back a little with the fingers, as you may see
the grouse hackle prepared in the plate of
feathers, or hackle cut at point in the plate of
feathers; tie the hackle on at the centre of the
body at the point where it is cut, and give a
running knot, and to fill up the space between
that and the shoulder, roll on a little more fur,
and give a knot with the silk; wax your silk
occasionally, as it wears off; you now turn the
hook round in the fingers and hold it by the
bend; this turning of the hook is the most
curious and convenient part of it; the hackle
appears standing on the fly, as in Plate II., or V.
You take the hackle by the end in your right
hand, and roll it up to the shoulder in a slanting
direction, giving it an extra turn or two at the
head, as you see Plate VII., tie it down, and
cut off the stem of the hackle; take the fly
between your finger and thumb, keeping the
fibres of the hackle under them out of the way[16]
while you turn up the wings; you now divide
them in two with a needle or “picker,” turn up
the off side one first and tie it down, then the
one next you, and turn the silk in and out
between them, to keep them asunder; you then
draw all under your finger and thumb, and with
the tying silk, give two turns over the ends,
which forms a head, and finish on the small
bit of hook left at the head, take a turn or two
of the silk round the gut to guard it, and take
two running knots; the fly now appears as
Plate IV., press the fly between the fingers
which slants the hackle towards the tail.

As this is a valuable plate of flies to work
upon, I will here commence with Numbers 1,
2, 3, and then 5 and 4, these two latter flies
are bodies of gaudy sea-trout ones, or grilse
flies. The wings are tied on last of the
three first flies—you hold the hook by the bend
in the left, and tie on the hook, gut, and tail,
as you see in Plate I.; you then place on a
little mohair to form the body, as in Plate II.;
before you reach the shoulder you tie in the
hackle, as No. 2, and leave a little of the end
of the hook to receive the wings, and let the
silk hang at the head; you now take the hackle[17]
by the end in your right, and roll it slantingly
on its side or partly on its back, placing the
third finger of the hand, the fly being held in
against the hackle at each roll till you come to
the shoulder, take a turn of the silk over it
cut off the stem, and give a knot; let the silk
hang at the place you are about to tie on the
wings, the fly now appears as Plate III., and
in this plate you may perceive the right length
the hackle ought to be for the size of the hook;
you then cut off two pieces from the starling
or woodcock wings, and lay them together to
make the wings of the fly full, and to appear
double when finished, or a piece of mallard
feather, like the wings of Plate IV.; you now
hold the fly between the fore-finger and thumb
nails of the left hand, close to where you see
the silk hanging (Plate III.), tie on the off side
wing first, holding tight by the nails to keep it
on the top of the shank so that it will not turn
round with the silk, wax your silk here, keep
the middle finger of the left against it while
you take up the other wing, and tie it on in
like manner on the near side; this plan makes
a division in the wings. You must endeavour
to keep them tight on the end of the shank, or[18]
they will fall over on the gut, but by holding
tight with the nails, and drawing tightly with
the tying silk, you may soon prevent mistakes,
and use every thing sparingly to prevent clumsiness
or you will never get on. Now cut off
the ends of the wings closely, and finish with
a turn or two, and a running knot or two at
the very head, and the fly will appear like the
finished fly, Plate IV., lay on a little spirit-varnish
at the head, which keeps it firm—(this
varnish you may procure at the oil and colour
warehouses, or at doctor’s shops, that which is
used for rods is best.)

Now for the two Plates V. and VI.:—

When the hook and gut is neatly tied on, as
Plate I., you take a hook, size of the above two,
and a hackle to suit; you hold the hook by the
bend in the left, and opposite the barb where
you see the silk hanging at No. 1, you take a
piece of tinsel, tie it on, and give two or three
turns just immediately below where you tie in
the tail (see the tip of tinsel below the tail,
Plate V.), take an ostrich harl and roll it on
for tag, which you will see just above the tip of
tinsel, then tie on a topping above that, as you
may see, then the piece of tinsel to rib the[19]
body, which you may see extending longer than
the tail; you now take a piece of floss silk, fine,
and form the body of it from the tail to the
shoulder, as you see the taper body of Plate V.,
and during the interval tie in the hackle on the
centre of the body, at the point where the silk
is hanging to receive the wings; take the end
of the hackle in your right (first roll the tinsel
as the body of Plate VI.) finger and thumb,
and roll it slantingly over the body in rotation
with the tinsel, as you see in this latter plate,
and tie it down at the end of the shank, leave
the silk hanging as in this plate, touch it at
this place with varnish; you may wing it with
turkey or “glede” (kite’s) tail feather, mallard,
&c., like the plate of the plain fly, opposite
No. 7, or like the wing of the gaudy Irish
salmon fly immediately under that number at
the bottom of the plate, (I mention these two
flies in this manner to distinguish them from
the plate on Salmon Hooks). These two are
models of a plain, and gaudy Irish fly; the
delicacy of the body of the gaudy one, as the
silk and tinsel is so finely wrought between
each joint of harl and hackles, is beyond compare;
and the wing is finely mixed, although[20]
not so perfect as the beautiful engravings of
the twelve salmon flies.

Before I begin the gaudy salmon fly, I will
here show how the palmer is made, in two or
three ways.

TO MAKE THE PALMER, OR DOUBLE-HACKLE FLY.

You tie on the hook firmly as before, and
prepare two hackles for the fly, as you may
see in the plate of Feathers, two hackles tied
together at the roots, which keeps them on
their sides evenly while rolling them on; you
hold the hook by the shank in your left hand,
tie in the hackles, the inside downwards, that
when tied on and finished, the outside of the
feathers appears to the eye (see the hackle tied
in at the points, and the body and tinsel rolled
on, at the bottom of the plates of Trout Flies for
the season); tie in the tinsel to the body, and
the peacock’s harl, or mohair, or floss silk, to
form it, at the same place—turn the hook in
your fingers, and hold it by the bend; take
the harls in your right hand, and roll them up
to the head, or mohair, or your floss silk in the
same way; take a turn of the tying silk over,[21]
with a running knot, clip off the ends of the
harl, (leave a little of the end of the shank of
the hook bare to finish on, or you will not be
enabled to roll the two hackles neatly up to
this place). Next, roll the tinsel over the harl,
and tie, slope it as you go up; then take hold
of the hackles in your right hand, and roll them
over the body close beside the tinsel slopingly,
taking care at the same time to keep the third
or middle finger of the hand the fly is held in
tight against them at each turn, and roll them
closer as you go up to the shoulder, pull them
tight here, and if there are any fibres left on the
stem of the hackle that are superfluous, pull
them off, still keeping your finger against them,
and holding hard the hook; now take a roll or
two of the tying silk over them and the knots,
give the stem another pull to tighten them, and
clip it off, tie down the head neatly with two
running knots, and varnish it; press the fly
between your fingers to slant the hackles downwards;
and if any of the fibres of the hackles
stand the wrong way cut them off, although, if
they are rolled evenly together on their sides
or back, you will turn the fly out correct,—see
the beautiful Palmer in the plate, with the hook[22]
tied in on the back, which is a perfect model,—these
hooks are tied together on the same piece
of gut first, and then make the fly over them.
It is difficult to perform this job until you know
how to make a palmer on a single hook.

The foregoing is my favorite way of making
a palmer, but you must be proficient before you
can manage it well. I will here show how it
can be made in a very easy manner, when you
are able to handle the materials, and tie on
nicely. When you have the hook and gut
neatly tied on, take two hackles, and tie them
in at the end of the shank by the roots on their
back, tie in the peacock harl and tinsel to rib
it at the same place; holding your hook of
course by the bend in the left hand, take hold
of the two hackles in your pliers by the points,
and when the tinsel and body is rolled on, turn
the hackles over the body close with the tinsel
on their backs slopingly, till you reach the tail;
here let go the pliers, and they will hang with
the ends of the hackles still in them, till you
take two turns of the silk over them, clip off
the ends of the hackles, and tie it neatly with
two running knots, lay on a little varnish; the
fly will look rather rough in this method when[23]
finished, but with a little pain you will soon
accomplish it; press down the fibres with your
fingers, and cut away the superfluities. You
should have a palmer ready made before you
always while making this fly, which will facilitate
you in your progress.

When you find it difficult to place on the
hackles first while you are making a fly, pull off
one side of the fibres, and lay two evenly together,
and draw them back at the points where you tie
them in, as the hackle in the plate of Feathers,
and roll them always slopingly over the body
to the shoulder, on their edge with the outside
of them next the head; and, according as you
come up to the end of the shank, roll them
closer, which makes the fly appear full there,
press them well down with your fingers, (see
the three-hackle, or Palmer Flies for Trout,
7, 8, and 9). The hackles of these three flies
are beautifully struck.

HOW TO MAKE THE SALMON FLY, AS SHOWN IN
THE BEAUTIFUL PLATE OF ENGRAVINGS
ON SALMON HOOKS.

Reader, you will have an idea of the sorts of
materials you require for the different processes[24]
on each hook in the plates, as the models were
tied by me in strict proportion, and are most
exquisite engravings: You take a piece of
twisted gut to form the loop on the fly, double
it over a needle, or “picker,” to form an eye,
and pare off the ends slantingly to lie nice and
even when tied, as you may see in Plate I. on
Salmon Hooks; wind your waxed silk round
the shank of the hook about four or five times,
before placing on the gut; hold the hook in
the left hand near the end of the shank, lay
the gut-loop underneath, and hold on between
your finger and thumb tightly, to prevent it
turning round when you lap the tying silk over
it, and keep shifting your fingers down the
shank out of the way of the tying silk in its
progress to the tail, which you will see in
Plate I. You now draw out a small piece of
yellow, or red mohair, keep it tight between
the nails and tie it on, first tip the fly immediately
under the tail, as in Plate I.; you make
it even with your scissars at the point, as that
tail is seen; you now take a piece of yellow or
orange floss silk, and lap it from the tail about
two-eighths of an inch up to where you see the
hackle and tinsel tied in, Plate II.; after having[25]
tied the hackle and tinsel on as you see it there,
(you may draw the point of the hackle back, as
the hackle prepared in the plate of Feathers,
instead of cutting it at the point, as you may see
also the hackle cut, in the plate of Feathers).
You now shift your finger and thumb up the
body a little, and just where you finished the
knot over the floss silk twist a little pig hair
round the tying silk sparingly, and roll it over
the shank to the head, or within the eighth of
an inch of the head, as you may see in Plate II.;
you now take the two pieces of tinsel in the
right hand and roll them up slopingly to where
the silk is hanging, Plate II., and whip it down;
you next take the stem of the hackle in the
right hand, and roll it evenly beside the tinsel
on its side, or partly on its back (this is done by
giving the stem a gentle twist in your fingers)
till you bring it to the head where there may
be two or three extra rolls of it given to make
it full at the shoulder, or where you tie on the
wings, (see the hackle, beautifully rolled on
from tail to shoulder, Plate III). You now
take a piece of mallard feather, stripped off
with your nails, and press it small at the end
of the roots where it is to be tied on, (see[26]
the Mallard Wing prepared in the plate of
Feathers); you strip another piece like it, and
lay them even together; you take the other two
pieces in like manner and do the same, so that
each wing, when tied on, will be double; you
now take the fly, Plate III., in your hand between
the nails close to the shoulder, and wax
well the piece of silk that hangs here; you
take up one wing and lay it on at the off side,
and give two whips of the silk over it tightly,
holding on at the shoulder well with the left
hand, to keep the wing from turning round
under the belly; you now take up the near side
wing, and lay it on in like manner, whipping it
twice over, and then a running knot, (see the
Mallard Wings, tied beautifully on, Plate IV.);
and in that plate you see the root ends projecting
over the loop, cut them off, and finish it
with three or four turns of the silk, and two knots,
close to the root of the wings to make all even.

I will now proceed to show how the other
three flies are formed—5, 6, and 7.

These may be termed middling gaudy, and
are famous for the rivers in the north of
Scotland, or the clear waters of Ireland. You
perform the operation of tying on the hook[27]
as Plate I; tip the fly at the tail, and tie
on a topping; take a piece of black ostrich or
peacock harl, tie it in at the roots, and roll it
evenly over the shank two or three times (see
the harl tag, Plate V); tie in the hackle above
the ostrich tag, leave it hanging, and roll the
twist up the body, previously formed of floss
silk nicely tapered (see the Body of Plate V);
take the hackle in the right hand, and roll it
evenly with the tinsel, and fasten it as Plate
VI; leave the silk hanging here to tie on the
wings and the head. The wings of Plate VII,
may be seen tied on the reverse way, and the
body and hackle formed afterwards; they are
now ready to turn back in their proper place to
hang over the body, this is done by turning
them neatly up with the thumb nail of the
right hand, and laying them evenly on each
side of the fly, with the best side of the
feather out. The spots and shades which are
perceivable in the wings and hackles of all the
engraved specimens of fly, are shown to great
perfection—I have described the whole of
them, to match the shades exactly, so that it is
impossible to go astray when tying on each
fibre of feather.[28]

We will now return to Plate VI, and teach
how it is to be winged—You cut off a strip
from the turkey tail feather, which must be
unbroken, as a whole wing; after measuring
the proper length of it for the hook, you draw
each piece small with the nails where it is to
be tied on, as the strip is broader at the root,
so that, take it on the whole, it must be narrow
where this piece of feather is made small at
the roots, as seen in the plate of Feathers, to
keep it so whole, touch it with a little varnish,
and let it dry a little on the table.

You take hold of the fly in your left hand,
close to the head, draw the fibres of the
hackle out of the way by placing them under
your fingers; take the wing in your right hand
and lay it on, catching it between the left
finger and thumb on the top of the hook
tightly, and give two rolls of the tying silk
over it; take up the other wing, like the last,
and lay it on the near side, and lap the silk
over it in like manner (renew the silk with wax
before the wings are tied on); you now may tie
on a few fibres of golden pheasant neck, and
tail feathers at each side of the wings just put
on, and a piece of macaw feather at each side;[29]
head it with ostrich, or roll a little pig hair
round the silk sparingly, lap it over twice, and
finish by giving two running knots over it close
to the root of the wings (see the wing of
the middling plain Salmon Fly, Plate II, immediately
above the Sea-Trout Fly and May
Fly.)

The reader will perceive in this plate on
salmon hooks, that I have just described a
garden, as it were fully cultivated, there is
hardly a space left waste, like the broad fields
of industrious England, whose sons “never,
never shall be slaves.” All the other plates are
likewise full of useful matter, which will prove
my hard labour, and at the same time show
that I have hid nothing from the Fly-Fisher in
all the processes.

If the fly (Plate V., on salmon hooks) is
winged with feathers, like the Irish gaudy wing,
prepared in the plate of Feathers, it will be
found to approach near the gaudy fly at the
bottom of the plate, with “picker” at top.

I will now describe the process of making
the Gaudy Salmon Fly, the plate of which is
invaluable to the Salmon fisher:[30]—

PROCESS OF MAKING THE GAUDY SALMON FLY.

You commence by tying the hook and
gut firmly together, and that it may be more
easy and convenient to the reader to accomplish
this process of making the Gaudy Salmon
Fly, I will tell how it is done in my own
favourite way.—Take the hook in the left hand
and hold by the shank immediately opposite
the barb, here fasten on a piece of fine tying
silk, finer than you tied the hook and gut on
with, tie on a piece of tinsel, and roll it over
the hook three or four times to tip the fly;
place the nail of the left thumb on it, and tie
with one knot (see the tip on the first fly in the
plate, just below the ostrich tag); take a
middling size golden pheasant topping, and tie
it on just below the ostrich tag with a piece of
tinsel, about a finger length, to rib the body
(see the tinsel); take a hackle to suit the size
of the hook, draw it a little back from the
point, that is the fibres (see the hackle ready to
tie in at tail in the first fly); take a fibre of
ostrich, tie it on, and give two or three rolls of
it from you, and as you turn it over keep the[31]
soft pile of the feather towards the tail, as this
will make the tag appear even, and give a
running knot, the less knots the better at this
point to prevent clumsiness; now take a piece
of pig hair, and twist it round the tying silk (see
the pig hair round the silk, and the hackle tied
on just above it), roll the pig hair over the body,
giving it a turn or two between the ostrich tag
and the hackle, that when the hackle is struck
it may appear from the centre of the fly to the
shoulder; the pig hair is now on, roll the
tinsel over it slopingly till you come within the
eighth of an inch of the loop; take hold of
the end of the hackle in the right hand, and
roll it up on its edge, or partly on its back, in
rotation with the tinsel, and tie it down with
two knots, clip off the end of the hackle and
tinsel.

If the fly is to be made with the hackle
struck only round the shoulder (see hackle tied
in at shoulder, on the second fly in this plate.
I have not numbered the three flies on this
plate, to distinguish it from the plate of an
easy method of making a salmon fly.) See
pig hair body and tinsel rolled on; shift your
hand up the hook in the left, and hold by the[32]
middle, take the hackle in the right, and roll it
from you closely round the shoulder, (see hackle
tied in at shoulder), leaving at the same time
enough of the hook bare at the end of the
shank to tie on the wings, and to roll on the
jay feather (see jay hackle ready), the hackle
supposed to be rolled round the shoulder, cut
off the tinsel and pig hair which you see on
the piece of silk, leaving another piece attached
in the same place to tie on the wings (see the
piece of tinsel and pig hair left at the head
ready to be cut off, and the silk hanging to tie
on the wings—second fly).

The first fly, which we made above, is now
no other in appearance than the third fly at the
bottom of the plate, which shows hook, body,
and tinsel. We now come to the most critical
part of tying on the gaudy wings firmly, (see
mixed gaudy wing ready to tie on). You take
a neck-feather of the golden pheasant with a
piece of silver pheasant tail, a piece of peacock
wing, a teal feather, and a piece of wood-duck,
&c., lay them all evenly together, and break the
fibres between your nails, when you tie them
on the hook to make the whole small, as you
may see done at the root of the wing in the[33]
plate; take another golden pheasant neck
feather, and prepare it exactly like the last,
that the wing may be the same at each side
when tied on; you now take hold of the fly in
the left, the fibres of the hackle remaining
under your finger and thumb, cut away the bit
of tinsel and hackle-stem first, take the wing
in your right, and lay it on the best side next
you, and hold it tight with the left finger and
thumb nails; give two laps of the silk over it,
press it down tightly with the thumb nail, and
take another turn of the silk, place the third
finger against it to keep it on, till you lay on
the off side wing; take it up as you did the
other, and tie it down at the small part of the
end, on the off side, hold it tight between the
left finger and thumb, pressing it at the same
time well down with the thumb nail of the
right, take two rolls of the silk firmly over
it, hold on manfully with the left, and give
it another nail or two with the right thumb,
make a running knot, lay it down awhile to
rest your fingers; clip off the roots left hanging
or projecting at the head closely (be careful
always to leave enough of the hook bare to receive
the wings, or you cannot manage it easily),[34]
now take two or three turns more over the
head to make it tighter and even, leaving a
little bit of the point to stand out; you then
take a strip of macaw, and tie it on each side,
clip off the ends, take an ostrich harl and tie it
on about the centre of the head, and roll it
over from you two or three times, the downy
part of the stem next the loop to keep it all
the one way, and when up to the root of the
wings, take the silk which hangs here lap it
twice over, and give a running knot; clip off
the silk and end of the harl, lay on a little
varnish very lightly at the point, and where the
silk has been just tied down, keep the varnish
off the ostrich harl; you may take a little pig
hair, and twist it round the silk, roll it over
the head very sparingly, and finish at the root
of the wings in the same manner, laying on a
little varnish.

I will here repeat the tying on of the gaudy
wing, with two or three fibres of various sorts
of feathers, &c., which may be a little more
easy to accomplish than the foregoing to the
young beginner.

When you have the tail, tinsel, and hackle
put together on the hook, and the eighth of an[35]
inch of the shank left bare to receive the
wings; wax the silk well that it may make the
head firm, and proceed thus.—First strip off
two fibres of the peacock’s wing feather, and
place them with three or four fibres of brown
mallard, and the same quantity of spotted
turkey tail, add to it a piece of neck and tail
feather of the golden pheasant, with a little
guinea hen, teal, and red macaw feather, yellow,
orange, and blue. Keep these all even together,
and break them at the roots like the gaudy
wing in the last plate, and divide them in
equal parts; now having mixed both your
wings alike, take up one wing in your right
fore-finger and thumb nails and hold it
tightly, take up your fly with the left hand, and
with the right hand place the wing on at the
off side, laying it under the fore-finger of the
left hand, and with the right hand give two
turns of the tying silk over it, at the same
time holding on tight between the nails of the
left hand, and press it down with the thumb
nail of the right, which keeps the head firm;
then in like manner take up the other wing
and place it on the near side, keep the wings
the same length, and to extend two eighths of[36]
an inch longer than the bend of the hook,
having taken two laps over the near side wing,
cut off the root ends at the head closely,
holding tight with the left-hand nails, and press
both wings down tightly with the right thumb
nail; wax the silk well here, and lap it over
the part where you cut off the ends evenly;
bring the silk down on the gut and give three
or four rolls of it just below the point of the
shank to guard it from friction when throwing
the fly; bring the silk up again close to the
root of the wings, and tie on a fibre of blue
and yellow macaw tail feather for horns, let
them be the eighth of an inch longer than the
wings, clip off the ends; take a jay feather and
prepare it, tie it on at the off side of the head
with the bare side next the belly of the fly, roll
it with the right hand over the head, about
three turns, and lap the silk over it while under
the nail of the left; cut off the stem, lay on a
blue kingfisher feather each side, tie on a
black ostrich harl, give three or four rolls of it
over the head, letting the stem be next to the root
of the wings as you roll it, take it under the
nail of the left thumb, and lap two turns of
the silk over it close to the root of the wings,[37]
and with the finger and thumb press up the
fibres of the ostrich towards the wings, to
make it stand even in its proper place; cut off
the silk, and lay on a little varnish at the point
of the head, and your fly is completed.

As it is my intention to instruct the reader
in every point necessary for his benefit, according
to my own knowledge and experience,
throughout the pages of this book, it affords
me much pleasure to be enabled to do so, and
to offer something to the fly-fisher worth having,
there is scarcely a page he opens that he will
not find something valuable to himself, if he is
a real lover of the art. “There is a pleasure
in angling that no one knows but the angler
himself.”

I will now show how the India-rubber Green
Drake is made, with a cock-tail, like the beautiful
engraving in the plate, (see Green Drake).
The Grouse, and Golden Plover hackle may
also be made in a similar manner, to suit fine
evenings in the summer, without the tail.

To compose the fly, take a piece of gold
tinsel, and cut a long strip of light india-rubber
very thin, hackle, wings, tail, and all laid down
ready,—tie the gut on the top of the hook, to[38]
project about three-sixteenths of an inch below
the bend, or tie the gut underneath in the
usual way, and lay a piece of gut on the top
somewhat thicker, to work the tail upon, (see
the tail in the engraving,—look often at the
flies to refresh the memory); take three hairs
of the mane of a black horse, and tie them on
the end of the piece of gut, about an inch in
length, let the silk be fine and well waxed, then
tie in the end of the gold tinsel, and the finest
end of the piece of india-rubber at the tail,
that the thick end may be towards the shoulder
to make it taper; after the body is made very
even with a little yellow floss silk, hold the fly
by the shank in the left hand, with the nails in
close contact with each other, and roll the
tinsel closely up, shifting your hand; this
fastened down with the tying silk, take hold of
the india-rubber in the right, and the extreme
end of the gut tail in your left nails; warm the
rubber a little in the fingers to soften it, draw
it out to its full extent, and roll it over the end
of the gut, and at every roll keep the third
finger of the left hand tight against it to
prevent it starting, move the nails up the hook
as you proceed with the rubber to the shoulder;[39]
give two laps of the tying silk over it, and a
running knot. The body now formed, take a
very light brown grouse hackle (see the grouse
hackle prepared in the plate of Feathers,—the
partridge and the plover hackles are prepared
in the same way, and all feathers of this shape
for the throat, you may either draw them back
at the end, or cut them like the wren tail
feather), and tie it on at the shoulder, roll it
about three times over on its back, keeping the
fibres down towards the left under the fingers,
tie the stem with a running knot, and do not
give too many laps of the tying silk at the
head to make it bulky, for it occasions the
wings to turn round on the hook, as then there
is no foundation for them, but when they are
tied hard on the hook, they sit firm—you can
not wing it neatly otherwise; to prevent a
vacancy at the shoulder, lay on a little yellow-green
mohair to fill it up, and roll the hackle
over it, you may now guard the gut with the
silk before you tie on the wings, do not allow
the body of the fly to come too close up to the
head, or as I said before, you cannot tie on the
wings properly. Now take the dyed mallard
feather for the wings, strip two pieces off, and[40]
lay them together for one wing, and two pieces
for the other wing in like manner; hold the
body by the left close to the head, and lay on
the off side wing first, hold it tight under the
nails of the left, and take a turn or two of the
silk tightly over it, take up the other wing and
lay it on, catching it under the nails of the
left, taking two turns more over it in the same
way, and press it tight down with the nails of
the right thumb, give another turn or two of
the silk, press back the roots of the wings with
the thumb nail of the right, cut them close off,
roll the silk evenly over it, and give two knots,
now take a peacock’s harl, tie it in by the root
end, and roll it over the head two or three
times towards the wing, and tie it firmly here
with two knots of the tying silk, cut off silk and
harl, lay on a little varnish, and your fly is
completed; press up the head to make it look
even, cut off all superfluous fibres that may
stand uneven, so that all will appear like the
plate.

There is another excellent way of making
a body:—thus, take a piece or length of very
flat gut, and soak it well in hot water till it
becomes soft, tie it in at the end of the tail[41]
as you did the india-rubber, form a body nicely
tapered of straw, roll some white floss silk over it
at intervals, roll the soft gut closely over it to the
head and tie it fast; then put a small partridge
hackle round the throat, and wing it the same
as before. Before you lay on the straw, cut it
taper to suit the size of hook you are using,
gold-beater’s skin rolled over flat gold tinsel is
also good.

I will here teach the making of the beautiful
Winged Larva, specimens of which are shown
in the plate with the May Fly. There is
nothing can exceed the beauty of these flies,
and as artificial specimens for killing fish
during easterly winds they are invaluable.

It was in a strong east wind which lasted
some weeks, five or six years ago, that I had
such great success with this sort of fly in the
river Tweed; grilse, sea-trout, and river-trout
took it greedily. The two engravings in the
plate of these flies are very beautiful. It would
be a general killer in heavy running rivers
under trees, or in rapid streams.[42]

TO MAKE THE WINGED LARVA.

Tie on the hook and gut as before (say a
hook about No. 8) and form a brown body of
mohair on it, wing the fly with a portion of
hen pheasant tail feather and woodcock wing;
having the yellow brown body formed on the
hook, and the wings ready to tie on, take a
piece of the shrivelled larva you will find
attached to the ends of the lengths of salmon
gut, choose those that are nice and taper, and
at the fine end tie on two fibres of golden
pheasant neck feather for tail, clip off the end
of the gut, lay on a little varnish at the end of
the tail to keep it from coming off; now tie on
the larva close to the shoulder, cut off the end
of the gut, lay on a little varnish there, take
some mohair of the same colour as the body,
and roll it over the throat to cover the tying,
leaving at the same time enough of the hook
to receive the wings, you then take a light
brown grouse hackle, off the neck of the bird,
and roll it twice round the shoulder for the
legs, or a woodcock feather, to be found at the
root of the wings, outside, the latter I think[43]
is best. Now tie the wings on a little longer
than the bend of the hook, clip off the ends at
the head, and form a head with a piece of peacock
harl, of a bronze colour as usual, fasten
with the silk, and cut off all the superfluities.
It would be well to draw out a little of the
mohair at the shoulder to hang over the larva
body, and to flatten the end of the gut a little
where you tie on the tail, which keeps it on.
Tie the larva at the side, so as it may appear
like a double body to the fish in the water. It
may be made by tying on the wings first, and
let them remain until the body, the larva, and
the hackle, are all tied in their proper places,
and then turn back the wings over the body
with your thumb nail, and tie them firmly down
with the silk, taking two laps over the roots,
and finish with two knots on the end of the
shank immediately above the head.

Do not neglect to tie in the larva tightly
below the wings at the shoulder, to prevent it
drawing out from the mohair body. You must
hold on tight and press it well down with the
nail of the right thumb, as you do the wings
when tying them on last. It is best to look at
the larvas engraved in the plate occasionally, to[44]
give you an idea how it is done. When the
wings are turned up last, and a head formed of
the root of them with the tying silk, you next
roll on a piece of brown peacock harl at the
root of the wings, a harl with long pile or
fibres is best, as you can press it up with
your fingers to hang over the root of the
wings.

The great nicety in making this fly to look
well is, in tying on the two fibres of the golden
pheasant feathers at the tail with fine silk, and
the tying on of the larva itself at the shoulder
of the fly, and then covering the silk that appeared
bare with a little mohair twisted round
the tying silk, and then rolled over it; it is over
this bit of mohair the hackle should be rolled,
and secured with two knots.

The wing of the small larva in the plate is
tied on last, and a most curious and killing
looking fly it is; the other one does best in
deep water, or for grilse or sea-trout in July
and August, particularly in the latter month.

The Salmon Fly, No. 11, in the centre of
the plate, with the larvas, is a capital specimen
for the light streams north of the Tweed, and
would kill well in that splendid river at low water[45]
in summer, particularly at the “Throughs,”
three miles above the town of Kelso.

The above fly I will describe hereafter, with
the other engravings in the plates.

To proceed regularly with the various
methods of Fly Making, before touching on
another subject, will be much more convenient
to the tyro as he proceeds, so I will finish this
branch of an “Angler’s Education” with a
Catechism, which will be found instructive and
very curious to the beginner. It is accompanied
with a copper-plate engraving of six flies,
showing the whole process to the eye, which
cannot fail to give a lasting idea to the fly
maker who will properly study it.

In this last process, the reader should lay
out every thing necessary for making a single
fly in a piece of folded paper, so that he can
look at the various articles as he rehearses
them over in the book,—this will keep them
more strongly in his mind.

Have each article to suit the size of the hook
exactly, that when the fly is completed, it will
appear in strict proportion: for instance, the
hackle should be chosen small to suit the legs of
the trout fly, and the large flies to have hackles[46]
off the saddle of the cock, that are old and stiff,
to withstand the motion of the water; and fine
silk, both floss and tying for the bodies of the
small flies, and every thing in unison, as you
read in the book; handling every thing
sparingly, delicately, and nicely in the fingers.
There is a good deal of the “battle fought” by
letting the nails grow to a pretty fair length so
as to hold on grimly.

A CATECHISM OF FLY-MAKING,

Question.—What do you mean by Fly-making?

Answer.—I mean the artificial assimilation
of those beautiful insects that appear on
brooks and rivers during the summer season.

Q.—What are these artificial flies used for in
general?

A.—They are principally used to afford
gentlemen rural amusement and recreation, by
their taking both trout and salmon with the
rod, line, and fly.

Q.—Name the different materials requisite
for making the Artificial Fly.

[47]

A.—The necessary materials for making the
Artificial Fly are as follows:—various kinds of
feathers, furs, mohair, pig hair, dyed hackles,
silks, tinsel, &c., &c.

Q.—When the tyro has all the materials
prepared, and seated at the table, how does he
commence to make the fly?

A.—First, the hook is firmly tied on the gut,
and one eighth of an inch of the end of the
shank left bare to receive the wings (see plate,
hook, gut, and tail, tied on).

Q.—How are the wings tied on?

A.—They may be tied on the reverse way
first, at the extreme end of the shank, and after
the tail, body, and legs are formed, turn up
the wings, divide and tie them down, and form
the head.

Q.—Is there any other way of placing on
the wings of a trout fly?

A.—Yes, by forming the tail, body, and legs
first, and tie on the wings last.

Q.—Having the wings the reverse way, to
appear in strict proportion over the fly when
turned, what is the next part to be performed?

A.—Next, I take hold of the shank opposite
the barb in my left, and here tie on a short[48]
piece of tinsel for the tip, roll it over two
or three times evenly, and secure it with a
running knot, immediately above this tie on
the tail.

Q.—When the wings are tied on reversed,
the tip and tail secured, how do you form the
body?

A.—I take hold of the hook in my left hand
close to the tail, and with my right draw out a
small quantity of mohair, twist it round the
tying silk close to the hook, draw it gradually
full under the fingers to taper it, I then roll it
closely over the shank to the root of the wings
and fasten it. Leave a vacancy to receive the
hackle if rolled on at the shoulder.

Q.—If there is not sufficient mohair twisted
on the silk to form the whole body, what must
be done?

A.—When the mohair on the silk becomes
short, I tie it down on the centre of the shank,
and tie in the point of the hackle here (see the
second and third flies in the plate of this
process), and apply a little more stuff to fill the
shoulder, leaving a little of the hook to receive
the wings.

Q.—Having tied the hackle on towards the[49]
shoulder of the fly, how do you strike it in its
proper place?

A.—I hold the hook in my left hand by the
bend, and with the right take hold of the stem
of the hackle and roll it round the shank on its
back, and tie it down (the fly may be ribbed and
hackled from the tail like the fourth fly in the
plate).

Q.—The hackle, body, tail, and tinsel now
neatly tied, how do you tie on the wings?

A.—I now hold the fly in my left hand by
the body, drawing the fibres underneath my
finger and thumb out of the way, lay on the
wings double, catch them under the nails of
the left and give two laps of the tying silk over
them, press them down at this place with the
right nail divide and let the fibres of the
hackle spring up between them, cut off the
roots, lap the silk closely over the head and
fasten with two knots (see the cock tail at the
bottom of this plate).

I will here give a more easy way of making
a Trout fly.

Q.—How do you commence to make the Fly
in this way?

A.—I tie on the wings first, turn them up,
tie down the head, and finish the fly at the tail.

Q.—When the wings are tied on first, and
turned before you commence the body and
legs, how do you proceed?

A.—I take a small hackle to suit the size of
the hook, strip off the flue, and tie it on by
the root at the head, and a piece of tinsel to
rib the body.

Q.—Having tied on the hackle thus, what is
the next thing to be done?[51]

A.—I draw out a little mohair, twist it
tightly round the tying silk, roll it down to
the tail and fasten it, and roll the tinsel over in
like manner.

Q.—The body and tinsel being formed, how
is the hackle struck on?

A.—I take hold of the hackle in my right
hand with either my fingers or pliers, and roll
it over the body to the tail, fasten and cut off
the ends, tie in a tail and the fly is complete.
This is the style of the fifth fly in the plate.

Q.—When a fly is to be made in the above way
without wings, called a hackle fly, how is it
done?

A.—Having previously tied, I take two
hackles of equal size, lay them even together,
and tie them on by the roots at the end of the
shank, and then the piece of tinsel to rib it.

Q.—How do you form the body and tinsel
after tying on the hackles?

A.—I twist a very small quantity of mohair
round the silk and roll it to the tail, or a
peacock’s harl, and fasten it there, over this I
roll the tinsel.

Q.—As the hackles are a nice point to perform,
how are they struck?[52]

A.—I take hold of the hackles with the
pliers at the points, both to stand the one way,
give two rolls round the shoulder to make it
full, and proceed with them slantingly on their
backs to the tail, let the pliers hang with them
and roll the tying silk twice over them, cut off
the superfluous fibres of the hackles, take two
running knots, and lay on a little varnish to
harden the tying, press down the hackles with
the fingers to slope them towards the tail, and
the fly is completed.

Q.—When you wish to make a larger Salmon
Fly, how do you undertake it?

A.—I tie on the hook and gut firmly together,
as in Plate I, on salmon hooks, take hold of it
by the shank opposite the barb, roll on a piece
of broad tinsel to tip it, tie on a topping for tail,
with a black ostrich tag.

Q.—Having gone thus far, how do you
manage the pig hair body?

A.—Having laid before me two or three
colours of pig hair, I roll a piece of fine floss
silk on first next the tail, I then twist a piece
of pig hair on the silk, roll it up towards the
head, shifting up a little and tie, take another
piece of hair, and another, and do in like[53]
manner (see the pig hair body of No. 2, on
salmon hooks).

Q.—How is the hackle struck on over the
body?

A.-Having held the fly by the shank to
form the body, I now turn it and hold it by the
bend, the hackle and tinsel previously tied in,
as in Plate II, on salmon hooks, I roll the
tinsel up first and the hackle next in rotation
with it; Plate V. will show the tinsel rolled
over the floss silk body, and the hackle ready
to roll on.

Q.—Having rolled on the hackle, and turned
a jay hackle over the shoulder, how do you
proceed with the wing?

A.—I take two golden pheasant neck feathers
and tie them on tightly first, then sprig them
at each side with various fibres of feathers (see
the wing in the plate prepared).

Q.—How do you cover the lump occasioned
by the quantity of tying silk at the head?

A.—I draw out a small quantity of pig hair,
twist it on the tying silk, and roll it over two
or three times towards the root of the wings
tightly, give three knots, lay on a little varnish,
cut off the silk, and the fly is finished.[54]

Note.—If you make a pike fly, use large
double hooks and gymp, with broad tinsel, and
make the body full with pig hair, large saddlecock
hackles for legs, wing them with peacock
moon feathers, and add two large blue beads
over spangles for eyes, and green or red pig
hair towards the head. Fasten on the beads
with fine copper wire, rolling it over the head
two or three times, and also three times through
the eyes, and tie down the wire tightly with the
silk; roll the pig hair round the silk and then
over the head and between the beads, fasten it
with three knots, and lay on the varnish.

These large artificial flies kill pike or jack
best on windy days with rain; they will not
rise at the fly on fine days, except there is a
strong ripple on the water. You humour the
fly on the surface as you would move a salmon
one, using a strong rod, reel, and line. If he
is a large fish, he will rush off with the fly
when hooked; but, if a small one, lift him out
when he makes a double quick shake on the
top of the water. I would advise the fisher
to strike a jack quickly, for he often throws
the fly out of his mouth when he finds the
deception.

[55]

THE TROUT FLIES FOR THE
SEASON.

I will now give a description of those flies
which will be found most killing, as they are
imitations of the natural ones that appear in
each month, so that the fly-fisher may practice
with them to very great advantage.

The numbers of each correspond with the
engravings in the plates of the catalogue of
flies.

The Trout is a game and sportive fish, and
affords much amusement to the fly-fishers, as
well as being generally esteemed the best of
our fresh-water fishes for the table. The
spawning time of the trout is much the same
as that of the salmon, about October and
November, and their haunts very similar; they
fix upon some gravelly bottom to deposit their
spawn, in either river or lake, and are never
good when big with roe. After they have
spawned they become lean and wasted, and
their beautiful spots disappear; in this state
they retire to the deep and still parts of the[56]
river during the winter months. As soon as
the weather becomes open in February, they
begin to leave the deeps and approach the rapid
streams, where they soon obtain vigour for the
summer sport. They delight in sandy and
rocky beds and pools, into which sharp and
swift streams run, and under shady banks,
behind large stones and in eddies; in streams
where there are sedges and weeds in the spring
of the year. In the summer months they get
strange, and haunt the deepest parts of swift
running streams; they are found also at the
upper ends of mill-pools and weirs, under
bridges, and in the return of streams where
the water boils in deep places. At the decline
of the year they resort to the tails of
streams and deep water.

They are in season from February till the
end of September.

These few suggestions may benefit the young
angler by giving him an idea of knowing where
to cast his flies for them.

[57]

FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 1. The March Brown.—The body is
made of light brown mohair, mixed with a
little fur of the hare’s neck, and a little yellow
mohair, ribbed with yellow silk; a small brown
partridge hackle for legs (this feather is found
on the back of the partridge), hen pheasant
wing feather for the wings, and two fibres of
the same bird’s tail feather for the tail of the
fly. No. 8 hook. This fly is well taken by
the trout, and continues good till the end of
April. The following flies appear before the
March brown, but it being a great favorite, I
have given it first.

No. 2. The Early Dark Dun.—The body
is made of water-rat’s fur, mixed with a little
red mohair, the red more towards the head, an
iron-blue dun hackle for legs, and the wings of
water-hen or water-rail wing. No. 9 hook.

There is another variety or two of this fly
that kill well in February and March, which
are as follows: A black red hackle, with the
above wings and body; a mallard wing, and[58]
the above body; a peacock harl body, a soot-coloured
dun hackle, and a tip of gold. No. 10
hook.

There is a small fly, which I term the “heath
fly,” which is an excellent one in this month,
and is made thus: The body is made of the
fine fur of the belly of the hedgehog, or rat
back fur (common rat), mixed with red squirrel
fur, and a little orange mohair, rolled on thin
and taper; a small silver grey hackle for legs,
and winged with the grey tail feather of the
partridge. A grey mallard and red squirrel fur
makes another good fly. No. 10 hook.

No. 3. The Little Blue Dun.—The body
is made of mole’s fur, slightly mixed with
bright yellow mohair, a light blue dun hackle
for legs, and starling wings. No. 12 hook.
This delicate little fly appears on cold days
in March, and is well taken by the trout from
ten till four in the evening, with the little
red dun.

No. 4. The Orange Dun.—The body is
made of orange and hare’s fur, a honey dun
hackle for legs, and grey mallard wings.
No. 10 hook. Good on windy days in this
month and the next. There should be but[59]
little hackle used on small flies in the early
season, as the fur is sufficient or nearly so.

No. 5. The Marlow Buzz.—The body is
made of peacock harl, a dun hackle over it
from the tail, and two dark red ones round the
shoulder, rib of silver. This fly does best
where there are large trees growing over the
river banks.

No. 6. The Brown Hackle.—The body is
made of yellow brown mohair, a little orange
fox fur, and two short fibred brown-red hackles
rolled from the tail over the body, and ribbed
with gold wire for evening fishing. It will be
found a good one for large trout in river or lake,
winged with hen pheasant tail, and forked with
two fibres of the same feather, hook No. 10
for the small fly, and No. 6 for the larger
size.

There is also a small red fly comes on in this
month, very killing; the body is made of red
squirrel’s fur, a turn of a red hackle round the
throat, and grey mallard wings mixed with
partridge; hook No. 8.

[60]

FLIES FOR APRIL.

No. 7. The Soldier Fly.—The body is
made of scarlet-colored mohair, ribbed with
fine gold twist, and two black-red cock hackles
run up over the body from the tail, (it is made
also with orange floss silk body, ribbed with
black silk), a small furnace hackle round the
throat and a darkish starling wing. The dark
red furnace hackle has a dark mark round the
edges.

It may also be made to advantage with
peacock harl and black-red hackles over it, and
tipped with gold. The latter way makes it the
“cochybonddu” of Wales. It kills best on
windy days in general, with the cow-dung fly,
and partridge hackle.

No. 8. The Cuckoo Hackle.—The body is
made of peacock’s harl, and two dark dun
hackles, with darkish bars across them, rolled
up to the throat; give it a tag of yellow green
silk, at the end of the tail, silver.

The Granam fly may be made thus:—The
wings are made of hen pheasant wing feather,[61]
hare’s ear fur for body, and a grizzled cock
hackle for legs. It is a four-winged fly, and
when it flutters on the water it is very much
like the engraving in the plate; but when it
sails down the surface, the wings lie flat on its
back, and as soon as it touches the water it
drops its eggs; the trout take it freely for
about a week in this month, with the gravel or
spider fly,—dun body, black hackle, and woodcock
wings; some use lead-coloured body.

No. 9. The Black Palmer, or Hackle.—The
body is made of yellow floss silk, ribbed
with silver tinsel, and two short fibred black
hackles struck on from the tail to the shoulder.
Hook No. 8.—Vary the body of this fly with
peacock harl without the silver, and it will be
a capital one for light clear water on No. 12
hook. Use the cow-dung fly on windy days,
with the above-named one.

No. 10. The Dun Fox Fly.—The body is
made of the fur found on the neck of the fox
next the skin, mixed with golden yellow mohair.
The wings are the wing feather of the starling
or fieldfare, with two fibres of a stiff honey dun
cock hackle for tail; pick out the fur a little
at the shoulder for legs; hook No. 12. Never[62]
was there a better little fly than this thrown on
the water, it will kill fish any day in the year.
Put on the little black hackle, with peacock
harl body with it as a drop fly; and when the
dun fox is used as a drop fly, put on the March
brown as a stretcher. There may be seen
three shades of this fly on the water at the
same time occasionally; the other two shades
are the ash and blue fox,—the first is a very
light dun colour of the fox cub’s neck or face,
the other is of a darker blue shade; they are
great favorites with the trout, artificially; in
mild weather throughout the summer, a small
wren and grouse hackle may be used with them,
the bodies made very thin and taper, and rather
full at the shoulder—the wren with orange mohair
body, and the grouse with golden yellow
floss silk body.

No. 11. The Dun Drake.—The body is
made of golden olive mohair, mixed with hare’s
ear fur, the light and dark, and forked with two
short fibres of brown mallard. The wings are
made of land-rail wing, and a little brown mallard,
mixed nicely together. Hook, No. 9.
There is a dark red, and a dark dun fly on the
water at the same time as the dun-drake, all of[63]
which will be found good ones till the end of
May. The Irish name for the dun drake, is
“Coughlan,”[A] made thus:—The wings, grey
partridge tail; the body, light brown bear’s fur,
with bright yellow mohair, hare’s fur from the
face, mixed altogether, forked with two stripes
of a dark mallard’s feather, and a partridge
hackle. No. 8 hook. In Ireland they consider
this the most useful fly they have in April and
May, as a stretcher, used with the little dun fox,
and black-red, (soldier fly).

No. 12. The Stone Fly.—The body is
made of brown mohair ribbed with yellow silk,
a tuft or tag of yellow mohair or silk at the
tail, and a little yellow mohair worked in under
the shoulder, over which roll the hackle, which
should be of a brown-red colour; the wings
are made of the hen pheasant tail mixed with
copper brown mallard, made full, and larger
than the body. No. 6 hook. If this fly is
made of good colours, as above described,
hardly any large trout, in humour of taking,
can well refuse it. An odd one of them may
be seen in March, when the weather is mild;
but in April and May, when it becomes more[64]
congenial to them, they appear numerous
towards the evening. Ribbed with gold twist,
it makes a famous grilse fly.

No. 13. The Yellow Sally.—The body is
made of buff-colored fur, and a small yellow
hackle for legs round the head; the wings are
made of the buff-coloured feather inside the
wing of the thrush. No. 13 hook. This is
the forerunner of the Green Drake or May fly.
The trout take this little fly freely, and it is a
most excellent killer on fine days, if made
according to the description. It will be found
on the water till the end of May. The
partridge hackle is also good in this month.

FLIES FOR MAY.

No. 14. The Black Gnat.—The body is
made of black hair from the spaniel’s ear
which is fine and soft, or a black ostrich
feather clipped very close, and a small black
hackle for legs; the wings are from the
starling’s wing feather. No. 13 hook. This
is a good fly throughout a clear day, used as a
dropper with the foregoing fly, and wren tail.

It floats on the surface of the water in[65]
numbers on sultry days with mild showers of
rain. It may be varied to advantage with blue
silk body.

No. 15. The Little Brown Midge.—The
body is made of brown mohair with a shade of
orange mohair at the shoulder, two turns of a
small brown-red hackle for legs; the wings are
made of brown mallard and a little strip of
land-rail mixed. No. 13 hook, snick bend.

There appears to be a variety of small flies
on the water with the above fly about the
middle of the day, dark browns, pea-greens,
and dun flies, all water insects, which the trout
take very freely.

No. 16. The Little Iron Blue.—The
body is made of a little light coloured water-rat’s
fur mixed with a few hairs of yellow, an
iron blue coloured dun hackle for legs, and the
wings from a blue dun feather to be found
underneath the wing of a dun hen, or starling
wing feather, tail it with a dun hackle, two
fibres. No. 10 hook. It sails upright on its
legs on the water, with both tail and wings
cocked up, so that it would suit best as a bob
fly. It will be found a useful fly throughout
the season, varied a little in shade according to[66]
the weather, the darker ones on fine clear
days.

The Coachman, Oral, and the Governor flies
will be found good ones in this month towards
night, when the beautiful White Moth may be
also seen.

No. 17. Hare’s Ear and Yellow.—The
body is made of the light part of the fur from
the hare’s ear, ribbed with yellow silk; the
wings are from the wing of the starling or fieldfare,
and two stiff fibres of honey dun cock’s
hackle, from the rump for tail, to cock up, pick
out the fur at the head for legs, No. 12 hook.
It will kill fish every day in this month, and
will be found good till the end of July. It
may be also called the Little Cocktail.

No. 18. The Green Drake.—The body
of this beautiful fly is made of yellow green
mohair, the color of a gosling newly come out
of the shell, and ribbed with yellow-brown silk,
a shade of light brown mohair at the tail, and
a tuft of the same color at the shoulder, picked
out between the hackle, the whisks of the tail
to be of three black hairs of the mane of a
horse, about three-quarters of an inch long;
the hackle to be a greenish buff dyed, (dye a[67]
silver dun hackle with bars across it called a
cuckoo), or a light ginger hackle bordering on
a yellow. The wings, which should be made
full, and to stand upright, are made of dyed
mallard feathers of a greenish buff, or yellowish
shade: a brown head of peacock harl tied neatly
above the wings, No. 6 hook. The wings may
be made of the ends of two large dyed mallard
feathers, with each side stripped off, and the
beautiful long ends to form the wings, tie them
on whole back to back, a little longer than the
bend of the hook—these feathers stand up well
and appear very natural in the water; large size
ones kill well in lakes, with bright yellow
mohair bodies and gold twist rolled up them; a
long honey dun palmer kills well on windy
days, allowed to sink near the bottom, ribbed
with gold twist (see the palmer in the plate with
double hook). The trout take it no doubt for
the Creeper or “Cad Bait;” a very small swivel
tied on at the head, would improve its life-like
appearance in the water as you move it with
the rod; and the larger size one would also
do better with a swivel.

No. 19.—The Grey Drake.—The body is
made of pale yellow mohair, or floss, three[68]
fibres of dark mallard for tail, ribbed with
brown silk, a grizzled dun-cock’s hackle for
legs, or silver grey; grey mallard for wings,
and a peacock harl head.

The body should be made taper, and full at
the head, it is a capital fly on rough days in
May and June, and used to advantage on warm
evenings. The body may be also made of dun
fox fur, grey at the ends, a silver grey hackle
for legs, and forked with three hairs from a
fitch’s tail; the wings grey mallard and
widgeon mixed. It is also made of straw body,
grey cock’s hackle, and mallard wings—these
two methods are very good. They kill well in
Scotland, and in Ireland are called the “Grey
Cochlan.” These flies may be seen in “Taylor’s
Angler.”

Mr. Taylor was an angler of no small pretensions,
he was very fond of the Irish coloured
flies, and has adopted many of them as standards
for Scotland, England, and many rivers
in Wales.

[69]

FLIES FOR JUNE.

No. 20.—The Great Red Spinner.—The
body is made of red mohair, ribbed with fine
gold wire, and a red cock hackle for legs; the
wings are made of brown and grey mallard,
the grey underneath; two fibres of stiff cock’s
saddle hackle for tail, No. 6 or 7 hook. The
Small Red Spinner is made as the above, but
instead of mallard use starling wings. It is an
excellent fly for a dark evening in June and
July, with the furnace hackle.

No. 21.—The Alder Fly.—The body is
made of brown coloured peacock harl, a black-red
cock hackle for legs, the wings are made of
hen pheasant tail feathers, hook No 6. There
is another way or two of making this fly
which cannot be beaten, they are mostly used
in Ireland, and are known to be killers in
England and Scotland. The body is made of
bronze brown mohair, a very small brown
grouse hackle round the head, and the wings
from a brown spotted hen’s wing, No. 8 hook.
The other is made with grey and red partridge[70]
tail mixed for wings, a copper brown peacock
harl body, and a dark brown red hackle off a
cock’s neck for legs. The legs may be also
made of the wren’s tail or woodcock hackle,
this feather is found on the roots of the outside
of the wings of the woodcock. These
are good flies in lakes or rivers for large trout—rib
with gold for lakes.

No. 22.—The Sand Fly.—The body is
made of the sandy coloured fur from the hare’s
pole, mixed with orange mohair, and a small
ginger coloured cock’s hackle for legs; the
wings are made of a sandy coloured brown
hen’s wing, No. 10 hook. An excellent little
fly on fine days with a little wind and occasional
showers.

There is another little fly that will be found
equally good, made thus:—the wings are
made of red and grey partridge tail feathers,
orange body, and black-red hackle rolled up
from the tail to the head, it will kill well on
dark days, ribbed with gold, No. 8 hook.

No. 23.—The White Moth.—The body is
made of white mohair, which is lively ribbed
with orange floss, a white cock’s hackle rolled
round the shoulder; the wings from a white[71]
feather of the swan that grows over the back.
It may be varied with cream coloured mohair,
very light ginger hackle, and a buff wing from a
hen of that colour; and a browner one may be
made from a matted brown hen’s wing, or light
brown grouse tail, or large hackle off the rump of
the same bird, brown-red cock’s hackle, the
whole to be made full, of good coloured and stiff
materials, that they may not absorb the water,
and alight heavy when thrown on the surface.

No. 24. The Oak Fly.—The body is made
of orange silk, and a little hare’s ear fur under
the shoulder, rib it with a furnace hackle from
the centre of the body up (if the hackles are
tied on at the tail they are very apt to get cut
with the teeth of the fish in a very short time).
The wings may be made from the mottled
brown hen, or the woodcock wings, of a red
tinge. No. 8 hook. This fly cannot be too
highly valued for its killing qualities. It will
be found useful for large trout of a windy day
with a grey cloud over head, and not likely to
rain. “Mr. Bowlker,” in his “Art of Angling,”
mentions the oak fly in this manner: “The
oak, ash, woodcock, cannon, or down-hill fly,
comes on about the sixteenth of May, and continues[72]
on till about a week in June; it is to be
found on the butts of trees, with its head always
downwards, which gives it the name of the
down-hill fly. It is bred in oak-apples, and is
the best of all flies for bobbing at the bush in
the natural way, and a good fly for the dab-line,
when made artificially.” The wings are made
from a feather out of the wing of the partridge
or woodcock, the body with a bittern’s feather,
and the head with a little of the brown part of
hare’s fur. The hook, No. 6. Some dub it
with an orange, tawny, and black ground, and
with blackish wool and gold twist; the wings
off the brown part of a mallard’s feather.

FLIES FOR JULY.

No. 25.—The Great Whirling Dun.—The
body is made of water-rat’s fur, mixed with
yellow mohair, and ribbed with yellow silk; a
reddish blue dun hackle for legs; grey mallard
wings, or starling—try both. No. 8 hook.
There are two or three varieties of this fly,
which make their appearance in this month,
and are very killing on fine, mild days, with[73]
occasional showers; their colours run from a
dark to a light sky-blue.

“Mr. Bowlker,” in his “Art of Angling,” an
authority which I like, as he was himself a
fisherman, speaks thus of one of these beautiful
flies: “It comes on about the end of May,
and continues till the middle of July. It is a
neat, curious, and beautiful fly; its wings are
transparent, stand upright on its back, and are
of a fine blue colour, its body is of a pale
yellow, its tail forked, and the colour of its
wings. It is a fly that the fishes take extremely
well from seven o’clock in the evening till
sun-set. The wings are made from the light
blue feather of a hen; the body is made with
pale yellow mohair, mixed with light blue fur,
and ribbed with a fine cock’s hackle, dyed
yellow, the hook, No. 8.” This is taken from
“Bowlker’s” original work.

No. 26. The Little Peacock Fly.—The
body is made of bright brown peacock’s harl,
with a tip of gold at the tail, or gold colour
floss silk; a red hackle for legs, and a starling
wing. This little fly comes on about the
middle of July, and continues till the end of
August. It may be used to advantage on fine[74]
days, with the blue dun, and cinnamon brown.
I have seen this latter fly on the river “Mole,”
in August, of a fine brown colour, and plump
in the body, about the size of the Great
Whirling Dun. The body was red brown, the
legs an amber brown, the wings were a mottled
light brown, and the tail of the same colour as
the wings. I have seen the above fly some time
after on the “Bann,” in the north of Ireland,
a river six times the size of the Mole, not half
the size, in August. This circumstance of the
difference in size, must be the nature of the
soil through which the rivers flow; the “Bann”
is a gravelly bed, full of large stones, with a
very fall strong running stream; the “Mole” not
so. It is my opinion that in the summer
months there is more sport to be had with flies
as small as can be made, than with the general
run, except late in the evening, then use a large
fly—a brown, or white moth, where a large fish
shows himself.

No. 27. The Blue Blow.—The body is
made of mole’s fur mixed with yellow mohair,
run very taper from the tail up; the wings are
made of a tom-tit’s tail feather, or water hen;
the tail is two hairs of a mouse’s whisker, or[75]
fibres of dark dun hackle; the body is picked
out a little at the head to imitate legs; the fly
altogether to be made very small and delicate,
hook No. 13. These little flies may be seen
on good size rivers in hundreds, in the summer
on sultry days; where there is a stone projecting
out of the water they gather round it, and
with the motion are carried up and down on
the side of the stone, where large trout lie, like
ant bears, sucking them in by the dozen; the
wing of the water-rail is capital to imitate that
of the fly. There is another excellent killing
fly that may be used with the above, made
thus;—body, gold colour mohair; tip of gold;
woodcock or wren hackle for legs; grey partridge
tail for wrings; and two fibres of the
same for tail; No. 10 hook. They are good
where the river is low, and are excellent till
the end of August, used with the little brown
fly, and ash fox.

There are also three little flies which are
very good in this month and the next, and
although they are not very well known by name,
nevertheless they will be found killing. First,
the “Orange Wren,” with orange mohair body,
and wren tail hackle. Second, the “Golden[76]
Wren,” with golden yellow mohair body, and
wren tail hackle for legs. Third, the “Green
Wren,” with green floss body, and wren tail for
legs. The Brown Wren, and the little Peacock
Wren, are also good. No. 13 hook. The latter
little fly is called the “Shiner.”

No. 28. The Yellow Dun.—The body is
made of light buff-coloured fur, white sable far
dyed yellow, and a honey dun cock’s hackle for
legs; two fibres of the same feather for tail;
the wings are made of starling wing feather.
No. 12 hook. This pretty little fly is a great
favourite with the trout in the evenings of sultry
days, till the end of August and September.

FLIES FOR AUGUST.

No. 29. The Red Dun.—The body is made
of red orange hair, over which roll a small dun
hackle; the wings are a dun grey, and are
made of starling wing feather, mixed with a
little mallard. No. 10 hook. It may be varied
thus: Red legs and dun body; orange floss
body, over which roll a black hackle, and[77]
starling wing. The size of hook to vary from
No. 10 to No. 7.

This is an excellent fly in rapid streams
where there are large trout; it is so attractive
that they cannot refuse it when it moves over
them. Trout that lie or haunt strong streams,
are called, in Ireland, “Hunters.” The cause
is, no doubt, through their being thin and long
in the body, and are possessed with enormous
mouths to take in their prey. They take small
trout freely.

No. 30. The Ant Fly.—The body is made
of brown floss silk, and a small fibred peacock
harl at tail; a brown red hackle for legs, and
wings of starling feather. No. 10 hook.

There is a black ant the same size as the
above, and a red and black one much larger;
the black one is made of black floss for the
body, small black hackle for legs, and a blackbird’s
wing for the wings of the fly. The small
ones kill on fine days, and the larger ones
when there is a strong wind, which blows them
on the water, and causes a ripple.

No. 31. The Caperer.—The body is made
of brown mohair, or floss silk of a copper
colour, and tipped with gold at the tail; a[78]
brown red cock’s hackle at the shoulder for
legs, and winged with the woodcock wing
feather. No. 8 hook. This fly may be seen
on fine sultry days whirling up and down over
the water, and occasionally dipping on the surface;
the trout take them very freely. This
fly will be found on the water till the end of
September, with the paler dun, yellow dun,
blue dun, and willow fly. The greyling also
like these little flies.

The Winged Larva.—The body is made of
brown mohair; the larva is attached to this
body at the shoulder, and tailed with two fibres
of golden pheasant neck feather, a woodcock
hackle round the shoulder, and winged with hen
pheasant tail, mixed with a little woodcock or
partridge tail feather, and a bronze peacock
head. No. 8 hook. It will be found a good
fly on dark windy days in this month and the
next, and during the prevalence of winds from
the east; it will do best where a strong rapid
stream runs into a deep pool.

A Substitute for the Winged Larva:—The
body is made of bright golden yellow mohair,
which looks very transparent; a woodcock
wing, and a hackle off the same bird, with[79]
two fibres of golden pheasant neck feather for
tail. No. 8 hook.

The Willow Flies.—The body of the first
is made of blue squirrel’s fur, mixed with a
little yellow mohair; a blue dun cock’s hackle
round the shoulder, and a tomtit wing. No. 8
hook. The second fly is made of orange silk
body, ribbed with fine black silk; a very dark
furnace hackle round the head, and blackbird’s
wing. No. 10 hook. The third fly is made of
the wings or blue feather of the sea-swallow,
for the wing of the fly, and the lightest blue
fur that can be got for body (the fine blue of
the fox’s neck, next to the skin; the fur of a
very young water-rat, or the lightest blue fur
of the squirrel); a light dun cock’s hackle, and
a tail of the same. No. 10 hook. These little
flies will kill till the end of October, and are
excellent fur greyling. There are hundreds
of other flies that make their appearance on
the water through the summer months, which
come under the angler’s notice when in pursuit
of his pastime, that may be imitated to
advantage, the varieties of which must fill the
mind with admiration.

[80]

FISHING RODS AND FLY FISHING.

For a trout rod, to have a good balance
from the butt to the extreme top, it is essentially
necessary that the wood should be
well-seasoned, straight in the grain, and free
from knots and imperfections. It should consist
of three or four joints, according to fancy.
There is not the least occasion for a rod to be
glued up in pieces first, and then cut into
lengths and fitted with ferrules, for then you
have the unnecessary trouble of lapping the
splices, but it is best to clean each piece separately,
and measure the exact taper each piece
should be to one another with the ferrules to
fit in the same proportion, the least thing wider
at the lower end than at the top; the ends to
be bored for the tongues to fit into tightly to
prevent shaking, that when they are double
brazed they may fit air-tight.

The ends must be bored previous to planing
down the substance of the pieces, and tied
round with waxed thread to prevent them
from opening or cracking, so that these
pieces may be pushed into each end of the[81]
boring whilst the rod is planed up to its proper
substance or size, except the tops, which should
be well glued-up pieces of bamboo cane, and
filed down to their proper sizes to suit the
other parts of the rod; this may be also done
by fastening the tongue of the top in the bored
joint next in size. The butt should be made
of ash, the middle piece of hickory, and the
top of bamboo, which is the lightest and
toughest of all woods that can be brought to
so fine a consistency. The length of the rod
for single-hand fly fishing should be from
twelve to thirteen feet long—a length which
may be used with great facility without tiring
the arm. The butt should be easy in the grasp
and not a great deal of timber in it; the next
piece to be nearly as stout as the butt above
the ferrule for a foot and a half, this prevents
its being weak at that particular part, which
otherwise would cause the rod to be limber in
the middle; the next or fourth piece to be
stiffer and lighter in the wood to keep up the
top; the whole rod to stand nearly straight up
when held in the hand, and to have a smart
spring above, which assists materially in getting
out the line when throwing. The splices of[82]
the tops should be tightly bound over with the
finest silk, well waxed, and over all three or
four coats of good varnish that is not liable
to crack. You cannot bind the splices tight
enough with coarse three-cord silk, the top
being so small it cannot be drawn together
near so well as with fine silk, and when the
varnish rubs off it opens and admits the water,
which loosens the glued splice inside. The
fine waxed silk is to be preferred by all means,
as it lies closer on the wood, becomes harder,
and makes the splice stiffer to work with the
other parts.

When the whole is ringed, ferruled, and
fitted for the reel complete, it should not (a
twelve foot) exceed one pound; it will afford
great comfort to the fly fisher in his innocent
pursuit, and will not fatigue him during a long
summer day. The reel should be light, in
proportion to the rod, and to contain thirty
yards of silk and hair line made fine and taper,
and when the rod is grasped in the hand a
little way above the reel, the balance should be
the same above the hand as below it, so that it
may be used with the greatest ease.

The beautiful rent and glued-up bamboo-cane[83]
fly rods, which I turn out to the greatest
perfection, are very valuable, as they are both
light and powerful, and throw the line with
great facility. The cane for these rods must be
of the very best description, or they will not
last any time. They will last for years if
properly made, and of course the fisher must
take care of them; they are best when made
into pocket rods, in eight joints, with all the
knots cut out, and the good pieces between each
knot rent and glued up; these may be had
in my shop of as good a balance as a three-joint
rod, most superbly made of the lightest
brazings. They make capital perch and roach
rods with a bait top added to the extra fly top,
with bored butt to hold all. These rods can
be made to suit a lady’s hand for either boat
or fly fishing.

The salmon rod should be made in four
pieces or joints. The butt of the best long
grained solid ash, the wood of which is not so
heavy as hickory, and is not liable to break at
the ferrule, that is, if the ferrule is put on
“flush,” without letting it into the wood by
scoring it; the piece above the butt, and the
joint next the top, should be of the very best[84]
well-seasoned hickory, without crack or flaw;
the tops to be made of the best yellow bamboo
cane, either rent and glued up in three pieces,
or spliced in short lengths with the knots cut
away; the first joint to be nearly as stout as
the substance of the wood above the ferrule as
the end of the butt for a foot and a half, to
prevent the rod being limber in the middle;
the next joint that holds the top should be
very smart, and come up at a touch when bent
with the hand, and the extreme lightness of
the cane top prevents all appearance of its
being top-heavy, which cannot be prevented
with lance-wood, unless it is made very fine
indeed, and then it becomes useless. The
length of the rod should not exceed seventeen
or eighteen feet long, and for light rivers, sixteen
feet is quite long enough; if the angler
fly fishes for salmon from a boat, fourteen feet
will be sufficient, made, of course, very powerful
throughout, as in some large rivers a salmon
will take the fly close to the boat in strong and
deep streams. The rings should be pretty
large, to admit of the line running freely, and
the joints double brazed, which prevents the
bare wood of the tongues twisting off when[85]
the rod is taken to pieces after a day’s fishing,
particularly when they get wet. The reel
fittings should be about a foot and a half, or
say twenty inches from the extreme end, that
there may be room for the left hand to grasp
it easily below the reel, which prevents the rod
hanging heavy on the arms, and will balance it
much better than having the reel too near the
end of the butt. When the salmon rod is bent
after playing a fish, it can be easily straightened
by turning it when the next fish is hooked, and
allow the line to run through the rings on the
top of the rod; by holding it in that position,
you can see how you are winding up the line
on the reel, and regulate it according as the
fish runs towards you, for if the reel is held
underneath when the fish is on, if he runs
towards you, it cannot be seen whether the line
runs on in a lump or not, which, if it does,
often causes it to stop, and may occasion the
loss of your fish.

The most essential and nicest point of all is
in casting the line and trout flies neatly on the
water, which, when properly accomplished in a
masterly way, will be the greatest means towards
the success of the fly fisher in hooking[86]
and catching his fish. In the first place, the
fisher should keep as far off the water as
possible when throwing next his own side, and
make it a rule, whenever he can, to angle on
the bank from which the wind blows, as it will
enable him to throw the flies across to the
opposite bank, and play them gently down the
stream in a slanting direction towards him,
moving backwards as they approach his side,
drawing them up along the bank if the stream
is any ways deep, as a trout of good size is
often lying in such a place when undisturbed,
as you fish cautiously down.

The line should not be let off the reel too
fast when you begin to throw, that the stream
may be carefully covered near you, and as you
move along let it off so as to cover the whole of
the water. Hold the rod firmly above the reel
in the right hand, and take hold of the end of
the casting line in the left, give it a motion
towards your left shoulder, and over the head
with a circle to the full length of the flies
behind you, and with a spring of the rod and
motion of the arm bring them right before you
on to the stream, as straightly and lightly as
possible, and by this method you will prevent[87]
them whipping off behind in a very short time;
allow the line always to stretch to its full
length behind, and keep them on the move,
with the backward sweep of the rod round the
head propel them forward to the place you
desire they should fall, and I do not doubt
that you will make neither splash nor ripple
on the surface. And when a fish makes a rise,
move the rod upwards with a gentle pull, which
is better than striking hard, as the small hook
is easily driven, and there is no occasion to
break the hold or line. Never hold too hard on
a large fish, but let him run if he will, a
small one may be landed immediately. By
no means attempt to go “an angling” without
a landing net, as there may be danger in
losing your fish, after having the trouble or
sport of playing him a long time, and the bank
high on your side. I have been always in the
habit of fishing down the stream, throwing my
flies slantingly to the opposite bank, and
letting them fall gradually with the current,
and walking slowly along lifting and throwing
them at my leisure—it is all fancy whether
up or down you go, so as it is well done—what
you have habituated yourself to in fly fishing[88]
in general, that do. Keep your shadow
as much as possible off the water, and when
you land your fish let his head drop into the
net first, and his whole weight will follow, lift
him clean up on the bank with a pull of the net
towards you, as this prevents him dropping out.

FLY-FISHING FOR SALMON.

When you begin fly-fishing for Salmon, you
must be careful not to let out too much of the
reel line first, but when you become accustomed
to it, and are master of throwing a short one,
let it out gradually till you are enabled to cover
the pool over which you cast with ease.

If you practice throwing over a smooth wide
part of the river, you will see how your line
falls on the water, whether thrown in a lump,
or light and straight without a splash; but at
one time you may cast the line right out over
the stream at its full length, and on giving
another cast you may allow the line to fall on
the water in the middle of it first, and the fly
to fall last, which is not so good, but in either
way the fish will rise and take it; by the
last cast you may get the line farther off, and[89]
the fly alighting near the opposite bank, it is
very apt to be taken by a fish lying close under
it; and when throwing, keep the point of the
rod up out of the water, and do not let it strike
it; throw across in a rather slanting direction,
allowing the fly to sweep down without a curve
in the middle of the line, and at the same time
move the rod playfully to give the fly a life-like
appearance; drawing it in towards your
side of the bank, moving it up and down
gradually with the current, and when a fish
takes the fly raise your hand, and fasten the
hook without a jerk, holding up your rod at
the same time with what is termed a “sweet
fast,” that it may not get slack at any time till
you have killed him; when you poise the rod
in your hands for a throw, the whole knack is
in keeping the left hand steady, and with a
turn of the right hand cause the line to make
a circle round the left shoulder and over the
head, propel it forward with the spring of the
rod, keeping the fly going all the time till it
falls on the water before you as straight as
possible; when you lift the fly out of the water
to throw again, you require to make use of the
strength of the right arm, giving it the proper[90]
turn round with the wrist, making a sweep of
the extent of the line behind you, and with the
spring and power of the rod direct the fly on
that part of the stream where you desire it
should fall; letting the line out occasionally off
the reel with your hand, which gives the fly a
very natural motion on the water, moving it
gradually down towards your side, when you
lift the line out and make another throw as
before a little lower down, and so on until you
cover the whole stream.

You may change to the left hand when you
are tired with the right, or according to the
side you are fishing from, to facilitate and ease
your exertion as much as possible when throwing
a long line. When I have happened to be
in a barn at a farm house on the river side, I
have often thought when taking up the flail to
thrash awhile, whilst the man was resting
himself, that the exertion was remarkably like
throwing the fly with the Salmon rod, the
whole method appears to be in the turn of the
wrist and arm, for when the flail is raised up and
wound over the left shoulder, with a certain
impulse known to one’s self you propel it
forward over the head, striking the sheaf on[91]
the ground with full force on any part you like,
where you think there are any ears in it.

Many may not be acquainted with flail
thrashing, but were they to understand the
knack, it is easily done; so, also, is the
using of the salmon rod, with a little practice,
and observing a good thrower if you happen
to meet one on the river, or an old fisherman
you employ.

Keep yourself steady on your feet, and your
body well up when casting, as it gives more
power to the muscles, and when a salmon is
fairly hooked it will prevent your being nervous
or striking too quick, but as I said before, rise
your hand and keep the line taut; as the fish
will often rise several times out of the water
in succession when first pricked with the hook,
on finding himself detained; when he runs
keep the rod nearly perpendicular, as the
spring of it will soon tire him out; if he is a
good way off and makes a rush towards you,
wind up your line quickly, keeping it taut at
the same time, and moving backwards till he
is near your own shore: if he rolls over in the
water apply the gaff and lift him out, but if he
is not regularly beat he will rush off again on[92]
seeing the gaff with great strength, give in he
must at last by the gentle strain of the rod
that is always upon him. He often gets sulky,
and lies down on the bottom of the river, when
it will be found difficult to start him again: a
clearing ring let down the line on his nose will
cause him to run, and when he does so, it is
best to bear stronger upon him, as in so doing
you have the best chance of quickly tiring and
capturing him. I think it the best plan to lay the
gaff under him, and gaff him in the gills, which
prevents tearing or making a hole in the fish.

The Salmon reel should be made of the
lightest and hardest material, not too much
contracted, but a good width, that the line
may be wound up evenly without incumbrance;
a plain upright handle is much the
safest when playing a fish, as the portable
ones are apt to crack or snap off if they meet
the least obstruction in the running out of the
line; and the portable handle stands too far
out, which catches the line almost every time
it is drawn off or a cast given. Small reels
may be made with portable handles, without
any fear of their breaking, as the fish are
small and can be managed easily.[93]

The salmon line should be of silk and hair
eight-plait or four-plait, eighty or a hundred
yards long, and for small rivers, sixty yards for
a sixteen feet rod. The casting line for clear
waters should be half treble and half single
gut, to suit grilse or small salmon flies in
summer; and in the spring of the year when
large flies are in use, good strong-twisted gut,
three yards long, is what is necessary for a
heavy reel line, particularly in large rivers, as
the Shannon and the Bann in Ireland, and the
Tweed in Scotland.

There are not three better Salmon Rivers in
the world than the above, were the salmon
allowed access into them during the summer
months for the amusement of those great
angling gentlemen who would visit them
during that period, or even if there were but a
few let up past the “cruives” or “cuts,” that
there might be a sprinkling for them to throw
flies over. It would not matter to them what
nets the fishermen along the shores of the
estuaries used, as they only affect the “Cruives,”
or “Fixed Traps” built across the rivers, as of
course less fish run into them, and there would
be abundance of salmon and grilse go up the[94]
centre or deep part of the river, which the
fishermen could not possibly reach.

These “Traps” are kept down all the summer,
from the early spring till the end of
August, at which period they are what is termed
“lifted,” and up run the spawning fish; and
the great fly fishers now lay by their rods and
tackle for that season, as fly fishing is prohibited
when the salmon are spawning in the rivers.
There is certainly a respite in the Tweed,
when the nets are taken off at the end of the
season for the accommodation of the fly fisher;
and were it so in the Shannon and the Bann,
there would be very great satisfaction in having
a month or six weeks’ fishing in these splendid
rivers. They are certainly free throughout the
summer to the fly fisher, but he might labour
a whole day with his rod and fly without getting
a rise, except by chance.

There will never be any good done until the
“cruives” or “cuts” are removed off the rivers,
unless the head landlord would make an agreement
with the renter of the “cruive,” and
enforce it as a law,—to lift the “cruive” two
days in the week, that there might be fish in
the rivers for the accommodation of the great[95]
body of gentlemen anglers who make it their
business to travel to these rivers to find amusement
in Fly Fishing, at very great expense;
although I do not know if even this would do,—it
would be best by all means to remove
them; and, independent of fair netting for the
general supply at the mouths and estuaries, a
Society of Anglers could rent the entire river,
were the owner to meet them on liberal terms
which no doubt he would, and this would
prevent the destruction by degrees of the best
breeding-fish in the river.

[96]

AN ACCOUNT OF THE SALMON,
AND ITS VARIETIES.

I desire merely to give some account of this
beautiful fish for the information of my readers,
the knowledge of which has come under my
own notice, in the rivers of Ireland in particular,
amongst the fishermen at their mouths, at the
“cruives” or “cuts,” and throughout my
rambles along their banks.

This excellent salmon is a very handsome
fish, the head is small, the body rather long
and covered with bright scales, the back is of a
bluish shade, the other parts white, and marked
with irregular dark brown spots on the head,
the covers of the gills, down each side from
the lateral lines to near the edge of the back,
very few are to be seen below the lines which
run from head to tail; the tail is forked.

He takes great delight in pursuing small
fish and fry, and in playing and jumping on the
top of the water, at insects no doubt, and for his
own sport.

It has been often said that there was never
any thing found in the salmon’s stomach such[97]
as edibles, but it has been recently discovered
that they prey upon herrings, sprats, fry, and
other dainties in their native element; and as
these fish are very nutritious and fat in themselves,
no doubt the nourishing channel in
them receives the substance of the food very
quickly, as it appears to be digested so rapidly
in their stomachs. He leaves the sea for the
fresh water rivers about January and February,
and continues to run up till September and
October, their spawning time, and some spawn
after this time; they are often big with roe in
December and January, in the end of August
or the beginning of September; when they are
in roe regularly, they cannot be in proper
season; they get soft, their beautiful color and
spots vanish, and they do not appear like the
same fish. They travel up rivers as far as
they can possibly get, into lakes and their
feeders, and tributaries of large rivers, where
they take delight in the broad gravelly fords,
and strong deep running currents, which they
like to be as clear as crystal, to effect which
they will leap over weirs, waterfalls, “cuts,”
“cruives,” and “traps,” when there is a flood
rushing over them, to the great delight of the[98]
fly fisher, who loves to see them run and escape
these obstructions.

The male fish is supplied by nature with a
hard gristly beak on the end of the under
jaw, which fits into a socket in the upper jaw
to a nicety; with this the Salmon go to work
with their heads up stream, rising their tails
sometimes nearly perpendicular, and root up
the sand and gravel in heaps, leaving a hollow
between, wherein the female deposits the eggs;
the male fish still performing his part, chasing
away the large trout that are ready to root it up
(the spawn), he covers it over substantially
against the forthcoming winter’s floods and
storms. By this time he becomes wearied,
spent, and sickly, and then turns himself round
and makes head for the sea, where, if once
happily arrived, he soon makes up for the
debility in his blue, his fresh, and ever free
element. The refreshing and purging nature
of the salt water soon makes him once more
strong and healthy, he may be seen leaping
and playing in the sea near the river’s mouth
on his recovery. I have been told by fishermen
that they proceed in shoals to the ice
fields in the North Seas, and return to the[99]
rivers and estuaries in the spring and summer
as they departed, in large shoals; they discover
themselves in the bays by jumping out of the
water as they near the river.

The Salmon haunts the deepest, strongest,
and most rapid rivers, and is rarely to be seen
in those wherein there is much traffic, or that
are sullen or muddy. They prefer the upper
parts of rough streams that run into large
pools, and the tails of these pools, behind
large stones, in the middle and at sides of
waterfalls in the eddies, these are the parts to
throw for them, but the fisherman on the water
will show the angler all the best places. The
best months to angle for them are from March
till the middle of August, after September they
are out of season. They will take the fly best
from six or seven o’clock in the morning till
nine, and from three in the afternoon till dark,
with a good wind blowing up stream. I have
hooked them on the very top of a precipice,
after surmounting the leap, where they lie to
rest in the first deep pool they come to; they
generally run down over the rocks or falls of
water to the pool beneath, when they often get
killed by the rapid descent.

[100]

THE SALMON FRY.

These beautiful little fish, the production of
the spawn of the salmon, make their appearance
in March and April, and if a flood happens
to rise or swell the rivers about the end of the
latter month, they are taken down in great
numbers, till at last they enter the brackish
water, where they grow in a short time as large
as white trout. The salt water adds much to
their growth. In the following spring and
summer they run up the rivers in great quantities
if they are allowed, and return to the sea
again before winter. On their second return
up the rivers they will be grown very large,
and are then called “Grilse,” or “Peals,” &c.

There is a Salmon Trout of the same species,
which is rounder in proportion to the Salmon,
of a reddish hue when in season; it has small
fine scales, beautifully intermixed with rich red
and black spots on both sides of the lateral
lines, from head to tail, and its handsome head
is spotted over, as also the covers of the gills;
the tail is shorter, and not so much forked as
the salmon, and the fins are very strong. The[101]
flesh is most delicious, and some prefer it
to salmon. They may be seen in the Fishmongers’
shops from May till the end of
August.

Another species is the Sewen of Wales, the
White Trout of Ireland and England, and the
Whiting of Scotland; they are very bright in
colour, and run about the size of Mackerel;
they haunt the roughest, strong streams, and
gravelly bottoms. When they are hooked on
the fly they will spring repeatedly out of the
water, and afford pleasant sport for the angler.
They take small gaudy flies like the Salmon
Trout, and when the water is low, dun flies,
black hackle flies with silver ribs, and grouse
hackles of a light brown colour and yellow
bodies. The hooks about Nos. 6 and 8.

Another species is the Bull-Trout, which
has a short thick head, and a brownish body,
covered with spots of a brown colour, and are
found in all rivers having communication with
the sea, and their tributaries, if there are
no obstructions to prevent their running up.
They are found running up the rivers in June
and July, and in these months and August, are
in good season. They are rather a dry fish.[102]

The Par or Last-Spring are most plentiful
in salmon rivers from May till the end of
August, and are very much like the salmon
fry, only for the dark bars across them, and
towards the end of the season they are variously
marked. There is no little fish so plump and
lively when taken with the fly, except the
Salmon Fry. As the Sea-Trout are known to
grow to the weight of sixteen and twenty
pounds in large rivers, such as the Tweed, the
Shannon, and the Bann, the Par may be the
fry of these fish, which run up the rivers in
the spring and summer. These Sea-Trout
differ much in shape and colour to the real
Salmon, and are what are termed Salmon in
the London markets.—This I heard from a
fisherman at the mouth of the Tweed, who
pointed out a large creel full to me, just taken
in the nets, and amongst the whole there
was but one Salmon. The Sea-Trout may be
known by being paler, and covered with more
spots, and by being longer and thinner in the
body; the head is also much longer.

There is a rich golden hue over the Salmon
when you get a side look of it; the body is
plump and boar-backed, the head is very small,[103]
and there are few spots, except above the
lateral lines.

I have seen the Par so numerous in the
River Dovey, in Wales, that a man (a guide),
took my salmon rod, and a cast of four small
flies, the sun shining, and in two hours he
killed nine pounds weight of these fish, about
a finger in length or less. It perfectly surprised
me; but it seems that this was but a
small quantity in comparison to what the fishers
were in the habit of taking out in a day. It
appeared so, as the inn-keeper’s wife potted
them in large jars. These rivers abound with
Sewen, Sea-Trout, and White Trout; the first-named
fish is the White Trout of Wales, which
corresponds with the Irish fish of that name,
and called in Wales, Sewen. The Par may be
the fry of these fish, which are of the Salmon
species, and ought to be protected by law.

[104]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FIFTEEN
SALMON FLIES ENGRAVED IN
THE PLATES.

These fifteen Salmon Flies may be considered
by my readers as specimens of real
perfection, and the “dons” of the present time
amongst the great Salmon fishers. There is
such a combination of colours in them throughout,
that they will be found most killing in the
rivers of Scotland and Ireland, if made on
hooks of sizes to suit each, and their proper
seasons.

I have taken the greatest pains imaginable
to make them in proportion, and of the most
choice materials, which will greatly amuse the
amateur in his leisure hours to imitate them,
and if he goes by the models, and their descriptions,
he will find them, when completed, what
may be termed by a Salmon fisher, magnificent.
Their life-like and alluring appearance, when
humoured attractively with the rod and line, will
cause them to be very deceptive to the Salmon,
and they will rise out of the water at them with[105]
such greediness (the fun of it is) as to mistake
them for living insects. I have seen them
swim after the fly for some distance, as quietly
as possible, before making a rush at it, then
seize it, show their back fin, and then the
points of their tail—the break of the water
they have made closes—you “rise your hand,”
and the hook is “anchored.”

No. 1. I shall name this The Spirit Fly,
in consequence of its numerously-jointed body,
its fanciful, florid, and delicate appearance.
Its colours will be found most enticing to the
fish, and is a sister fly to Ondine, in the
“Book of the Salmon,” by “Ephemera.”

The wings are made of six toppings, with a
broad strip of wood duck on each side, a red
Hymalaya crest feather at top, a cock of the
rock feather, blue kingfisher feather at each
side, a black head, and feelers of macaw. The
body is made of joints of black, orange floss,
and a tip of gold tinsel at the tail, tail two
small toppings, a tag of puce silk and ostrich,
(it must be tied with very fine silk that the
body may not be lumpy, but to show gradually
taper from the tail to the head, and the hackle
to be stripped at one side to roll even), and at[106]
each joint a scarlet hackle, with a tip of gold
tinsel under each joint, to make it lively looking.
There is a purple hackle, or very dark blue,
struck round the shoulder. The size of the
hook is No. 6 or 7. Salmon, B or BB.

No. 2. The wings are composed of golden
pheasant tail feather, mixed with the following:
strips of bustard, scarlet macaw, wood-duck,
mallard, yellow macaw body feather, silver
pheasant, and a topping over all, extending a
little longer than the other feathers; blue and
yellow macaw feelers. The wing, as above,
should be laid out on a piece of paper, ready
to tie on after the body and legs are formed,
the jay rolled over the head in this fly, and the
head tied on last, of black ostrich. The tail is
a topping, mixed with a strip of wood-duck
feather, tipped with silver twist, a tag of gold-colour
floss, and black ostrich; the body puce
floss to the centre, and the remainder orange
pig hair or mohair, ribbed with broad silver
tinsel, and a guinea-hen rump feather rolled
over the orange beneath the jay hackle. This
is about as fine a specimen of a Salmon fly as
ever was thrown into the water, and will kill
Salmon and Grilse, made small, in every[107]
Salmon river in Great Britain. The hook
No. 6 or 9, Limerick.

The best Irish hooks are numbered from
No. 1, largest Salmon size, to No. 10, Sea-Trout
size.

No. 3. This is another of the Spirit Flies
that kill so well in the rivers of Ireland and
Scotland, at high water, particularly the Spey
and Tweed. The wings are made of the following
mixtures of feathers, each side of the
wings to be alike: Brown mallard, bustard
and wood-duck; a topping, scarlet macaw, teal,
golden pheasant neck feather, a strip of yellow
macaw, and feelers of blue and yellow tail; a
head of black ostrich; the tail to be a topping,
mixed with green and red parrot tail; the body
is composed of joints, first a tip of silver, a
tag of morone floss, a tag of black, a joint of
brown, green and brown-red hackle, puce and
red, green and yellow, blue and orange, with a
tip of gold tinsel at each joint, a very small
red hackle, and two red toucan feathers round
the shoulder, and blue kingfisher’s feather on
each side of the wings. The hook No. 6, and
No. 10 for Grilse.

No. 4. A celebrated Claret Fly, of very killing[108]
qualities both in Scotland and Ireland, and
in the Thames as a trout fly. The wings are
composed of two wood-duck feathers wanting
the white tips, and two strips of the same kind
of feather with white tips; the head is made of
peacock harl; the tail is two or three strips of
hen pheasant tail, with a short tuft of red
orange macaw body feather or parrot, tipped
with silver, and gold ribbing over the body,
which is formed of claret pig hair, over which
roll two richly dyed claret hackles, struck in
fine proportion from the tail up. The hook
No. 6 or 10. It is a capital fly in lakes for
large trout, as a breeze or gentle gale only
causes a ripple, and a strong wind does not do
so well in lakes with the fly, as it makes waves,
although good for a large size minnow.

No. 5. A brown fly, a general favorite among
the “old ones,” on every salmon river in Ireland
and Scotland, particularly the latter, and
in rivers a good way up from the sea, on a dark
day, with a good breeze blowing up the stream.
The following fly, No. 6, may be used in a
similar manner. The wings are made of the
golden pheasant tail that has the long clouded
bar in the feather, rather full, and two rather[109]
broad strips of light brown white-tipped turkey
tail feather at each side; a good size peacock
harl head, and feelers of scarlet macaw feather;
tipped at the tail with gold tinsel—the tail a
small bright topping, and a tag of gold-colour
floss silk; the body is made of cinnamon, or
yellow-brown pig hair or mohair, ribbed with
double silver twist; over the body roll a real
brown red cock’s hackle, and round the throttle
roll on a bright red-brown small-spotted grouse
hackle, or a brown mottled feather of the hen
Argus pheasant’s neck or back. BB hook, or
a No. 8.

No. 6. A Silver Grey Fly, a great favorite
on the lakes of Killarney for Salmon and
Grilse, and at Waterville, in the County of
Kerry, for Sea and White Trout, made small
on a No. 10 hook, about the size of a No. 6
Trout hook of English make. The wings are
made of golden pheasant tail feather, mixed
with mallard, red macaw, blue and yellow body
feathers of the macaw, guinea hen, and golden
pheasant neck feathers, with feelers of blue
and yellow macaw, a black head; tipped at the
tail with silver and orange floss tag, the tail a
topping mixed with red and blue macaw feather,[110]
(those blues that are found under the
wings of that bird which are of a very light
hue) and guinea hen: the body is made of the
silver dun monkey if it can be got, light dun
fox or squirrel fur, or dyed blue dun mohair
mixed with yellow,—all these are good for a
body, ribbed with broad silver tinsel, and a
hackle of a real dun cock that has a yellowish
motley shade throughout it, rolled up to the
head, and round the shoulder a bright orange
dyed hackle, underneath which tie in a little
orange mohair. It may be varied with a claret
hackle at the head, or a fiery brown one.
No. 9 hook. A small grilse or sea-trout hook,
for small rivers in either Scotland or Ireland,
and also in the rivers of Wales, where it is a
native dun colour among the anglers. It will
be found a “don” to rise them.

No. 7. A large dun palmer with a double
hook, which, will be observed, is of a tortuous
shape in the body, as it appears in the plate.
The shape may be obtained by tying the hooks
back to back, the top one to be tied about
quarter way down the shank of the end one,
and the gut tied tightly on each, (twisted gut
of course when you form a loop).

[111]

It will be found a “killer” in large pools
surrounded with trees in stormy weather, and
in rapid streams running into or near the sea,
where they take it most likely for a shrimp, as
it corresponds in color. The legs are composed
of about six hackles of a real blue dun old
cock-saddle feather, having a motley yellowish
hue, and peacock harl head, rather full; the
body is made of orange pig hair and yellow
mohair mixed, the former drawn out amongst
the fibres of the hackles, which must be struck
on two at a time, commencing at the tail, till
it is all built up to the head, where there may
be three hackles to make it fuller,—it would
be as well to have a small swivel at the head,
that it might spin gently round when moved in
the water. No. 9 hook, or small grilse size for
large trout. It may be varied with gold, old
dun cock’s hackles, and red body.

No. 8 is a beautiful specimen of a gaudy fly.
The wings, which are finely mixed of rich
feathers, are made of the following sorts:—orange,
yellow, and blue macaw body feathers,
three strips of each; teal, bustard, and golden
pheasant neck feathers broken in strips; silver
pheasant tail, light brown golden pheasant tail[112]
feather, and a topping over all a little longer;
a peacock harl head, and blue and yellow
feelers. The body is formed in three joints, a
tip of gold twist at the tail, a tag of peacock
harl, and a bright small topping for tail; first,
a joint of yellow floss, a joint of peacock, and
two feathers of the red-tipped feather of the
crest of the cock of the rock tied short above
the harl and ribbed with gold; the next is a
blue floss silk joint ribbed with gold, a peacock
harl rolled on close, and two feathers of the
crest of the cock of the rock tied close above
it; and the third is an orange floss silk joint,
a peacock harl tag, and ribbed with gold, two
of the red-tipped feathers tied on close as
above, and a blue jay round the shoulder.
No. 8 hook on B. This is a famous grilse fly.

No. 9 is another great beauty, and a capital
grilse or small salmon fly for any river under
the sun. The wings are made of two jungle-cock
feathers, and two shorter feathers of the
golden pheasant neck, the white ends of the
jungle-cock to show well beyond the golden
pheasant neck, two broad strips of wood-duck,
one at each side, and a topping or two extending
longer than the other feathers for feelers, a[113]
black ostrich head; a tip of gold at the tail, a
tag of yellow-green silk, a tag of black ostrich,
and a bright topping for tail, above the ostrich
a blue tag, and the body made of claret floss
silk, ribbed with gold tinsel, and claret dyed
hackle struck over the body, with a blue jay
feather at the shoulder. The hook B or BB.

No. 10. This is a famous high water fly for
all salmon rivers, particularly in Scotland, and
is not unlike the once celebrated “Parson Fly,”
the favourite killer in all rivers of the Reverend
St. John’s; there is no salmon can resist its
attractions in rapid pools in rivers near the sea.
The preceding fly, No. 9, will be found to kill
better a few miles higher up from the sea, as
all plain flies do. If the No. 9 is winged with
brown mallard or brown turkey tail feather, it
will be found just the thing.

The wings are made of two golden pheasant
neck feathers, with a broad strip of peacock
wing feather on each side, and a strip of scarlet
macaw tail feather, the latter to be a little
longer than the other feathers, a black ostrich
head with a full brilliant blue jay feather round
the shoulder. The body is made thus:—a tip
of silver twist, a yellow floss silk tag, two small[114]
toppings for tail, the body is of golden yellow
pig hair or mohair, ribbed with silver twist,
with two golden yellow dyed hackles with a
black streak up the centre, rolled from the tail
to the head. No. 9 hook, B, or BB.

No. 11 is a fly that will kill grilse or salmon
in the light running rivers of the North of
Scotland, and in all rivers where the salmon
and its varieties haunt, and is made of different
sizes. The wings are made of a few fibres of
each of the following feathers: black and
white small spotted bustard rump feather, teal,
wood-duck, silver hen pheasant tail, and the
silver cock pheasant tail black and white
spotted feathers, the neck feather of the golden
pheasant, and the red spear feather of the
same bird, and at each side two small feathers
of the black and white jungle cock, a black
head, and topping. The body is made half
yellow and half purple pig hair or mohair, the
latter colour next the head, over which roll
close up two black heron feathers off the crest;
a tip of gold, and a small topping for tail, and
over the yellow or purple body roll double gold
twist. No. 7 hook, or BB.

The Sea-Trout Fly underneath No. 11 in the[115]
same plate, will be found a killer either for
sea-trout or grilse, in the rivers in Scotland,
and the South of Ireland. The wings are
made of a dark brown grouse hackle that grows
on the rump of the bird, just above the tail,
mixed with a small quantity of light brown
turkey tail, or kite tail, which is the salmon tail
glede of the north, and two feelers of blue and
yellow macaw; a black head; the body is made
with a tip of silver twist at the tail, and a tag
of black ostrich; the tail is a mixture of golden
pheasant neck feather, and brown mallard, two
or three fibres of each; the body is blue floss
silk, rather light, with an old black cock’s hackle
rolled over it, ribbed with fine silver twist;
round the shoulder roll a claret or scarlet
hackle. The hook No. 10, or C, double CC,
or B, for grilse. There may be three or four
varieties of this fly made thus:—body blue,
with blue jay, same wings, with a little neck
feather of the golden pheasant; orange body,
same coloured hackle, and same wings, blue
jay at head; a dun body, with fiery brown
hackle at the head; a claret body—a yellow
body, and small grouse; blue body, and guinea
hen; and a yellow body, with guinea hen; a[116]
black body, black hackle, and the same wings
and tail; a black fly, with teal wings; a brown
body, brown hackle, and “glede” wings, two
fibres of the same for tail. All these are the
choicest colours for sea-trout and grilse flies in
every salmon river in the kingdom.

No. 12. Is a large Spring Fly used generally
in the Shannon, and the Tweed, when
the rivers are very high and rapid. It will be
found a magnificent specimen of a gaudy salmon
fly, and is the proper size for March and April,
when the fulness of the stream prevents the
fish from seeing smaller ones. This fly will
be seen to perfection in the Plate. With this,
I will describe three or four others of the same
size, of different colours, which came into my
possession from Castle Connell, on the Banks
of the Shannon.

The wings of No. 12 are made of the small
spotted brown Argus tail feather, golden pheasant
tail, and the black and white peacock wing
feather; scarlet and blue macaw, and in the
centre an orange macaw feather whole, those
that are tipped with blue and green—they are
found on the shoulders of the red macaw and
down the back; a tuft of broken neck feather[117]
of the golden pheasant at the head, and feelers
of blue and yellow macaw; a black head; a
tip of gold at the tail, a tag of blue, another of
orange floss and black ostrich, a good sized
topping in the tail, and at its root a tuft of red
spear feather of the golden pheasant rump;
there is about half an inch body at the tail
end, made of yellow mohair, and yellow hackle
over it, ribbed with gold, the remainder of the
body is made of puce floss silk, with a dark
wine-purple hackle struck over it, ribbed with
silver twist and flat gold, and a yellow body
feather of the macaw rolled round the shoulder.
The hook, No. 2 or 3, large Salmon size.

SPRING FLIES.

The following fine large flies will be excellent
killers in the Shannon, the Tweed, the Thurso,
the Spey, and the Tay, in the spring season.
The bodies to be made small, the wings large.

No. 1. The body is made of sky blue floss
silk, ribbed with broad silver tinsel, tip of
silver, and orange tag; a dark blue hackle
from the tail up; two toppings in the tail, a[118]
large yellow pig hair or mohair head (white
seal fur dyed yellow does well), a blue jay
round the shoulder; the wings are a large
yellow and a large blue feather of the macaw,
which grows on the back and under the wings
of that bird, two orange macaw feathers an inch
shorter on each side of them, two toppings, a
mixture of argus, bustard, scarlet and blue
macaw, good size strips of each. No. 1 hook,
full salmon size.

No. 2. The body is made of black floss silk,
tipped with silver, tag of orange, ribbed with
broad silver plate up the body, beside which a
claret hackle, and the tail two toppings; the
wings are made of a large red rump spear
feather of the golden pheasant in the centre,
four large toppings with a mixture of sprigging
at each side of the following: Argus pheasant
tail, bustard, blue and yellow macaw, blue jay
at the shoulder, and a large size head of puce
pig hair. Hook No. 1 or 2, Spring Salmon
size.

No. 3. The body is made of black floss silk,
ribbed with silver, orange tag, tip of silver, tail
a topping with a little red; the wings are made
of the whole yellow feathers of the macaw[119]
which grow under the wings of the bird, two
tipped feathers mixed with bustard, Argus,
blue and scarlet macaw, and a blue head of
pig hair or mohair. No. 1 or 2 hook.

No. 4. The body is made of light puce floss
silk, ribbed with silver plate and gold twist, a
claret hackle over it, tipped with silver, a
topping for tail, and orange tag; the wings
are made of yellow macaw, a red spear feather,
four toppings, a mixture of bustard golden
pheasant tail, kingfisher’s each side, and a
large blue head of mohair. (It cannot be too
large for the Shannon). No. 1 hook, large
Salmon size.

No. 5. The body is made of puce floss,
ribbed with broad silver and gold twist, purple
hackle over it, orange tag, tip of silver, and tail
a topping; the wings are made of two body
feathers of the yellow macaw, mixed with blue
macaw tail and Argus, two large toppings, and
a dark blue pig hair head. Salmon hook No. 2,
spring size.

No. 6. This is another excellent fly. The
wings are like the last named fly; a black floss
body, ribbed with silver, and yellow hackle over
it; a large blue head, picked out to hang down[120]
like a hackle. No. 3 hook. This is a fly of
“The Ogormans,” of Ennis, in the County of
Clare, see his Work on Angling. The two
Salmon Flies in the plate, with “picker,” are
described for Killarney.

SALMON RIVERS.

It will be most advantageous to my readers
that I should give them some accurate accounts
of the various Salmon Rivers, pointing out at
the same time the best station on each where
sport may be expected with the fly, and to
know where to proceed before starting on their
angling excursion, as the whole fun is in knowing
the right places to prevent disappointment.
There are numerous small size rivers, the
local flies for which are of a plain and sombre
hue, and which it will be necessary the fisher
should be acquainted with—these I will give
as I proceed.

In summer, when the rivers are low, small
plain flies are best, or rather so on dark days,
with a good ripple, then they will entice them.
They do not rise often when the sun is warm,[121]
except in rapid streams. Use small black
bodied flies with silver and middling gaudy
wings, mixed with teal or cock of the north
feather—change it to a gaudy one if they do
not take the black. Early in the mornings
before the sun strikes the water, and from three
o’clock till dark, or about sunset is a good time
to move a large fish with a fly he likes. The
two flies at the bottom of the plate with
“picker,” are most likely ones for that time in
the day. The plain one is brown body, and
wings of mallard. The bottom one is green
body, and mixed wings of gaudy feathers; the
body is a jointed one, of peacock green. I made
it nearly twenty years ago,—it is a beautiful
specimen of a gaudy fly for rapids after a flood.

THE RIVER TWEED.

I will begin with this large and beautiful
salmon river, which runs rapidly along the
borders of England and Scotland, taking a
course from West to East. It flows majestically
through a highly picturesque and cultivated
country, washing many good towns on[122]
its way to the sea, where it discharges its
valuable waters at Berwick.

The town of Kelso is the best station, as
there is good fishing above and below it.
There is a magnificent spot for a month or
more of salmon fishing at a place called “The
Throughs,” three miles above the town,—it is
a real picture of a place to the eyes of the
fisher. Higher up is St. Boswell’s, and a little
higher, Melrose—both charming places. There
is good angling in the Tiviot, at Kelso, in the
spring; it runs into the Tweed on the opposite
side. The trout are numerous in it. There
are several capital stations below the town,
where the fish take the fly most freely, which
is not the case in most of the rivers of the
same magnitude. The fifteen painted salmon
flies will be found excellent killers in this noble
river, and the six large spring flies.

I have killed Grilse, Sea-Trout, and River-Trout
with the Winged Larva at the “Throughs”
in August. Easterly winds were prevailing at
the time, and the fish would not stir at any
other sort of fly. When the river runs very
low small flies are best.

[123]

THE RIVER SHANNON.

This is the largest and finest Salmon river
in Britain. There is not a river in Norway
that can be compared to it for fishing, were it
properly used. The angler must proceed to
its banks before he can say, conscientiously,
that he has ever seen a salmon river. In its
course it expands into three large and beautiful
lakes, Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and Lough
Derg. There are numerous islands in the
latter one, with ruins of religious edifices, &c.
This noble river receives many tributaries, in
which there is capital fly fishing, with rapids
and falls of water till it reaches Limerick. It
runs a hundred and twenty miles to this place,
and sixty more to the sea. It is on leaving
the lakes that it abounds with many delightful
streams—the haunts of large Salmon and fine
Trout. Six miles above Limerick, at Castle
Connel, there is a splendid place for the fly,
and Trout fishing is good. The angler will here
behold a scene that will greatly amuse him.

There are other capital casts for Salmon up
to Killaloe, where the Pike and Eels are of an[124]
extraordinary size and quality. Lough Derg
is close to this place, in which are caught the
“Gillaroe” Trout; they have gizzards like turkeys,
are short and round in the body, very red
in the flesh when cooked, and they have a most
delicious flavour.

The best flies for the Shannon are the fifteen
painted ones, and the six large flies for spring.
You cannot fail with these beautiful flies.

THE LAKES OF CLARE.

From the town of Killaloe the angler may
proceed to the lakes of the County of Clare.
You go west to the town of Broadford, eight
miles distant, where there are three or four
lakes, the furthest off one, Dromore; this town
is eighteen miles off, and about eight from the
county town, Ennis, on the river Fergus.
Twelve miles up this river is Corrafin, a neat
town, near which is the celebrated lake of
“Inchiquin,” famous for its large trout and
splendid views. Here the angler will find
boats and every accommodation.

The flies in my list for the season will kill[125]
exceedingly well in these lakes, made two or
three sizes larger, and in fine weather the size
they are.

They are fond of grouse hackle, wrens,
browns, turf-coloured flies, amber, black, grey,
&c., &c., with brown grouse wings. The “yarn
fly”[B] is not used here.

Before the tourist angler leaves Killaloe, if
he has time, he should by all means see the
antiquities of the place, Lough Derg and Holy
Island, where there are to be seen the ruins of
seven churches, and a round tower 70 feet
high, the entrenchments of “Brian Boroimhe,”
King of Munster, at Cancora, and his tomb
near the Cathedral in the town.

This ancient town is seated on the western
bank of the Shannon, in the County of Clare,
over which there is a bridge of nineteen arches;
at a short distance below it, this grand river
rolls over tremendous ledges of rocks, where
there is an excellent fishery. It is a great
pity that this fine river should be prevented
from being of the greatest benefit to the
country through which it runs, all owing to
the “cruives,” the “stake nets,” “bag nets,”[126]
and every other destructive invention that can
be contrived for the wholesale slaughter of the
splendid Salmon. Oh! look to it, you that
have the power.

From Limerick the angler may proceed to
Athlone and Galway, but I should advise him
to proceed to the south first, and fish the
Blackwater and the lakes of Killarney; Mr.
Jas. Butler has prohibited the fishing at Waterville
this spring, in consequence, as he says,
“of the numbers visiting, coupled with acts of
poaching.” I should say the lake is free, as it
always was and ever has been, knowing that
Mr. Butler is most polite to gentlemen.

THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY.

From Mallow, on the Blackwater, the angler
proceeds to Killarney. It would be as well to
go to Lismore, farther down from Mallow,
where there is good Salmon fishing to be had;
there is a Mr. Foley here (who rents the “weirs”
of the Duke of Devonshire), he is most polite
to strangers, and allows them to fish in the
weirs, which are of some extent; and most of[127]
the Gentlemen residing on its banks, from
Lismore up, will allow the stranger to fly-fish
through their grounds, send their keepers to
shew them the best places, and are most hospitable
and polite. At the Killarney junction,
Mallow, the angler takes his seat, and in a
little time is delighted with the sight of the
Lakes. I visited Killarney in 1848, on an
angling excursion in Ireland, to recruit my
fallen spirits, if possible, after many years of
industrious labour, “and it is myself that
would advise the sickly to go there, if he had
legs to walk on,” says poor Pat.

To my great disappointment at the time, the
Lakes were netted by their respective owners,
which rather damped my spirits after going so
far “a fishing”—my sport there was but inferior.
It is not so now, many thanks to Lord Kenmare
and Mr. Herbert, who have put a stop to the
netting and other contrivances, to the delight of
the anglers and inn keepers of the neighbourhood.
I have been given to understand that
the Salmon fishing is capital now in the lakes
and river. At Ennisfallen Island there is a
favourite cast, and another between that and
Ross Island; another to the south west of it;[128]
towards Mucruss Abbey, to the north-east, there
is good water for the fly, and in “Glena” bay,
all of which the boatmen will show. At the
latter place parties dine, in a very beautiful
situation at the foot of the hill, sheltered by
trees to the water’s edge. On the west side of
it is shown a curiosity—a holly, a thorn, a
birch, a hazel, an ash, and an oak, so curiously
entwined, that they appear as one tree; at
this place there is a good fishery, at the cottage
they cut the salmon into pieces, skewer
them with arbutus, and roast them over a
turf fire; they say arbutus gives them a fine
flavour.

Between Brickeen Bridge and the Upper
Lake there is good fishing, in the narrow
gorge between the lakes; the charges of boats,
&c., have been regulated, so that they cannot
now impose upon visitors. The scenery in
the vicinity of “Brickeen Bridge” and the
Eagle’s Nest is sublime, and must delight the
heart of the Angler who may be seeking health
and pastime, either by himself or with his
dear admiring friends.

There is not a table, either in inn or lodging
house in the town of Killarney, wanting a[129]
Guide to the Lakes, written by some intelligent
person or other, so that the angler cannot
go astray.

There are numerous good inns in the town
and neighbourhood, the people and landlords
of which are polite, civil, and obliging to
strangers, as are the guides and boatmen.

There is a Miss Smith, in New Street, who
keeps a comfortable lodging, the most honest
creature I ever came across, go to her, you
gentle ones.

The delightful Island of Ennisfallen, which
used to be my favourite spot during my stay,
would be a kind of Heaven on Earth to the
invalid; it is covered with verdure and beautiful
large trees, the arbutus, &c. There is a
thorn growing through a tomb stone, a holly
fourteen feet thick, a curious crab tree, and the
bed of honour, which the guides say if you lie
down in it, having no children up to the
present time, “your honor will be sure to have
plenty of them after your return home.”—This
place is a hollow about the size of a large bed,
in a projecting rock over-hung with holly and
hawthorn. In an aperture in the “crab tree”
the guides recommend ladies to pass. There[130]
are ruins of a once celebrated Abbey here,
founded in an early date of St. Finian.

The annals of Ennisfallen comprise a history
of the world up to a.d. 430, and a history of
Ireland up to 1320. They are preserved in
Trinity College, Dublin. There is an enormous
ash tree growing out of the floor of the
abbey. It is unquestionably a healthy spot,
and soon excites an appetite by inhaling its
salubrious air.

The remains of the once beautiful edifice
“Mucruss Abbey” is well worth seeing, as the
ravages of death, which were once too prominent,
have been cleared away by the humane
Mr. Herbert, so that there may be a close inspection
made of the ruins; the architecture of
the eastern window is admirable; and the extraordinary
“yew tree” growing in the centre of
the ancient cloisters and over-spreading its walls
is curious in the extreme, in the fork of the
yew, above the great trunk, there is a kind of
unctuous gum constantly flowing down, which
is said by the peasantry that “the yew is
shedding tears for the fate of the abbey.”

The Salmon flies to suit the Lakes, are
Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6, 8 and 9 the two at the[131]
bottom of the plate with “picker,” and No. 4
plate on Salmon hooks, the paintings of which
are exact to the models. The three latter flies
are, first, a cinnamon-brown body, brown wings,
and brown red hackle, mixed tail; second, a
jointed body fly of blue and green, gaudy mixed
wing, topping in the tail—this fly may be used
in very rough water, and the brown one with
a nice ripple and grey cloud; the No. 4 fly on
Salmon hooks, is mallard wings, fiery brown
body ribbed with gold, brown red hackle, hook
No. 6, B, CC, and a yellow and red mixed tail.
The Dun Salmon Fly, No 6, and the one
above it, No 5, are favourite killers in the lakes
and river.

My advise is, that my friends (I call every
angler who reads this book a friend), should
beware of the “mountain dew”[C] and goat’s
milk, sold by the damsels of Killarney, in the
vicinity of Brickeen Bridge, and the Eagle’s
nest; they are harmless and cleanly creatures,
but their importunity to taste their goat’s milk[132]
is teasing—buy their goat’s milk, but reject
their “dew,” gentle fishers.

The river “Lane,” which issues out of the
Lower Lake, as it is now preserved by the inn
keepers, is a capital stream for salmon and sea
trout fishing; about four miles from Killarney,
at the Bridge leading to “Dunloe Gap,” is a
good place to begin to fish, either up or down
the river; the trout in both lakes and river are
as yellow as gold when taken out of the water,
they are spotted over with beautiful brown-red
marks, and are very handsome to look at.

The Trout Flies in the list will be found
excellent for the lakes and river. A grouse
hackle, with orange silk body, and a little strip
of grey partridge tail for wings—this with the
ant brown, hare’s ear, and amber fly; the red
dun, caperer, wren and cuckoo hackle, and
duns of various shades and size, ribbed with
silver. The land-rail fly, brown-red hackle, and
ash fox, an orange body with black hackle from
the tail up, and starling wings. The silver
dun, with grey mallard wings, mixed with the
wing of the bunting lark, ribbed with silver,
and tail of the hackle fibres, the body yellow
dun—this is a great favourite made of sea-trout[133]
size for the river, and large for salmon in
the lakes. The sand and cinnamon flies are
also good, and the red spinner; the winged
larva is an excellent fly below the Bridge,
allowed to sink a little beneath the surface
when fished with, grilse and sea-trout will
take it.

The river Lane is remarkable for its firm
footing along the banks, and no where obstructed
by trees, it is the most pleasant place
I ever saw for fishing, combined with wild and
fanciful scenery.

LOUGH CURRAN, WATERVILLE.

The angler may proceed any morning he
feels disposed, to Waterville river and lake,
southwest of Killarney, in the County Kerry;
there is a car from the Kenmare Arms Hotel
about eight o’clock in the morning, passing
through Killorglan at the foot of the river
Lane, which you have in view up to this place;
Three miles farther on you come to the river
“Corra,” where there is an Inn, at the Bridge,
for the accommodation of anglers, and where
they may procure capital sea-trout and small[134]
grilse fishing; the lake Carra, out of which the
river flows, is seen to the left before reaching
the river at the bridge. It would be worth
while staying a few days at this place, as the
sea-trout fishing is beyond comparison, below
the bridge to the sea, and above it as far as the
lake, and also in the lake. The flies I have
just named will kill well in the Carra, with a
small black one, like a midge, ribbed with
silver, with a honey dun fly made very small.

You reach “Cahirceveen” in about eight
hours from Killarney, from whence you take a
car eight miles further on to Waterville, where
you arrive comfortably in the evening to rest
and have a talk with Mr. Butler, the proprietor
of the “cuts;” the angler will find him most
civil and polite, and on asking you get instant
permission to angle for salmon in the river,
and “keep all you catch” which has been a
general rule for a length of time; the lake is
free for salmon and trout fishing, it abounds
with fine sea-trout, which appear to be continually
running up between the bars of the
“cruives.” The river is very small, having but
one pool in it close to the sea for salmon, the
run of it is very short as the lake and sea[135]
almost meet, they are separated merely by a
neck of land on which the bridge and “cuts”
are erected, about three or four perches
altogether. There is good sport to be had in
the lake and river when it is flooded, and the
angler will find every convenience with respect
to men and boats; there are two inns in the
place, at least when I was there in 1848, there
were two.

The flies for Waterville are the same as
those I have just given, except for salmon in
the river, which should be very plain and
sombre, they are brown bodies, with dark
hackles over a roll or two of gold tinsel, and
brown turkey wings of a reddish hue; small
blue flies, with gaudy wings, ribbed with silver,
and black heads, the hackle to be dyed blue,
and floss silk body, hook No. 10 or C. CC.
When the water is up they will take Nos. 3, 4,
and 5 flies in the plates; and the fly No. 11 is
most excellent. They use a good sized fly in
the lake for trout, when I fished it my flies
were of the smaller sort, and in the hot sun
the trout took small amber flies best with me.
The local flies were darker—say drake size,
with brown bodies, black hackles, and turkey[136]
wings, nevertheless they take them in a windy
day exceedingly quick, and in a very short
time the fishermen in the boats catch a large
dish of them, say in about a hour; the trout and
grilse in this lake I must say are most delicious,
“they almost melt in the mouth,” says he.

The angler, when he gets tired here, may
return to Killarney, and make head for the
west and north, “and sure enough he may
have another throw on the lakes, if he pleases,
by way of bidding them good bye.”

He might take a start before he goes across
the hills to Kenmare, by car, and have a day
or two on the river Blackwater, usually called
“Kerry Blackwater;” it is about eight miles
from Kenmare, on the south-west side of the
estuary of that name, on the road to “Derrynane
Beg,” or Derrynane Abbey. There is an
inn on the river as you cross the road, but no
town. The angler might go to it for a day or
so from Waterville, by hiring a car at the inn,
there and back. He will have an opportunity
of seeing the mansion of the late Mr. D.
O’Connell, at Derrynane, as he passes it to
his right off the road, in a most healthy situation,
sequestered amongst dwarf trees of the[137]
most fanciful appearance, close to a bay of the
sea, or what is called “Kenmare River,” the
salt water of which is as clear as crystal.

The flies used on this prolific little river are
brown bodies, three ribs of gold tinsel, black
hackles, and grouse and mallard wings; but I
would strongly advise the angler to have some
of the small flies made smaller still for this
river, than in the plates of flies. A very small
blue jay, a silver grey or “hedgehog fly,” with
a small black one ribbed with silver, are all
good for this stream.

The angler returns to old Killarney, and
takes rail for Limerick, from thence by steam
to Athlone, on the “Great Western;” there are
fine Trout and Salmon here in summer. Go
on from here to Galway, and fly fish Lough
Carib (the river, I believe, is now broken up to
facilitate the navigation between the bay and
this grand expanse of fresh water). There are
very large Trout to be met with in the Lough,
and every accommodation respecting fishermen
and boats at the town. The angler will find it
very pleasant for a day or two’s fish in the lake,
with a ripple on the water and a grey cloud
above.

[138]

CONNAMARA AND BALLYNAHINCH.

In this western region there are some
beautiful lakes and rivers, once celebrated for
the abundance of Salmon and Trout which
they contained, but, alas! the “weirs” and
nets have “wed” them all away, to the grief of
the tourist angler, who might have enjoyed the
“wild sports of the west.” So he will yet, for
there is a reformation to take place that will
restore them to their pristine numbers both in
lake and river. They are about to take down
the “weirs,” and net the bays, which will not
only give the Salmon a free passage up, but
augment them a hundred-fold,—then, “hurrah
for Connamara, the land of the west.” Derry
Clare Lake is a good one for the fly, so is
Lough Inna, and above and below the “weirs.”
If the generous proprietors of the fishery would
consult upon the subject, they would immediately
put a stop to the obstructions, if not, it
it is quite impossible that there can be good
fishing up to Lough Inna. Thirty gentlemen
might fly fish these waters without the least[139]
inconvenience, were the Salmon allowed to
go free.

The Salmon Flies for Connamara are rather
small and plain; various brown, black, red,
olive, and orange flies kill well, ribbed with
gold and silver. Those Sea-Trout ones, described
for Waterville, do also well, and orange
floss silk, ribbed with gold, small topping for
tail, jay round the head, and mallard mixed
wings. Hook C or CC.

A small black fly, yellow tag, topping for tail,
rib of silver, teal, and golden pheasant neck,
breast feather of the peacock wing, mixed, blue
feelers of macaw, jay at the shoulder. Hook
B, or No. 9. A green body, ribbed with gold,
black red hackle, orange macaw, or cock of the
rock feather in the tail, short; a nice mixed
gaudy wing, with a good deal of mallard and
wood-duck prevailing, or silver pheasant wing,
the hen bird is best. C, CC or B hook; vary
the size for high and low water. A small claret
fly, and the three flies in the Plates, Nos. 3, 4,
and 5, with No. 11, all made on small hooks,
these are the sorts to kill. The Sea-Trout
ones are very small black and red hackles,
grouse and wren hackles, dun flies, and little[140]
brown ants, hare’s ear and yellow, silver greys,
and the small flies enumerated in the catalogue.
Use a sixteen feet salmon rod, and single gut
casting lines, with one or two twisted lengths
next to the reel line, which should be plaited
silk and hair. There are plenty of boats and
boatmen to be had at Ballynahinch River and
Lakes, all civil fellows, and if used with common
kindness and decency, they will confess
that “the English anglers are the best fellows
in the whole world,—Good luck to their honors.
Long life to their honors.”

The scenery of this wild country is quite
equal to any in Scotland, if the intelligent
tourist angler would be at the pains of penetrating
into the mountainous regions which
surround Connamara. The islands in the
bays are interesting and beautiful, as well as
the stupendous hills standing up in order like
giants, as it were, to bid defiance to the wild
waves of the great Atlantic.

Ireland is proverbial for the finest breeding
rivers in the world for Salmon and Trout, in
no country can there be found such splendid
rivers and lakes for Salmon; see, for instance,
the rivers Shannon, Erin, Bann, and the stupendous[141]
lakes out of which they issue, and of
which, it is sufficient to show, that at “Burn
Cranna,” two miles below Coleraine, with the
cross nets, three tons of Salmon were caught
in one day by the fishermen some years back.
This will give an idea of what the rivers in
Ireland, in general, can produce. The Bann
is preserved in the right season for the fry to
come to perfection in great shoals, and from
March till August the nets and “cruives” are
worked.

The flavour and quality of the Irish Salmon
far exceed those of any other part of the United
Kingdom, for when the fish are sent up from
the north to the London markets they often
lose their flavour, if not properly packed in
the ice boxes; how can it be otherwise, when
the distance is considered. The real Salmon
of the Tweed, Tay, and Spay, are delicious,
through the quickness of transit.

Above Ballynahinch are seen the “Twelve
Pins,” or rocky precipices of “Beanabola.”
On the right of this mountainous road, beyond
Ballynahinch, opposite the beautiful island of
“Ennisbofine,” are seen green mountain heights
of great elevation, with romantic winding vallies,[142]
rivers, and views, that strike the heart with
admiration.

There is a large river in this neighbourhood,
called the “Owen Rieve,” which abounds with
Salmon, and falls into the sea south of Clue
Bay. At the head of the Bay, a short way up,
there is a Salmon Fishery, but no inn.

BALLYNA.

The angler may now proceed to the river
Moy, at Ballyna, in the County of Mayo, a
celebrated place for ages for Salmon fishing
with the fly, and also a place where he may
find every facility for insuring sport by the
kind and obliging conduct of the renter of the
“cruives,” or cuts, who politely allows the
angler to fish where he pleases, on condition
that he gives up his fish save one per day,
which he may freely reserve for himself, and
as a trophy of his success, have the honor of
“cutting it pink” by a good turf fire, tired
after the day’s sport, washing it down with a
smoking hot tumbler of “whiskey punch,”
drinking the health of the Queen, and success[143]
to the arms of our brave countrymen in
the East.

Lough Con will be found also good, but the
trout fishing is best in it—fly fish the river
for salmon. It is about ten miles up to the
southwest, and in it may be caught with
the fly, the gilla-roe trout that have gizzards,
the same as in Lough Derg on the Shannon.
From the town of Ballyna up to Foxford, eight
miles distant, is all capital water for salmon;
there are plenty of boats to be had, and those
who do not like a boat may fish from the
shore; the salmon will rise and take the fly in
every part of this water, so that the angler
cannot go astray.

The flies in use here are rather plain than
gaudy, except in the spring, like all other rivers,
they must be larger and more of a gaudy hue.

A claret body, claret hackle and gold rib,
tail a small topping, an orange tag rather
tapered to the shoulder, jay at head, mallard
wings mixed with blue and yellow macaw, neck
feather of the golden pheasant, a topping over
all, guinea hen, teal, and blue macaw feelers
each side with a kingfisher, hook CC, 9, or
BB.[144]

A fly, with a fiery brown floss silk body,
black ostrich tag, hackle of the same colour as
body, rib of gold, tail of topping, mallard,
golden pheasant tail, neck, and red rump
feathers mixed, a blue jay or small guinea hen
feather at the shoulder, hook No. 9, or B in
low water.

A blue body, blue jay over it, tag of orange
floss, topping for tail, the hackle to be made
full by another jay at the shoulder, under which
roll a piece of orange pig-hair and pick it out
well through the jay; the wings to be mixed
ones with a topping in the centre; scarlet
macaw feelers, and black head; hook No. 9 and
B; rib the body with silver tinsel, and let it
be the same colour as the jay.

These with Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5, in the plates
of flies for salmon will be found excellent.
No. 11 is a good one; and a fly made with
black silk body ribbed with silver twist, a very
small topping in the tail, mixed with a sprig
or two of guinea hen and Ibis, a small guinea
hen hackle over the body and cut slantingly
underneath the body to be longer at the shoulder,
and a black or peacock head with a small
blue jay round it; wings mixed with dark[145]
mallard, teal, neck feather, blue and yellow
macaw, and a strip or two of wood-duck each
side, and a fibre or two of peacock neck and
white spotted wing feather, hook CC, B. If
these flies are attended to, they will kill when
many others fail; do not lose your sport and
time, keep to what I say.

BALLYSHANNON.

From Ballyna the angler may proceed to the
Erne, at Ballyshannon, by coach, where he
will find, on his arrival, a beautiful river, and
every accommodation he requires; it is a short
running river, with a deep and rapid current,
about three or four miles in length; at the
town of Bellick it flows out of the grand
expanse of Lough Erne, fifty miles in length,
and in some parts twelve in width.

The salmon leap of Ballyshannon, is a broad
body of water falling over a perpendicular rock
twelve feet high, up which the salmon run,
showing their dark backs through the foaming
water, and again falling back into the pool
below after many attempts to surmount it;
they seldom leap clean up out of the water,[146]
but in general I have seen them rushing up
through the falling current, which shows the
extraordinary strength they possess. I have
remarked that they always remain a day or
two in the first pool they come to after their
ascent, and in this they take the fly most
greedily, generally at the head of the leap.

The fishermen sweep the river with nets
below the leap, and the enormous quantities
they take is most surprising, still there is
abundance in the river; in summer in consequence
of the netting, of course the salmon
are not so plentiful up the river. The fish
house stands on an island, which may be seen
from the bridge of fourteen arches, and in the
distance the sea views are grand.

There is capital fishing below the bridge,
and many fine salmon throws or haunts all the
way up to Belleek; this town is finely situated
on the north of Lough Erne, where it begins
to discharge its waters into the channel which
conveys them into the bay of Donnegal.

The river at this place has a fall of twenty
feet, forming a beautiful scene, enriched by
foliage and steep precipices. The trout fishing
here is good.[147]

The river Erne has a long course, the source
of which is “Lough Gonnagh,” in the County
Longford, a short way from “Lough Sheelin,”
and the celebrated Lakes of West Meath. It
then enters “Lough Oughter,” in the County
Cavan, after a serpentine course of eighteen
or twenty miles, although the distance between
the lakes is only eight miles; after passing
through this lake, it takes another winding
course of the same distance, passing Belturbet,
an ancient town on its banks, it then enters
the upper Lough Erne, and falls into the sea
at Ballyshannon. Seeing the abundance of
fish which these grand lakes, and clear running
streams throughout the country produce, it is
not at all to be wondered at the quantities taken
at Ballyshannon.

The flies in use here are very gaudy, Nos.
1, 2, and 3, in the plates, will be found capital
killers, and up to No. 11 in fine days in
summer when the water is low.

There is another good killer which I will
here describe:—body yellow brown mohair,
ribbed with silver twist, puce tag, topping for
tail with a little scarlet ibis mixed, a good dyed
yellow hackle rolled over the body, and a scarlet[148]
hackle round the head; the wings are four
toppings with strips of summer duck, a sprig
or two of pheasant tail and neck, a strip of
dyed white tipped turkey tail, and a sprig of
guinea hen and glede or kite tail, the tail
feather of the hen Hymalean pheasant is as
good as what is called in Scotland “salmon tail
glede,” and the topping or crest of the cock
bird which is a transparent scarlet colour,
and like a topping of the golden pheasant
stands over all; blue kingfisher each side,
and scarlet macaw feelers, black ostrich head,
hook No. 9 or 8 in high water. This is a
magnificent specimen of a salmon fly, and
cannot be made properly at a small expense,
either by the amateur himself who buys his
foreign feathers, or by the fly-maker who gets
his bread by it. The three flies in the plates
Nos. 1, 2, and 3, will be found to do the work
well. With this one, see the gaudy jointed fly
in the plate, with “picker” at top.

[149]

THE RIVERS BUSH AND BANN.

From Ballyshannon the angler proceeds to
the Enniskillen and Derry railway, where he
takes his seat for Coleraine; on arriving at this
town he need not expect much fishing, except
that he may take a throw at the head of the
leap, and take also a view of that stupendous
fall of fresh water which there can be little
doubt of its surprising him, with the grand
and delightful scenes around. When he gets
on the suspension bridge, over the very top of
the leap, he must hold by the rails to steady
himself, and consider where he really is; the
noise which the great body of water in the
centre fall makes, when it descends into the
pool beneath, dins his very ears, this with the
broad rapid running river close beneath his
feet as he stands on the light iron bridge,
holding by a single rail with his hand, must
almost take his sight away; and if he never
had the pleasure of seeing the shadow of fear
before, rely upon it he feels himself in a fearful
plight just then “for a short time any how.”[150]

On the County Derry side the falls are not
so strong, and on these the “cuts” are erected,
for no salmon could surmount the centre fall,
and these “cuts” are so high from the top of
the leap, that the salmon cannot get over them
even in floods, except by mere chance. This
productive fishery belongs to the London Fishmongers’
Company, on application the stranger
will be allowed on the bridge to view the falls,
and at the same time he will see the traps
crowded with salmon of all sizes, from the small
“graul,” as they call them there, to the largest
size salmon; sometimes the fish can hardly
swim in these “cuts” or “cruives” they are so
numerous, what a treat for the eyes of the fly
fisher to behold. The angler may fly fish
at will, and has his choice either to go up
the Bann to Kilrea, or go first to the Bush
river, it is only seven miles from Coleraine to
Bush Mills, so that as he is now in that town it
would be advisable to try his hand at the Bush
first, and then proceed to Kilrea, on the Bann,
about fourteen miles up that river, by car.

When the angler arrives at Bush Mills,
which he will do in an hour from Coleraine,
the inn keeper will make him acquainted with[151]
the rules of the fishing. The river is now in
possession of a club of gentlemen, who will
with great pleasure allow the stranger to fly
fish.

It will be necessary to have a guide, who
will show you all the best throws for salmon;
and when tired of fishing, point out the “Causeway”
to you, which is two miles from the town.
The best of the fishing extends about two
miles—one mile below the town to the sea, and
one mile above it at the salmon leap.

There are some good throws on the top of
the leap, and towards the tail of the large pool
beneath; another famous throw between that
and the town called “Lagan Drade;” at the top
of this long pool there are two large stones
projecting out of the water, between which the
current of the stream rushes violently, in this
rapid place between the stones the fish will
take the fly, and below the stones along the
left side of the Bush, and on the rising ground
at the foot of the pool; if you can manage to
throw well over the bushes you will be very apt
to hook a salmon in the mid-water. There is
another good throw below the bridge; the
deepest part lying along the gardens, and three[152]
or four more between that and the sea; there
is a large stone lies in the middle of the river,
over which the water may be seen boiling, if
you can manage to throw beyond it, and draw
the fly across it letting it fall a little below it,
you will have a chance to hook a fish immediately.
Just below this stone, a little way
from the sea, at a narrow part of the river, is
another capital place, fish it from the right side
and do not come abruptly upon the place or
the fish will see you, which will prevent them
from rising, but this you can avoid, as you
will see this contracted part from the stone
throw; prepare a good fly before you come up,
and keep as far off it as possible. It is a
shelving elbow shaped rock narrowing the
river, so that your fly must be gradually moved
down commencing a few yards above the elbow
rock, which cannot be seen as the grass grows
on it to the very edge, till you look over it into
the water; just as the fly rounds the point all
the fish see it that are lying under the brow of
the hollow rock, where you may expect a rise;
this is the deepest part of the whole river, and
the first resting place for the fish after leaving
the sea.[153]

In this place the depth of the water requires
a bright fly; the following one will prove a
killer:—Body, orange floss silk, a small topping
for tail with a fibre or two of mallard, ribbed
with fine gold tinsel, and a rich brown-red
cock’s hackle from the tail up, not too long in
the fibres, the hackle to be a little black at the
head when rolled on; the wing of copper brown
mallard with a strip of wood-duck each side,
and a topping over all; feelers of macaw, and
a black ostrich head. Hook CC. Should you
rise a fish with this old favorite, and it does
not take, try him once or twice more with it,
and no doubt you will have him. If he does
not hook himself with it, change it for a light
blue one, the body the blue colour of the sky,
legs the same, and a mallard wing ribbed with
gold.

You now come to the sea, at “Bushfoot.”
There is a pool here into which the tide ebbs
and flows, and at times the fish are plunging
over and over on the top of each other, which
the fishermen net when this is the case.
When the tide is out the Salmon will rise and
take the fly in it freely, as the flowing of the
river into it pushes out the brackish water[154]
before it, and when the tide is flowing, before
it enters the pool, is the best time,—in fact,
this is the best place to stay at for the sole
purpose of being enabled to fish, as the river
above is so low in summer, except after rains,
that it is useless to try.

The Castle of old “Dunluce” is near Bushfoot,
it stands on a rock close to the cliff on
the mainland in the sea, and is built on the
surface or top of the rock, close to its very
edge all round, and the corner stones appear to
have been brought from the Giant’s Causeway.
There is a deep chasm between the castle
and the land, over which the range wall of the
old bridge is yet standing; the bridge itself is
completely gone. This narrow wall, about
fourteen inches wide, may be easily crossed
going into the castle, but on recrossing it to
the land side it strikes terror into the heart.
Some years ago I visited this old ruin, and
crossed the wall into it quite easily and fearlessly,
but on my returning, to my great surprise,
I was afraid of my life to recross it. The
cause was, no doubt, that the wall and yawning
chasm appeared more under me on coming out
than on going in, the wall being narrow and[155]
the chasm deep. At last I crept over it very
slowly on my hands and knees, and it was with
difficulty I reached the land. As I sat panting
on the grass, looking towards the dark old pile,
I vowed that the walls of “Dunluce Castle”
should never again hold me. I was most likely
stricken with a fairy talisman.

The “Giant’s Causeway” is two miles from
Bushfoot, where the stranger may spend a few
pleasant days with a kind friend, amidst rocks
and caves, glens and tremendous cliffs, causeways,
chasms, and pillars of wondrous height.
These rows of pillars stand up the face of the
cliff, which is 360 feet high, from the base of
which three broad causeways extend, of honeycomb
shape, nine hundred feet into the sea.
The pillars of these low causeways are generally
six, seven, and many three and nine-sided, and
as even as if they had been cut with a chisel;
they rest one upon another in joints, the top
one round to fit into the one beneath like a
socket, and the pillars are so closely packed,
that you can hardly get the point of a knife
between them. There are other pillars in the
face of the cliffs, called the Giant’s Loom,
the Giant’s Chair, the Giant’s Organ, and[156]
the Giant’s Well. The natural wildness and
grandeur of these and the adjoining promontories,
exceed any thing that can be imagined.

THE RIVER BANN.

Portna is considered the best ford for Salmon
and Trout fishing on this noble stream. At
this place, which is merely an inn, kept by a
Mr. Moore, for the accommodation of anglers,
the river, which is a large one, falls over ledges
of rock, large stones, broad fords of gravel,
deep gorges in places, rushing down inclined
plains, which spread into currents five and six
feet deep, dimpling as it flows along, where
large trout may be seen taking down the natural
insects, and making the surface boil. These
places might be swarming, were it not for the
“cruives,” with the largest salmon in Britain.

During the summer months you may take a
good many salmon here, but on some days you
cannot see a fish, as they are mostly stopped
at the “cuts.” These salmon traps are called
“cuts,” in Ireland, and “cruives,” in Scotland.
I need not explain their formation, as they are
too well known to the fly fishers. Notwithstanding[157]
all this, the generous renter of the
fishery at the Leap of Coleraine, gives liberty
to all anglers visiting the Bann, from March to
August, and the courtesy and politeness which
he evinces towards gentlemen, causes him to
take no notice of their fishing with the salmon
fly till September. I have been informed by
Mr. Moore, the inn-keeper, at Portna, that
there is now a “Queen’s Gap” made in the
“cuts,” on Sundays, to allow some of the
salmon to escape. This is a great boon to the
angler.

The town of Kilrea is a mile from Portna,
where there is a good inn, kept by an Englishman,
a Mr. Adcock. At the bridge, which is
half a mile from the town, there is a famous
throw for a salmon; you let off the line, while
standing on the bridge, to where the fish lie, a
little lower down. There are capital streams
for salmon near “Moor Lodge,” a delightful
spot, down as far as “Bevanaher” ford. The
boatmen take you through the gorges in racehorse
style. The man brings the bow of the
boat to the very edge of the rapid, steadies her
by making you sit down with himself, and in a
minute or two she shoots down the gorge in[158]
a very pleasant manner into the broad ford
below; when he returns with the boat, he pulls
her up the side of the stream. The Bann
boatmen, I must say, are very civil fellows, and
charge moderately for their labour and boats—half-a-crown
a day, pot luck, and a smoke of
tobacco—”an ould fly, and a gut casting line,
if it’s no use to your honor.”

The Flies to suit the Bann are as follows:—

No. 1. Body claret pig hair, ribbed with
gold tinsel, orange tag, a topping, and a little
wood-duck for tail; a dark claret hackle rolled
up to the shoulder, and a blue jay above it;
mallard wings, mixed with bustard—the dark
small spotted bustard feather is best for this
river, the light coloured for Scotland and
Wales—golden pheasant tail and neck, peacock
wing, wood-duck feelers of blue and
yellow macaw, and a black head. Hook No. 8
or 9. This is a great favourite.

No. 2. Scarlet body, scarlet hackle, and
mallard wing, gold over body, topping for tail,
and one in the centre of the wings, jay at the
shoulder, and a black head. Hook No. 8.
Large for the Spring, and B, BB for June and
July.[159]

No. 3. Fiery brown body, brown-red hackle,
gold tinsel, mallard wings with a little wood-duck
and golden pheasant neck feather mixed
with it, macaw feelers, and a small topping for
tail mixed with wood-duck. Hook BB or G.
Grouse hackle round the shoulder, and a black
head.

No. 4. Body yellow pig hair, half way up
from the tail, the remainder wine purple or
dark blue, a purple hackle over it, and a claret
one at the shoulder; blue head picked out the
colour of the sky; two toppings in the centre
of wings of mallard and brown turkey mixed,
and macaw feeler. Hook No. 9. Silver tinsel
over the body.

No. 5. Orange body, broad gold tinsel, dark
brown-red hackle over it; strips of wood-duck
and neck feather for tail; strips of spotted
Argus pheasant; a dark full mallard wing with
two neck feathers in the centre, and a black
head. Hook No. 9, BB, or 8. Large for high
water or deep places.

No. 6. A puce body, ribbed with silver tinsel
and gold twist, topping in the tail mixed with
wood-duck fibres; puce hackle struck full up
to the head, blue jay here, and kingfisher each[160]
side of the wings, which are of a very nice
mixture of Argus pheasant small spotted feather,
peacock wings, mallard, teal, guinea hen, kite
tail, pheasant tail, blue and orange macaw,
scarlet macaw, green parrot tails, Ibis, and
silver pheasant tail (the hen); feelers of macaw,
a topping over all, with the crest feather of the
Hymalean pheasant, and a bronze head. Hook,
Nos. 9 and 8. These, with the eleven flies in
the Plates, and No. 12, early in the Spring,
with the five Shannon flies, are all “first-rate
killers,” indeed, the fourteen painted flies are
all capital ones for this river.

The Trout Flies are generally the same as
those in the catalogue of flies for the season.
In the spring they run rather large, but in
the summer months they are used very small.
Olive flies of various hues are very much used,
and a fly with a green body and the feather off
the root of the landrail’s wing; another with
orange body, black-red hackle, and woodcock
wings. Hooks No. 8, in spring, Nos. 10 and
12, in summer. The various browns are capital
in the early season, and the green olive, sooty
olive, hare’s ear and olive, brown and olive flies
made full in the wings, and to be longer than[161]
the body. There are no hackles used in the
spring, till a little further on in the season,
then hackle flies are used; the wren tails of
different sorts are very much prized, and the
light red-brown grouse hackle, and yellow body;
a blue body fly, black hackle, and wings of
the starling; a gosling green olive fly, with
mallard wings, mixed with landrail, and a hook
No. 8 or 10; a fly with a yellow body of silk,
red hackle dyed yellow, starling wing mixed
with mallard, and a little partridge tail; the
golden wren is good; a very small black gnat
is good; and the never-failing “blue blow.”
The body of this little fly, as used on the Bann,
is mole’s fur mixed with golden olive, picked
out at the shoulder, and a black bird’s wing,
to be fished with on warm sultry days. These
flies are killers, and the trout are fond of them,
which will be found excellent and plentiful at
Portna.

On the shores of Lough Neagh, towards the
Bridge of Toome, where the river issues out of
the lake, there is good angling in the Drake
season in June. There is a small inn at Toome
Bridge, where the angler can procure a boat.
It is but four miles north of “Randalstown,”[162]
on the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. I have
spent many a day on these waters, when a
young man.

From Shane’s Castle, the Earl O’Neil’s, to
the bridge, and from the town of Antrim to
Shane’s Castle, there are large trout taken with
the fly; at the end of May, and throughout
June, the whole surface of the lake along the
shore is covered with the natural fly. The
Drake, in the Plate, would be a good one made
on a large size hook, to throw amongst them.
Earl O’Neil grants permission to gentlemen to
fly-fish in the demesne of Shane’s Castle, by
sending a note from the inn at Randalstown,
to the Steward.

There are numerous rivers running into
Lough Neagh, from five different counties,
which it borders. The Bann rises in the
Mourne Mountains, in the County of Down,
and passing through the Lough, issues out of
it at the Bridge of Toome, forming a stupendous
body of fresh water. The Lough is
twenty-three miles long, and twelve in width.

To get at the various small trout rivers
running into all these great lakes in the
north of Ireland, I would recommend, to gain[163]
information of the cross-roads, Leigh’s Road
Book of Ireland and Dublin Railway Guide.

The angler will now take his departure from
the north and proceed to Dublin, viâ Belfast and
Draugheda, at this place he comes to the river
Boyne, where he may spend a few pleasant
days at “Old Bridge,” a place about three
miles up the river at the “weirs.” There is
good Salmon fishing at this place when the
tide is out, and on the flow of the tide he will
take capital Grilse and Sea-Trout.

For the Boyne, the best flies are claret, brown,
olive, green, orange, and black, with brown
mallard wings, and turkey tail feathers. Plain
ones in general are best.

LAKES OF WESTMEATH.

After leaving Draugheda, the angler will
reach Dublin by rail in a very short time,
where he will take his place in the railway
carriage for Mullingar, the county town of
Westmeath; here, he is in the centre of
numerous fine lakes, well stored with large
trout that will take the fly most freely in May[164]
and June; the whole country round this place
is most pleasingly diversified by romantic sites,
gentlemen’s mansions, and extensive lakes.

There are two lakes in the neighbourhood,
or environs of Mullingar, which are “Lough
Ennel” and “Lough Owel,” to the north of the
town; the first named one is the best for large
trout. There are good boats and fishermen to
be had here. A little farther northward is
Lough Iron, and the river Jenny, which takes
its course to the Shannon. The best lake of
them all is “Derevaragh,” still further to the
north; the town of Castlepollard is the best
station to stay to fish this fine lake; the trout
run twelve and fourteen pounds in it.

Lough Lane and Dromore are close to the
last named lake. The angling in May is most
excellent, with the green drake; it is called the
drake season, and at this period the largest
fish are caught; the green drake which I have
described, is the right sort for the lakes, with
large whole upright wings double the ordinary
size.

The trout flies in general are brown, green,
grey, red, black, hare’s ear and yellow, hare’s
ear and brown, hare’s ear and olive, fiery brown,[165]
claret, orange, and yellow flies, and in rough
weather gaudy grilse flies are good.

The flexible minnow would be a capital bait,
drawn after the boat, when the trout are not
inclined to take the fly.—See an angling tour
of the lakes by “Jeffery Green Drake.”

There is very good salmon and trout fishing
to be had in the County Tipperary, at the town
of Cahir, situated on the Suir; Kilcommon
Cottage on the river side, is a place of great
beauty, and the angler may amuse himself in
the demesne of Lord Cahir, which contains
560 acres; this place and Clonmel may be
reached by railway from Dublin, and on arriving
at Kilkenny there is very good fishing in the
river Barrow at the town, on the road to Cahir.

There is a small river called Killmacow, two
miles above Waterford, running into the Suir,
in which there is beautiful trout fishing, in the
Spring and June.

There are some nice streams in Wexford, for
salmon and trout fishing. The “Slaney,” at
Scarrawalsh Bridge, near the Barony Forth, is
capital for sea trout, in August and the early
Spring; there is good trout fishing the higher
you proceed up this fine river.[166]

In Lord Courtown’s demesne, beyond Tara
Hill, there is good grilse and sea trout fishing,
the river runs through the town of Ballycannew,
a few miles above Gorey; Lord
Courtown’s is not far from Gorey, who will
allow any gentleman to angle with the fly in
his charming demesne. They say that his
lordship can contrive to “fish these fish” into
the kettle alive out of the river, part of which
runs under the mansion; I cannot tell how
true this may be, the river runs close to the
house, in which there are plenty of salmon and
trout.

The flies used here are rather gaudy, sea
trout size; and the list of flies for the season
will answer admirably for trout fishing.

From the above place the angler may conveniently
visit the rivers in the County Wicklow,
which are all trout streams, arriving at
Arklow, on the river Ovoca.

There is a very nice river[D] running along
the southern side of the Wicklow Mountains,
passing by a place called “Little Aghrim,” from
whence to the wooden bridge, three miles from
Arklow, there is excellent trout fishing in[167]
March, April, and May; it passes through a
long lough or piece of deep water, out of which
the trout issue in the spring into the river;
there is no obstruction on its banks from the
Wooden Bridge Inn up to Aghrim. There is
a bridge crosses the river three miles up from
the Wooden Bridge, where the angler may fish
up to Aghrim or down to the “Meetings.”
The Wooden Bridge is called the “Lower
Meetings of the Waters,”—this is the most
beautiful place of any in the neighbourhood of
the Vale of Ovoca, as you can see fine vales
from the mount behind the Inn; although
from the grounds of Howard Castle, where the
little and great Avon meet, the views are sublime,—this
is Moore’s “Sweet Vale of Ovoca,
where the bright waters meet.”

From the town of Rathdrum to the Meetings
there is good fly fishing in the spring; through
the vale there is no angling in the river, in
consequence of the copper mine water running
into it from the hills on each side, Cronebane,
and Balymurtagh.

There is very little fishing in the river
Dargle, as the stream is so small, but the
scenery is magnificent, particularly in the[168]
vicinity of Powers Court Waterfall, it is about
two miles and a half from the village of
Powers Court.

The best way to go from Dublin to fish the
rivers “Avon” and “Derry,” would be through
Bray and Rathdrum; begin here to fish the
Avon, to the Bridge at Howard Castle; and
from the Wooden Bridge angle up the Derry
to Aghrim, I never saw so many small trout in
my life as there are in this beautiful stream, in
the spring; there are numbers of small rivers
descending the Wicklow Mountains, towards
the east, south, and west, in which the trout
run small.

We will return to Dublin and pay a visit to
the once celebrated “salmon leap,” at Leixlip,
a few miles west of the City—this is a charming
place, where a few days may be spent to
advantage; the groves and rocks, and the
romantic glen are the theme of admiration.
And the Park of Castletown, the most beautiful
in the Kingdom; from the ancient castle at
the end of the town there are views of the
river and waterfall. The salmon fishing has
been spoiled here by the sewers of the City
running into the Liffey.[169]

At New Bridge, on the banks of the Liffey,
the station before you come to Kildare, on the
Cork railroad, close to the celebrated “Curragh
of Kildare,” a race course of 3000 acres of
verdant plain, there is capital trout fishing in
April and May, and pretty fair sport may be
had throughout the summer; the flies to suit
the river Liffey are very small, and those little
ones in my list for the season will answer well.

THE RIVER LEE, AT CORK,

Would be as good a place as any in Ireland
“to go to fish,” were it not for the “weirs,” and
foul play in many ways, which is practised all
the way up, on the poor salmon; there is some
little sport to be had in it in the spring, and
after heavy rains. The flies to suit it are
rather plain and small, blue, grey, brown,
claret, and green; mallard wings, mixed with
a little golden pheasant tail and neck feathers;
blue macaw feelers, black head, and mixed tails
like the wings. Hook B CC, in high water
BB and No. 9.

[170]

SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND.

We will bid adieu to old Ireland for a season,
and its fair city Dublin, “with the blue sky
over it,” and step into the steam boat at Kingston
for Holyhead, seat ourselves in a carriage,
and trundle off to bonny Scotland—a country
of many waters, stored with fine fish; we cross
the Tweed, at Berwick, of pastoral fame, and
dash into “Auld Reekey” with flying colours in
no time.

The beautiful city of Edinburgh must not
be left without viewing it from end to end, as
it is worth while to spend a day or two in it,
if you have not been there, were it only to
inspect its monuments and antiquities, which
are numerous, in fact, the city at large is a complete
curiosity. From here the angler will be
able to take rail for Perth, on the banks of the
famous “river Tay;” and as the line touches on
Stirling, should it be convenient, there might
be a day or two spent on the Forth. There
are abundance of trout about four miles up
the river, and some salmon; small plain flies
suit it best.

[171]

THE RIVER TAY.

This beautiful salmon river is the principal
one in Perthshire, in its course it expands into
Loch Tay, on leaving which it finds itself a
channel and becomes rapid for miles; it has a
long course, passing the towns of Dunkeld
and Perth, and falls into the sea at Dundee.

The river Erne, after a long and rapid course
falls into the Tay below Perth. There is also
the “Timel,” at the pass of Cillecrankey, on
the road to Inverness from Dunkeld, and is
fourteen miles from the latter place, there is a
small inn close to the river, in which there is
good trout fishing; the coach from Perth
stops here to change horses and breakfast; it
is a fine rushing stream. And also the
“Keith,” at Blair Dummond, where there is a
very high waterfall, the sound of which can be
heard at some distance; it falls into the Tay.

There is excellent angling for salmon and
sea trout in the river Tay, five or six miles
above Perth, in September and October; the
white trout are in abundance in this river in
the latter month; the salmon run very large in[172]
this water, in April, May, and June; and are
best taken with large salmon flies of rather a
sombre hue.

At the town of Dunkeld there is famous
fishing in the Spring and Autumn. From
Dundee to Perth and Dunkeld, through the
“Carse of Gowrie,” the Valley of the Tay
is one of the most beautiful parts of all
Scotland, in my estimation; at both sides of
the river it is interspersed with excellent
gentlemen’s seats, and beautiful grounds.

There is a fishery a little above the Bridge
of Perth, which is very productive.

The flies to suit this fine river are:—

No. 1. Brown pig hair bodies, ribbed with
gold, dark brown-red hackle, wings light brown
spotted turkey tail, red tag, and a scarlet joint
above it; the body to be made long and taper.
Hook No. 8. Rather large for the spring.

No. 2. A bronze peacock harl body, ribbed
with gold tinsel, a brown-red hackle, and wings
of mallard mixed with hen pheasant tail, the
tail of the golden pheasant, red tail of mohair
cut short, and the body to be thin. No. 9 hook.

No. 3. Brown mohair body, with a long
red-brown spotted grouse hackle; the wings a[173]
mixture of mallard, brown turkey, and a little
hen pheasant tail. Hook No. 8 or 9.

No. 4. A puce mohair body ribbed with
silver, purple hackle over it, yellow tail of
small topping, and a yellow hackle round the
shoulder; wings of golden pheasant tail, with
a little spotted bustard, a topping over all, and
a black head. Hook No. 8 or 9. (A piece of
wood-duck each side.)

No. 5. An orange body ribbed with black
silk and gold tinsel, topping in the tail, and a
black-red hackle over it, (a hackle with the
black streak running all the way through it);
scarlet tag and tail; wings light brown turkey
tail, rather lighter at the tips, a few fibres of
wood-duck each side, the same quantity of
bustard, and a bronze head. Hook No. 9, or
for high water, No. 7.

This fly will be found an excellent killer in
the Tay, or any other river in Scotland.

These, with the twelve painted and engraved
flies, no man can desire better. Nos. 3, 4, 5,
and 11, will be found excellent in low water,
and Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, in high water.

The Sea-Trout Flies are orange bodies,
mixed wings, jay at shoulder, silver tinsel, and[174]
a small topping for tail. Hook fff or C, say
No. 6, Kendal.

Blue body, black hackle ribbed with silver,
and mallard wings. Hook CC.

Green body, black hackle, gold twist, and
dark brown turkey wings.

Light brown body, red hackle, gold twist,
two fibres of red Ibis for tail, and glede wings.
Hook No. 6 or 7. In low water they take them
rather small, with the tinsel, of course.

Hare’s ear body, ribbed with silver twist, a
greyish dark hackle, the colour of the dark fur
on the ear, mallard wings, and tail of the same.
Make another fly mixed with orange and yellow
mohair.

A black fly ribbed with silver tinsel, black
wing with white tips, black hackle, and a yellow
head and tail. Hook C.

It would be as well to try very small gaudy
flies occasionally, as you may rise a grilse
during the time you are fishing for white-trout.
A grilse loves to rise at a middling gaudy fly
after leaving the sea. Blue, green, and red
flies are all good.

I will give three more favorites that will not
miss:[175]—

No. 1. Body brown claret colour, mixed
with the fur of hare’s ear, ribbed with silver
twist, a short black hackle, wings rather light
brown mallard, and a black head. Hook,
Green Drake size, or No. 6.

No. 2. A black body, tipped with orange
silk, ribbed with silver twist, a black hackle,
and dark brown turkey tail wings. Hook
No. 6 or C, varied with blue body and black-red
hackle.

No. 3. A blue dun body, a dun hackle
ribbed with silver twist, tail two fibres of mallard,
and grey mallard for wings. Hook C, or
No. 6. A fly with an olive body, and one with
yellow and mallard wings, are good. These
flies will be found great killers where the fish
are plentiful, with a good ripple on the water,
and would do admirably on the Dee and Don,
at Aberdeen.

[176]

THE DEE AND DON.

These rivers run into the sea at Aberdeen,
and are excellent for Salmon and Trout fishing—the
Dee for Salmon, and the Don more for
Trout, which are most delicious for the table;
they cut as pink as Salmon. The white-trout
fishing is good here in October, and the flies I
have just given for the Tay will kill admirably
in these rivers; and for salmon, will be capital
ones, made a size or two larger. When I
visited that country a few years back, I walked
up the Dee one evening, and at a shallow ford,
above the bridge, there were two men “stroke-hauling”
the salmon as they run up out of the
pool below, and which they called their rented
fishery; they rushed into the stream with a
sort of net in their hands, and had them out
in quick time. As the fish run, the water did
not appear to cover their backs. I was told,
were it not for this practice, the river would be
swarming.

[177]

THE RIVER SPEY.

This splendid Salmon river runs through
Elginshire, and a nobler one there is not to be
found for fishing with the salmon fly, particularly
in high water, and in the large pools
when the water is low. In summer there is
little sport to be had, except in these pools,
with a good ripple, and towards the sea, from
the bridge at Fochabers, a capital station, with
an excellent inn. Early in the morning and
late in the evening, are the best times in the
heat of summer. I had a fly sent me some
years past, by McPherson Grant, about the
size of C or drake size, with which he killed a
salmon, twenty pounds weight, in the Spey.
The body of the fly was made of yellow silk,
red cock’s hackle, toucan tail ribbed with gold,
jay at the shoulder, a neat gaudily mixed wing,
feelers of blue and yellow macaw, and a small
black head. It was one of my flies, which, if
made on large size hooks, will kill anywhere.
The above little fly is just the sort for low
water, and should be adopted, made very small,
in the summer months. The salmon should[178]
be thrown for with this sort of fly, in rapid
currents rushing into deep holes, where the
fish lie. The winged larva would do well in
such places for grilse and sea-trout. In the
spring, flies the size of No. 12, are used, with
long thin silk bodies of orange, yellow, red,
and green colours, red hackles, jay and mixed
wings, with red feathers prevailing in them,
and black heads, ribbed with gold and silver
tinsel. The fifteen painted Salmon Flies will
be found great killers in this river, varied in
size according to the state of the water.

There is a river which runs past the town of
Banff, the Keith, in which there is good angling
a few miles up from the broad part of the
water. Guinea hen and jay hackles kill here,
with grouse and brown body, mallard wings
mixed with turkey tail, and small size hooks,
say CC or B.

[179]

THE FINDHORN

is another fine Salmon river after heavy rains,
which swell it to a prodigious size, as shown
by its channel in low water, high ridges of sand
and gravel being thrown up on each side of its
banks at every flat running ford in its course
to the sea. The flies to suit it are:—

No. 1. Brown body, gold tinsel, wings
copper-coloured mallard, and a brown grouse
hackle. Hook No. 8, and BB.

No. 2. Body brown floss silk, ribbed with
silver, large motley brown cock’s tail feather
over the body, and a spotted turkey tail for
wings. No. 9 hook.

No. 3. Body, puce floss silk ribbed with
silver, black-red hackle, a mixed wing of glede,
turkey tail, and mallard, with a topping over
all, and a dark claret or purple hackle. Hook
No. 9.

No. 4. Light puce body with a hackle of
the same colour, topping for tail, and a gaudily
mixed wing, (not too much so) broad silver.
No. 8 hook.

No. 5. Yellow body, puce hackle, mixed[180]
wings, rib of silver, and tail a topping. Hook
No. 9. These, with the painted ones, will do
the work to a nicety in this dashing river.

The River Nairne, in these quarters, is not
a bad one for grilse and salmon fishing in
September; the town of Nairne, is the most
convenient station, beginning a few miles up,
and proceeding higher; the small salmon flies
that I have given for the Spey will suit this
river well.

RIVERS AND LAKES ADJACENT
TO FORT WILLIAM, ON THE
CALEDONIAN CANAL.

These wild and majestic scenes in the heart
of the Highlands of Scotland are without
doubt splendid, either to look upon or for the
purpose of salmon and trout fishing, the
recollections of such to the intelligent and
contemplative mind of the gentle angler who
has visited this region, must be lasting and
agreeable. [E]The sail down the Clyde from
Glasgow, passing Dumbarton Castle (on a rock[181]
in the water to the right), to Greenock, is most
enchanting; opposite this fine town the angler
will observe a grand expanse of deep and blue
salt water, bordered in the distance with
mountains dark and high, filling the imagination
with awe, while pacing the decks of the
frail but well appointed little steam boat Helen
McGregor in the gloom, as she creaks away
through briny silvered waves of lakes, estuaries,
and straits, to Caledonia’s “noblest work”—the
Great Canal. Rounding a rough northern
head land, where seven currents meet, of seas,
sounds, and straits, Crenan in the wake, compassing
the shore in Jura Sound, the “little
Helen” struggling with the swelling tide, appeared
to be standing still though at full
speed; Loch Etive, on the starboard—into
whose bosom, Awe’s serpentine waters steal at
solitary “Bunaw;” Lismore in the distance,
Mull in our wake, due West—the rapid subsiding—through
it “the fair one” tripped gallantly.
In these “meetings of the waters,” what
oceans of salmon sported and played at large in
their blue and fresh element, far from the wily
bars! The “Heroine” seemed at once to be
stepping up hills from lock to lock, till she[182]
levelled the base of “Ben Nevis;” close to which
mighty mountain, the “fair one” squatted for
the night. Glad enough were her living freight
to get on firm footing, and wend their way
across a mossy plain, without a rolling stone,
to a little house under a hill, that kept beds
“well aired,” and “usquebaugh,” for travellers.
At the dawn of morning, through the haze,
could be descried, “Fair Helen,” smoking—her
steam was up—sitting, “sidey for sidey,” by
the lofty Ben, the sight of which, to look up
at, was staggering. He had yet his nightcap
on of hazy grey, but enough of the giant hill
could be denoted that his base on that side
was hewn away, facilitating the great track.
This morning, away went the “fair one,”
rattling like “sticks a breaking.” Hurrah for
Fort William—a voice, “and the Camerons of
Lochiel,”—here we are at Crystal Laggan,
Lochiel, and Lochey’s excellent waters for the
Salmon Trout—(I will give the flies to suit
them a little further on). “Fair Helen” began
her movements slowly for some time, creeping
through locks, o’er hills, in basins—Macomer
on the starboard,—Lochiel, farewell!—now
skimming into saltless “Lochey’s” (famed for[183]
its ancient mountain clans) soft and balmy
waters; through the lake she dashed, breast
high—a strait ahead—steaming by Balalister
at seven knots by the log, soundings the
deep nine, “Fair Helen” entered the gorge,
and now rushing down an inclined plain, to
the fear of the timid, and delight of the stouthearted,
double quick did run the “fair one,”
making up for lost time experienced in the
“meeting of the waters”—through lock gates,
up hills, &c., now through an embankment,
nearing Fort Augustus, and the head of Lochness,
down she settled between two stupendous
lock gates. “What aw-fu’ gates!” What work
bestowed on them—what an enormous depth
are they—the wet and muddy sides of which
beat chilly. Down, “down below,” went the
“fair one,” till she levelled the golden waters
of—”O, that lovely lake,”—into which she
slipped like a fairy elf. After her cold incarceration,
“Helen the Fair” tripped merrily down
the centre of the “fathomless Lochness,” the
sun breaking, beamed out upon us cheeringly
after the chill and hazy morning. Like looking-glass
did that sun-lit lake appear, stretching
away before us, losing itself in the distance,[184]
bordered by hills and mountains on either side,
till on the larboard was seen Morrison’s lonely
glen and meandering stream. We neared the
bay, sounded whistle, and lowered steam. A
few minutes more, and off went the Helen
McGregor, making head like a waddling duck
through the valley of golden[F] waters. Hush!
The mountain sylph is heard in the cabin.
Hush! by the powers, it’s Phillips, warbling
the incantation of the wizard of the glen.

O, shade of Wilson! the soul of Scottish
song. Angler, may you rest in peace. On the
starboard was observed the “Falls of Fyres,”
descending, perpendicularly, over a craggy
precipice—most curious. “Bonny Helen”
slid smoothly along, till, at the “heel of the
evening,” we entered the last embankment
of Caledonia’s Grand Canal, just where the
beautiful river Ness issues out of “that lake,”
opening into a lovely and fertile valley, in the[185]
centre of which is a boat upset, an antiquity,
covered with motley trees. A few minutes
more and we were safely landed at the quay of
the fair and sweet metropolis of the ancient
Highlands, Inverness, seated on a hill above
the river. O, I sigh for the days that will
never return! High and airy rock, I split
upon you twice, steering northwise fra’ bonny
Dundee, through the “Carse o’ Gowrie,” by
Laburnam, to famed Dunkeld, on Tay’s noble
waters; Blair Athol and Fore’s Macbeth crossed
the source of Spay, through a waste and dreary
plain, with villages far apart, where ran those
weirdy thinly kilted lads to see the “four-in-hand;”
up hill, down dale, and heathered moor
we steered, till at length we galloped towards
the glooming, by the graves of dark Culloden’s
blood-stained field—nearing the city, on went
the drag, and over a well macadamised road,
“knapped” by the hardy highland wight, we
hurried into Inverness. Alas! this bronchial
asthma, that shuts me from that fishing.
Fond memory brings the light of other days
around me.

[186]

SALMON FLIES FOR FORT WILLIAM,
&c. &c.

The flies to suit the various waters surrounding
Fort William are generally of a medium
size and middling gaudy. The engraved
ones in my list, for Salmon in general, from
No. 2 to 11, will kill well. The list for the
season for Trout.

No. 1. Light blue body, rib of silver, guinea
hen hackle, blue jay, topping in tail; wings,
teal, mallard, guinea hen rump feather, peacock
wing feather, and blue and yellow feelers of
macaw. No. 9 hook, or BB.

No. 2. A small size fly like the above, varied
with black floss body. A good sort for the
Lochy. Hook C or CC.

No. 3. A fly like the first, varied in the body
thus: yellow tag, silver tints, and a small topping
for tail; a blue mohair joint, then a red
one, another blue joint, then an orange one
under the fly at the shoulder, and a blue head.
Hook No. 9 or BB; a C for lake Trout.

No. 4. A claret fly, with wings and tail like[187]
the first one, varied with yellow-brown body
and hackle, and ribbed with gold. BB hook,
and CC for lake Trout, with a bronze head.

No. 5. A fly with grass-green floss silk,
ribbed with gold, black-red hackle, and blue
head; the wings and tail like the first. Vary
the body with different greens. Hooks from
CC up to No. 9.

No. 6. A black body, with black legs, silver
tinsel and cock of the north rump feathers for
the wings; some call it the “copperkeilsey.”
Hook C, CC and B. This is the celebrated
Kenloch of Kenloch.

SALMON FLIES FOR THE NESS.

No. 1. Body half black and yellow, a jay
and purple hackle ribbed with silver, orange
head, mallard, peacock wing and jungle cock
wings. Hook BB.

No. 2. Body black hair, orange tag, ribbed
with gold and silver, black hackle, jay at the
shoulder, wings mixed, of guinea hen, teal, two
small tipped feathers, and two toppings over
all a little longer, tail a small topping, and a[188]
bronze head. Hook B or BB. This will be
found a great killer in the Ness and Beauley, a
beautiful stream at the head of the Murray
Firth.

No. 3. Body yellow-brown pig hair, ribbed
with gold, small, topping for tail, red cock’s
hackle and blue jay, wings of golden pheasant
tail, mixed with mallard, neck feather, teal, and
guinea hen, green parrot and macaw feelers,
and a black head. Hook No. 9 or B; for low
water, C. This is a capital fly for either the
Ness or Beauley. These, with the painted
flies, made small, will suit well.

There is a kind of yellowish slimy weed on
the bottom of the Ness which proceeds from
Loch Ness, that is injurious to the propagation
of the salmon of late years, and it affects the
fly fishing considerably, to the great disappointment
and vexation of the good anglers of the
north.

[189]

THE RIVER SHIN.

Classic Shin, on whose heath-clad banks and
flowing waters the great and good fly fishers
roam, who never saw “Kelt of Baggit” there—the
haunt of monarchs of the sea, and shepherd
swains that watch His flocks, and feed His
Dams—the theme of poetess, and the learned.
O, “Ephemera,” how beautifully written is
that “Book of the Salmon;” how exquisitely
delineated that “Ova;” how admirably that
“golden fish,” which bounds up falls and cataracts
in that purling “meandering” stream;
how charming to gaze upon that lovely “Goddess
of the Brooks”—the famed Ondine—how
rightly represented. Oh! excellent “Ephemera”—my
good and constant friend—the
“great and good Will Blacker’s” tears (I blush)
descend like rain through these sky lights, and
damp the very sheets my palsied pen doth
blot. Alas! well-a-day-that noble salmon
fishing—what sport! These lean and bellows’d
sides are winded—this flattened chest, once
full, now dented—these calves, once plump,
now thin and gone—these shins, once clad, are[190]
now protruding. The “puss” more chronic
heaves, yes, I still can fish! These cheeks,
how pale (their bones “can’t grind”), once
rosy, the pride of more than “Reva’s” lovely
blooming rose, my blessed bosom friend, my
wife, whose lamp is trimmed. O, “Ephemera!”
friend, when shall we meet, with rod in hand,
on pure and crystal Shin?—

I cannot add a fly to the list for the Shin in
the “Book of the Salmon,” by “Ephemera,”[191]
except that I submit to the notice of the great
salmon fishers of Shin those model flies in my
list for trial, which, no doubt, will kill. I
never fished the Shin, although I have been
twice near it. Mr. Young, of Invershin, the
renter of the river, will show gentlemen
angling there every possible facility, civility,
and politeness. The “Queen’s Gap,” in the
cruives, is lifted on sabbath days.

THE RIVER THURSO.

The Thurso, famed for its fresh run salmon
throughout the year, is the most northern
river in Scotland. The town of Thurso, in
Caithness-shire, is the best station, and the
route, from Aberdeen to Wick.

The salmon flies for Thurso are rather of a
plain and sombre cast, varying in size through
the fishing months. The river is remarkably
high and full in the spring, in consequence of
the melting of the snow and ice, and at that
period requires large flies, like No. 12; further
on in the season they are much smaller in size,
like Nos. 1, 2, 3, to No. 11, which are capital
ones for it, and the other engravings are likewise[192]
good in low water for the fresh run grilse.
Throughout the summer months the following
are also good for this river:—

No. 1. Body black floss silk, orange tag,
tip of gold, small topping for tail, black-red
hackle, mallard wings mixed with peacock wing,
a topping over all, and a black head. Hook
BB, B.

No. 2. Body claret silk, claret hackle, ribbed
with gold, a short topping tail, with silver tip,
mallard wings mixed with tipped feathers, macaw
feelers, and a black head. Hook No. 9, or
B. This is an admirable fly for lake trout, on
C hook.

No. 3. Body yellow-brown mohair, red
hackle, a short topping for tail, ribbed with
gold, claret hackle round the shoulder, and
mixed wings rather grey, and inclined to be
gaudy. No. 9 hook, or BB. C, for lake trout.

No. 4. A black fly, with yellow head, tail of
mohair, black hackle, ribbed with broad silver,
wings black turkey tail with white tip, varied
with brown turkey tail. A fly of each is useful.
Hook No. 8 or 9.

No. 5. A green fly, both body and hackle,
mixed wings rather gaudy, ribbed with gold,[193]
orange head, topping in tail, varied with a
black-red hackle, and light green silk body
ribbed with gold twist. Hook B or BB.

No. 6. A dark brown fly, brown red hackle
and body, ribbed with gold twist, and glede
wings, varied with brown spotted turkey tail
feather or mallard, one of each. Hook No. 8
or 9, B for low water.

There is a good deal of guinea hen and teal
feathers used in the flies of these northern
rivers, which appears to be an improvement,
with jungle-cock and wood-duck.

There is a river issues out of Loch Naver,
a short way from the source of the Thurso,
which falls into the sea in the same direction
west of the town of Thurso; it has a winding
course, and would be a very good river for
salmon were it well preserved.

There are numerous rivers running into the
firths on the east side of Sutherland, which
produce salmon and fine trout that run up
from the sea:—the Wick and Helmsdale in
Caithness, the Brora near Golspie, the Dornoch
into which the river Shin flows, Drummond and
Loch Clash, Dingwall river and lake, and the
river Beauley at the head of the Murray Firth.[194]

Lord Lovat is the owner of this river, and
he is very willing to grant permission to gentlemen
to fish on sending in their cards.

THE RIVER ESK.

The North and South Esk are rivers of
Forfar, falling into the sea near Montrose. The
North Esk is the best of the two, and affords
excellent angling for salmon and sea-trout in
August and September. These rivers may be
visited by rail from Aberdeen or Dundee, at
the present day. I have been told by a gentleman
residing at Forfar, that the North Esk was
sometimes swarming with salmon and grilse to
an incredible extent. The wealthy proprietor
of the river will give instant permission to
gentlemen to fly fish, information of which he
can obtain at the town of Montrose, on the
Great Northern Railroad.

The flies to suit these rivers are small and
plain. A small claret fly with mallard wings;
a fly with brown body and a furnace hackle,
mallard wings mixed with blue peacock neck
feather, strips of mallard in tail, and gold.
Hook C or CC.[195]

An orange body fly of floss silk, a black
hackle, gold, the wings mixed of light and dark
mallard, the light feathers are found under the
wings of the wild drake on the body, the brown
copper-coloured ones on its back growing down
from the roots of the wings, (use floss silk for
the bodies). A black fly, with silver and black
hackle, and teal wings mixed with blue peacock
neck. Hook C or CC.

LOCH LEVEN.

The trout fly fisher staying at Stirling, or
its neighbourhood, on the Great Northern, will
find himself agreeably situated in the centre of
many beautiful streams, to which he may have
easy access. At the town of Kinross, by the
head of Loch Leven, is a nice station for the
lake, and at the village of Largo, to fish the
river Leven, below which place it enters the
sea at the mouth of the Firth of Forth. A
short distance from Largo, near the Promontory,
is the town of Anstruther, famous for a
monument to the memory of “Maggy Lauder.”
I had the pleasure of once seeing it.[196]

On the Edinburgh and Northern line from
Stirling, is the town of Kettle, on the “River
Eden,” a good station. There are grilse and
sea-trout run up it out of the bay of St.
Andrew’s, in the spring and autumn. Try
about the town of Cupar, and near its source,
at “Auchtermuchty.”

The flies to suit it are, hare’s ears, black
hackles, red hackles, and furnace flies, varied
in size.

THE RIVER ALLAN.

This is a good stream for trout fishing; it
enters the Forth below Stirling, just above the
town of Aloa. It has an extraordinary winding
course, flowing through a picturesque country,
and famed in poetic lore as “Allan’s winding
stream.”

[197]

Sea-trout and grilse run up the Allan in
spring and autumn, which afford good sport.
The small trout flies in my list suit this river
capitally.

A few miles above Stirling there is good
fishing up to Loch Katrine, commencing below
the town of Dumblane, on the Scottish Central
Line, and fish up to “Callander,” on the east
of Ben Lomond. Dumblane is famed as the
birth place of “Charming Jessie,” in Burns’
poetic muse—

There is another stream that runs down from
“Aberfildy” to Stirling, in which there is excellent
trout fishing. It has a winding course,
falling over rocks, rushing through gorges,
down precipices in its way, where it forms
deep holes for itself, which in the summer are
the haunts of large and fine trout.

The flies to suit it are, small dark hare’s[198]
ears, small black hackles, red and black ants,
browns, small duns, and hare’s ear and yellow,
the blue blow, the brown midge, and in the
spring, the March brown, and stone fly, for
large fish.

There is a very nice stream running out of
“Loch Lomond” into the river Clyde, at the
town of Dumbarton, in which there are sea-trout
in the spring and autumn. They take
very small dun flies, silver greys and black
midges, the dark hare’s ear, and red hackle.

The picturesque Loch Lomond affords good
trout fishing along its gravelly shores, and near
the islands. There are two flies that kill well
in it, which are as follows: Black body and
hackle, tip of silver, wings of the short bronze
feathers of the back of the peacock. No. 6
hook, or fff. The other one is, red body, red
hackle, and a wing like the first, both tailed
with two fibres of the feather of the wings. I
received these two flies from a gentleman, one
time when I was at Glasgow, who confirmed
them as “out-and-outers.”

There are fish called Pullen, very numerous
in Loch Lomond, the shape and size of herrings,
which are also numerous in Loch[199]
Neagh, in the north of Ireland. They sell in
Belfast as “fresh water herrings.”

When a young man, I denominated Belfast
my favorite home, among my dear friends of
the rod and gun. Newry, in the County of
Down, was the home of my ancestors. My
first crying was behind “Cronebaun” hills, in
the County of Wicklow, near the “Ovoca,”
famed for “sweetness” and poetic muse of
Erin’s humble bard, Tom Moore.

Looking over the Wicklow sands, where many
a poor fisherman foundered, in the village[G] of
“Red Cross,” was the first sight my “mama”
got of me; like a cloistered nun, I was covered
in a veil, which, they say, would always keep
me from the “briny depths.” Many “crosses”
have I had since January 14th, 1814, the “hard
winter” which corresponds with that of last
year. Mature years of experience make wise
men. Forty and one summers having rolled
over my head, the dishevelled ringlets of which
are now sprinkled with “honorable grey”—bashful
man, hide your blushes—my ruddy tint
flies when I tell you, my dear anglers, that my
sincere desire is to love every good man, as God[200]
has taught me. There is no one I despise,
disposed at all times to revere superiors, condescend
to those who perchance may be my
inferiors, continent to kind friends, and forgiving
to enemies, if any. Unless we profit
by charity, all other profit seems void.

LOCH AWE AND RIVER.

This celebrated lake, on the western side of
Scotland, may be conveniently reached from
Glasgow. There are steam boats sail two or
three times a week up Loch Fine to Inverary,
where there can be every information gained
respecting conveyances to the inn at Loch Awe,
where boats and men are to be had. It is a
long and narrow lake in places, and in summer
most cheering and pleasant to the fly fishers
resorting there. Good angling may be found
in the river running by Glenorchy into the lake,
where it again issues out of it, and is called the
River Awe.

It runs with a full and rapid stream, has but
a short course, falling into the salt water lake,
or estuary, called “Etive,” opposite the island
of Mull.[201]

There could be no better river or lake in
the kingdom for salmon, were it not for the
“cruives,” that, of course, “weed them all
away,” the proprietor of which is most obliging
to grant permission to gentlemen anglers who
visit it. The purity of these waters facilitates
the propagation of the salmon wonderfully,
were they allowed ingress and egress. When
the fishing laws are altered, and a reformation
made, there will be grand fly fishing, as good
as can be found in Norway. In the neighbourhood
of good salmon and trout fishing
rivers, the people, whom the anglers employ,
are very much benefited, and particularly innkeepers,
on their banks, and in towns where
there is not much traffic. The angler’s heart is
“in fishing” wherever he goes.

The salmon and trout flies to suit Loch Awe
and river (my memoranda are generally correct).

No. 1. An original and most killing fly for
salmon:—Body black ostrich harl, ribbed with
gold, a tag of yellow mohair at the tail, tail a
very short topping, a rich black-red hackle
rolled over the black sparingly, and a mallard
wing, made to stand well up and apart. Hook
BB, or No. 9. C for lake trout.[202]

No. 2. A brown body, black hackle ribbed
with gold, and grouse wings. Hook CC.

No. 3. Bronze peacock body, ribbed with
gold twist, black-red cock’s hackle, and dark
brown grouse rump feather mixed with turkey
tail for wings. Hook BB. C for trout in the
lake.

No. 4. A cinnamon fly, with glede wings
mixed with jungle cock, and ribbed with gold.
B hook. No. 9 for the river.

No. 5. A black body, silver tinsel, black
hackle, full teal wings, yellow head, and tail.
Hook B.

No. 6. A dark green fly ribbed with gold,
silver pheasant tail mixed with mallard for
wings, a small topping in tail, and orange
head. Hook BB, or C.

A blue fly with teal wings and blue hackle
ribbed with silver, topping in the tail, and red
head of mohair, hook B, or BB; and a fly with
peacock harl body, black hackle, hen pheasant
tail wings mixed, and the tail of the cock bird.
Hook B, or C for trout.

The large trout flies in my list for the season
are excellent ones for the lake, and Nos. 3, 4,
5, and 11, for salmon.[203]

There is good salmon fishing to be had in
Islay, south of Mull. The steam boat from
Glasgow calls there twice a week. Mr. Campbell,
the laird, resides in the island, who
gives permission, unhesitatingly, to gentlemen
making application to him.

The river is at the landing place of the
steamer; the salmon, which are numerous in
it, take small gaudy flies—blue body and hackle,
brown, claret, red, black, and green flies.

There is also salmon fishing to be had in
“Jura Isle,” a little to the north of Islay.

THE RIVERS IRVINE, GIRVAN, AND
STINCHER, IN AYRSHIRE.

In this westerly quarter may be found excellent
Salmon and Trout fishing in the spring
and autumn in these beautiful streams, which
can be reached from the city of Glasgow every
day by rail.

The Stincher is the best for salmon, the flies
for which are browns, blacks, reds, and greys,
all plainly dressed ones. I will describe one
here, a great favourite of a gentleman friend of[204]
mine, Mr. Murdoch,—Stephen Blair, &c. At
Glasgow, some years ago, on my stay in that
city; I give his name, as he used to call my
flies “mest noble flees,” and laughed heartily
to see the manœuvring of the hook in my
fingers.

The body of Mr. Murdoch’s fly was in joints
of pig hair picked out, and at the head a black-red
hackle; first, there was a tip of gold, a tag
of yellow hair, then a joint of orange, a joint
of fiery brown, a joint of claret, and a joint of
black pig hair or mohair, spaniel hair is best;
the wings a light brown turkey tail feather with
white tips, tied on topping a little longer than
the bend of the hook, a very small topping in
the tail. Hook No. 8 for high water.

Mr. Murdoch was a native of Ayr, and a keen
fisher, and used to speak much of his angling
in the “waters o’ Doon.”

From Ayr, the angler may proceed to the
lakes of Cumberland, viâ Carlisle, Keswick, and
Bowness.

[205]

RIVERS OF WALES.—THE CONWAY.

There would be excellent salmon fishing in
Wales were the rivers properly preserved. The
Conway (North Wales) is a beautiful stream,
and it is a great pity it should be neglected;
however, I believe it will be very soon protected
from the nets, &c., as there are a few
spirited gentlemen in the neighbourhood of
Llanwrist and Aberconway, who will rent and
preserve it for fly fishing only, all the way
up from the town of Conway to Capel Curig.
The salmon flies in my list, made on small
size hooks, will suit it well, varied according
to the state of the water; and my list of trout
flies will be found admirable for it. Information
respecting season tickets, and rules of the
fishing, may be obtained at the Inn at Llanwrist.

THE RIVER DOVEY.

The Dovey is a nice stream, but runs off
very soon, like all others descending from the
mountains. The salmon would be, nevertheless,[206]
very plentiful in it, as there are many
capital large pools for them to haunt, if they
were allowed to reach them. It is so very
much netted at its mouth that it cannot be
possible for fly fishing to be good. The neighbourhood
of Machynlleth is the best place to
fly fish it. In the spring and autumn the
salmon flies in the plates will be found admirable
for it, made on CC hooks, and C for low
water. The furnace and black-red hackles are
excellent local flies, made on C hooks, for
summer. Sewen take small duns, and the
Cochybonddu.

RIVER TIVEY.

The Tivey is considered the very best and
most prolific river in all Wales. It has a long
and winding course to Cardigan, and before it
reaches this place, at Newcastle Emlyn, it is a
picture of a river for salmon fishing. Lampeter,
higher up, is a very good station, near to which
place are the “Tivey Pools,” where the fish lie
in low water. My list of both salmon and trout
flies would be excellent for the Tivey, dressed
on small hooks.

[207]

THE WYE, MONMOUTH.

The Wye, at the town of Monmouth, and
up towards Leominster, is an excellent river
for salmon; and the Usk, in the same quarter,
is also good for salmon and fine trout. The
latter river is a very short way from the Wye,
and may be conveniently reached from Monmouth
to Abergavenny, close to which town it
passes, and enters the mouth of the Severn at
Newport; the Wye falls into it higher up, at
Chepstow. The painted flies in the plates will be
just the sort for the Wye made smaller, and will
suit the Usk admirably, dressed smaller still.

There is a local fly or two which I will give,
viz.—Body yellow mohair bordering on orange,
a red ginger cock’s hackle long in the fibre
rolled over it, ribbed with plate gold, a red tail,
and light brown turkey tail feather with white
tips for the wings. Hook No. 9.

Another fly with the same body, and wings
of the bittern’s neck, two feathers should be
tied in, and the whole to stand well up.

Another fly, with brown body, brown hackle,
brown wings, and tail, ribbed with gold. The[208]
Dun Palmer, in the Plate No. 7, and the Dun
Salmon fly, No. 6, made on smaller size hooks,
will be found excellent ones. Nos. 4, 5, and 10,
are also good, the latter for high water. Never
were there better flies seen for the Welsh rivers
in general than these, made to suit the state of
the water.

THE RIVER SEVERN.

The river Severn has its source in Montgomeryshire,
takes a long course, passing the
towns of Welshpool and Shrewsbury. It is a
fine stream, and there could be no better one
were it well preserved. There is excellent
greyling fishing below Shrewsbury, but little or
no salmon fishing. “Mr. Taylor,” in his Book
on Angling, who was a native of this place, says,
“that he hooked and killed a greyling in the
Severn, below Shrewsbury, five pounds weight.”

The River Thame rises in Wales, near
Bishop’s Castle, and joins the Severn below
Worcester. It produces excellent fish, particularly
trout and greyling. Begin to fish at
Ludlow, and move down the stream. The flies
in my list are good for it.

[209]

THE TRENT

is a good river for greyling fishing, near the
town of Newark, on the Nottingham and Lincoln
Railroad. The flies to suit it are small
blue duns, cochybonddus, small black hackles,
orange duns, red hackles without wings, wren
hackles, small grouse hackles, ash duns, willow
flies, blue blows, &c.

The well known Lakes and Rivers of Cumberland
are excellent for fly fishing, particularly
Ulswater for trout, and the beautiful Lake
Windermere for a fish called Char. These
delicious fish take a fly like the sea-trout,
which they resemble in shape, although much
darker in colour. A small fly made on No. 8
hook, or No. 6, with puce body and hackle,
ribbed with silver, the wings of brown mallard,
and a tail the same feather as the wings; a fly
with an orange body, black hackle, and mallard
wings; another with woodcock wings, orange
body, and furnace red hackle; a fly with a
bronze peacock harl body, rib of gold, black
hackle, and jay wings, varied with light grey
mallard for wings; and my list of trout flies[210]
for the season will be found excellent for the
trout in the lakes and rivers.

Bowness, Patterdale, Poolybridge, and Keswick,
are all nice stations, where men and boats
may be had conveniently.

RIVERS OF YORK AND DERBY.

The beautiful streams of these counties are
excellent for trout fishing, and the scenery
varied and pleasing throughout. The river
Wharf is a delightful stream in the neighbourhood
of Bolton Abbey, a well known place of
“Hofland.” See his painting of it, which
gives a good idea of the magnificent scene.
Harrowgate, and Harewood Bridge, would be
very convenient stations for the fly fisher to
stay at. The greyling are good here, and the
small duns, wren, and grouse hackles, do well;
the Dottrille hackle, and black and red hackle,
with yellow waxed silk bodies, and starling
wing, are good; a small fly with peacock body,
black hackle, and starling wing. No. 13 hook,
or 12. These flies may be seen in my list.
They will also kill well at Driffield.

[211]

THE HODDER.

Whitewell is a favourite spot for anglers to
meet during the May fly season, it is beautifully
situated for scenery and sport; my list of flies
will be found excellent killers in this stream
for both trout and greyling; there is a comfortable
inn here.

RIVERS OF DERBY.

Derbyshire is watered by many delightful
streams, which abound with trout and greyling,
the owners of which allow the angler to fish
without the least hesitation on making application
and sending in his card.

The River Dove, at “Dove Dale,” is as charming
a place for a few days fly fishing as any in the
County, and is famed for the pleasing recollections
of the early days of “Walton and Cotton’s”
rambles on its banks. There is an inn at the
entrance of the Dale, and Mapleton and Ashbourne
convenient stations. The flies to suit
the Dove are, small duns of various sorts,
greys, and browns, as described in my list for[212]
the season, there cannot be better flies for it
if made to answer the state of the water.

The beautiful river Wye, at the town of
“Bakewell,” is a capital stream for the fly, and
many a good angler makes his appearance here
in the drake season; the winged larva and
May fly in the engraving would do well on
windy days, when the natural May fly did not
show itself in great numbers; my list for the
season will be found excellent ones for the Wye.

The Derwent is also another nice fly-fishing
stream for trout and fine greyling; the best
places to proceed to fish would be Baslow and
Rowsley Bridge, my list of flies will suit it
well.

THE RIVERS WANDLE AND COLN.

These rivers are convenient to London, and
are famous for fly fishing: they are in general
private property, but the owners are very civil
in granting one or two days’ angling on application
and sending your card. There are two
or three places on the Wandle that may be
angled in at will, about the neighbourhood of
Carshalton, and Ackbridge; and on the Coln,[213]
at Watford and Rickmansworth. The flies
to suit the Wandle are generally well known,
which are—the Carshalton cocktail, dark hare’s
ear, blue and pale duns, little peacock fly,
furnace fly, small soldier fly, and little black
red palmers, the little brown midge and the
March brown made very small, small black
gnat, and red ant, these flies may be seen in
my list for the season, they cannot fail to afford
diversion.

The flies to suit the river Coln, are—the
brown Caperer, large cinnamon fly, brown-red
palmer, and Orl fly with a dun hackle and
yellow body, the stone fly, March brown, brown
grouse hackle, wren-tail fly, large red ant, black
gnat, and dun drake, a red hackle fly made
full with the red and grey tail feather of the
partridge mixed, bronze peacock harl body.
Hook No. 8.

The Great Whirling Dun, Red Spinner, the
Coachman, and the Large Governor flies will
be found with those good for the evening, with
a nice ripple on the water.

The river Itchen, at Itchen Abbas, Hants, is
a very nice stream for fly fishing, and the Avon
at Salisbury Plain, the Kennet, at Hungerford,[214]
Berks, is also good, and the river Mole at
Leatherhead, Surrey, is a beautiful stream for
fly fishing, in the vicinity of Randal’s Park.
It has been preserved in the park for years,
and abounds with large trout.

Whitchurch and Stockbridge are also good
places for the fly, in Hampshire; and the
famed “Lea” at Ware, the resort of many a
good London angler; the river Stour is another
fine trout stream, it receives the rivers of Wilts
in its course, waters Hampshire, and falls into
the sea at Christchurch. My list of flies will
kill here.

There are many very beautiful rivers in
Devonshire for trout fishing, which are, the Ex
at Exeter and Tiverton, the Ax at Axminster,
and the Tamar which separates Cornwall and
Devon, a very considerable river, in which
there are salmon and fine white trout in the
spring of the year, March and April. Launceston
would be the most convenient station
for the tourist angler to fish this fine river.

The salmon in it take small flies, with claret
and dark brown bodies, ribbed with gold, mallard
wings mixed with a little tipped feather,
and tails of the same; at high water they rise[215]
and take more gaudily dressed ones, made on
B and BB hooks.

I sent the colours to a gentleman to suit this
river some time ago, who told me it would be
an excellent one for salmon, were it well taken
care of. He made his own flies.

I have also sent fishing colours, hackles, and
flies, to suit every river, or nearly so, in Great
Britain, to gentlemen residing on their banks,
which has been a great advantage to me in
obtaining the knowledge of the local flies, but
in general my flies have succeeded best in the
hands of those Fly fishers who have made it
their study and practice.

It will be seen that I have not withheld the
local flies for each river from accompanying
my own, and those great anglers who visit
Norway will find the Salmon flies in the plates
most killing, and it will be a great advantage
to them to have this book in their possession,
to give them a knowledge of fishing colours,
and the various modes of dressing both salmon
and trout flies, the delineation of which they
will see I have given to a nicety, having studied
from my youth, and learned from my own
observation.[216]

I have been all my life too fond of fishing,
which has been sometimes to my disadvantage,
but I loved the scenes of woods, green hills,
of singing birds, meadows, and fresh air,
rushing rivers, and above all, to look at the
beautiful fish jumping to catch the fly on the
surface of the water.

BAIT FISHING.

THE RIVER THAMES.

After jumping over old “tower’d” Thames
on our way to the south, we now return to him
to wind up this little chapter on rivers; there
cannot be a better river for the purposes of
trolling, spinning, or bait fishing in general,
than the Thames, there is not a town on
its banks from Richmond to Oxford, that does
not afford capital angling with the bait, and in
many places large trout may be caught with
the fly in the evening, these large trout are
very delicious and grow fat on the quantities of
minnows and gudgeons which they prey upon,
and of which there are an inexhaustible supply.[217]
I have taken a few of them with large size
blood red flies, brown flies, and large palmers
of the like colours. The flies Nos. 4, 5, and 7,
in the plates, are just the sort made a size or
two smaller; Hampton Court, Sunbury, Weybridge,
and Pentonhook, are likely places to
rise a fish about seven in the evening, and
early in the morning from six to eight. A
light general rod with spare tops for fly
fishing, about sixteen or seventeen feet long,
with reel, and line of sixty yards, would be
about the sort I would recommend, made of
good hickory, or split cane; this sort of rod
would suit any purpose, either for trolling,
spinning, or for barbel fishing with the lob
worm, &c.

Mr. Stoddart in his “Work on Angling”
speaks very highly of worm and bait fishing in
general.

And “Mr. Salter’s Book,” is a very good authority
for trolling and spinning. The greater part
of the fishermen and punt men on the Thames
are capital hands at using the trolling and
spinning tackle, so that the young angler who
desires to become expert at this sort of fishing,
can easily gain instruction from these civil[218]
men; they are also good barbel and trout
fishers with the lob worm.

There are many good trout caught by
spinning, and when bait fishing with the lob
worm for barbel in places where they would
rise and take the fly were they let alone, this is
the cause of their being so scarce, as trout
from half-a-pound and upwards will take the
worm.

The Thames produces many kinds of fish—trout,
perch, barbel, pike, roach, dace, carp,
chub, gudgeons, minnows, eels, &c. As all
these fish take the bait in general, I will here
give the proper sorts for each, with the tackle
to suit the purpose, and will show the angler
which to use to his best advantage in every
river he fishes in.

PERCH.

The Perch is a very handsome fish, and is
best taken with the worm or live minnow, the
larger size ones take the latter bait well and the
smaller ones take the brandling and red worms
best, using a No. 7 or 8 hook, and put on two
worms at a time; use a small cork float, and[219]
as many shot on the line as will keep the bait
steady about a foot from the bottom; use fine
tackle in clear deep water, and keep as much
out of their view as possible; the Paternoster
is an excellent tackle for taking them, baited
with live minnows in rapid waters near the
sides of weirs, roving with a small live minnow,
having a shot on the line of fine gut to
keep it in mid water. If you know there are
pike in the place, use fine gymp instead of gut,
as these fish are taken in the same manner.

BARBEL.

The Barbel are strong fish, and require
strong tackle to catch them, a No. 4 or 5 hook
tied on stout single gut, and have a small
bullet with a hole through it on your line, and
a shot about a foot from the hook to be
stationary, to prevent the bullet from running
down on the bait; when you have a bite he
draws the line through the bullet gently at first
let him do so for a little, and then strike not
too hard. The best bait for him is the lob
worm well scoured.[220]

I consider this a famous plan for catching
salmon, when they will not rise at the fly, in
deep running streams. If you can find out
where there is one lying drop it into the water
above him and let it fall towards his nose, and
he will be almost sure to take it. In low
water you can throw the lob worm, if well
scoured, on a gut casting line, like the fly, on
a No. 6 hook; moving up the river, throwing
it in before you, and allowing it to fall gently
with the current till you feel a bite, raising
your hand after allowing time, the same as if it
had taken the fly; you may wade up the river
at convenient places with your boots, try
Cording’s waterproofs, in the Strand.

There is good trout fishing after rains, with
the running line, with shot attached; use gut
hooks No. 7 or 8, and let the bait run with the
stream gently, keeping the line taut, and when
it stops rise your hand a little to free it,
allowing it to move on again, and when you
feel a bite wait a little till he takes it, and then
strike gently, if a small fish pull him out, if a
large one play him. The best places to throw
in are at the sides of streams, in the smooth
parts, in eddies, and where the current of the[221]
pool is breaking off at the foot into another
stream, and when the flood is subsiding after
rain, are the best times, using brandling worms
and small lob worms. This was my favourite
way of catching trout when a boy.

PIKE.

The Pike is a rough customer (if large) to
come across, and the tackle which is required
to catch him is as rough and as terrible as himself;
he will take almost anything that is
thrown to him if moved in the water he haunts.
Roving with the minnow using a float, is, I
think, the nicest way of fishing for him in deep
places, but he is oftener taken by spinning, or
trolling the gorge bait, tackle which is well
known to every angler.

The pike take the larger double hook gaudy
fly, in deep running places, beyond the weeds,
when there is a stiff breeze blowing and small
close rain falling, and at no other time will he
look at a fly; it is useless to try unless in a
rapid stream, which is an unusual place for
him to haunt in general. Autumn is the best[222]
time for these fish. When you prepare the
trolling bait for jack or pike, have a needle
to draw the gymp through the bait, say a
minnow, gudgeon, or dace, putting it in at
the mouth of the fish and out near the root
of the tail; sew up the mouth of the bait,
and tie the tail part to the end of the hooks,
which has been often explained before. Throw
it in sideways into deep places, letting it
sink a foot or two, and draw it in pretty
quick towards you, and when the fish makes
a run to take it, give him a little time;
when your line begins to shiver and shake
and he moves off, raise your hand and anchor
the hook in him; if he is a small one whip
him out of the water with your stiff and
patent line at your feet, if a large one play
him as you would a salmon, keep his head well
up and draw him through the weeds if any
and gaff him quickly.

The best rods to use for trolling are made
of the toughest hickory, as the cane often gives
way with a large fish; upright rings, and prepared
silk and hair line, with reel to suit the
rod, forty yards, if the place you angle in is not
very broad, will be sufficient; and when fishing[223]
in a boat with a salmon rod, if there is a
chance of pike fishing in lakes when the
salmon will not take the fly, using the short
top would be found stiff enough, that is, when
you have not a trolling rod with you in the
boat.

The large flexible minnow would be a capital
bait for jack in lakes or deep rivers; and the
glass minnow is also good. These fish rush at
very bright imitations of the natural fish bait
best, and a good size white trout would be a
valuable little fish to throw for him—a large
size dace is also good. These baits could be
preserved in whiskey for weeks. They preserve
fry and sprats in Scotland in this way for
salmon or pike fishing. The old fishermen in
the north say that “sprats” are the fry of the
herring. I am persuaded that they would be
excellent bait for salmon, preserved so as to
keep their brilliancy. The Paternoster Tackle
cannot fail to suit the purpose of those who
prefer angling in a punt for jack at the sides of
large streams near the bank where there are
alders or willows growing, overhanging the
water, with a gravelly bottom. Nice plump
bright minnows are the best, or large size[224]
gudgeons; the hooks No. 4 or 5, mounted on
gymp.

Note.—The best trolling rods, spinning, and
bait rods, with trolling tackle of the strongest
sort; minnow tackle, gut hooks, gymp hooks,
treble and double hooks, gorge and snap hooks,
and every sort of the best hooks and tackle to
suit trolling, spinning, and bait fishing, to be
had at my shop, 54, Dean Street, Soho, London.
Try my spinning trace, half twisted and half
single salmon gut, mounted with swivels and
large shot, for large trout or salmon.

ROACH.

The Roach is a handsome fish, and when
taken of the size of half a pound or a pound,
are not such bad eating as is said of them.
They are very bony, it is true, but particularly
wholesome. These fish do not thrive so well
in ponds where they are exceedingly numerous,
but in deep running rivers, with sandy and
gravelly bottoms. They excel in both flavour
and size. Let the place to angle for them be
about four or five feet deep, plumb the depth,[225]
and allow your bait to be very near the bottom.
The baits are paste, or gentles. When you
begin, throw into the place you angle in some
ground bait, to bring them together; keep your
eye to the float, which should be a quill one,
and the gut line with as many shot attached to
it as will carry the float about a quarter the
length of it out of the water, and strike smartly,
but gently when you see it move downwards.
They bite best in mild dark days. Work the
paste between the hands (bread without wet),
and when rather tough, mix a little vermilion
with it, they like this best. Let the shot be
about half a foot or so from the hook, which
should be a No. 10 or 12, and where there are
large ones, No. 8, tied on gut. When I was a
little boy this sort of angling used to be my
favourite amusement, with the running bait for
trout after a flood.

[226]

DACE.

The Dace is a lively brisk little fish, and
affords much amusement in catching him, particularly
with very small flies, which he will
rise at from May to October. They like the
rapid streams, along the sides of them, and in
the middle, they may be seen in shoals. The
vicinity of Richmond is a very good place to
go for a day’s Dace fishing with the fly. They
haunt the same places as the Roach, are taken
with the same baits, and angled for near the
bottom. Hooks No. 12 or 13.

CARP.

It is a very difficult matter to catch Carp
with the bait, as they are most cunning fish to
detect at once the deception, and swim away
on the least sight of the rod or the shadow of
the fisherman. The Carp haunt the deep parts
of gently running streams, and those caught
in rivers are the best; those that are very numerous
in ponds are lean and soft in the flesh,[227]
and rather insipid. The best plan to angle for
them would be with a very fine gut line, a
No. 9 hook, baited with a couple of small red
worms or two gentles, thrown into the water
where they are, very cautiously, and keep well
out of sight. Let the bait sink a short way
from the surface, and draw it gently towards
you, using at the same time a very long rod,
rather stiff. Strike immediately they take the
bait, gently, and play them as you would a
trout on the fly.

CHUB.

The Chub is rather a handsome fish when
in season, and those caught with the artificial
fly in many parts of the Thames, are very
brilliant and pretty to look at; but, unfortunately,
they are full of very small bones,
when cooked the roe is wholesome.

They haunt the deepest pools and rivers
under shaded banks overhung with trees, the
sides of weirs, and in ponds where a small
spring runs in and out of them, with rather a
rocky or gravelly bottom. Autumn is the best
season for them, although I have caught them[228]
with the fly in the Thames in summer in good
perfection, when fishing for trout. The way
to angle for them would be to use a quill float,
with a No. 8 hook, or larger, a gut line, and
some shot about ten inches from the bait to
sink the float, bait the hook with bread paste
made red, and made tough in clean hands, put
on a piece of it the size of a nut, throw in
gently, and keep out of sight. Good cheese,
well worked to make it tough, is also good.
They will take gentles turned inside out on
the hook one over the other, and when you
have a bite strike rather quickly. They will
also take grasshoppers, blue bottles, cadbait,
and cockchafers; and with red or yellow flies,
and black and brown palmers in the ordinary
way of fishing for trout.

GUDGEONS AND MINNOWS.

These are very beautiful little fish, and most
wholesome food; they are the best bait for
perch, jack, and large trout, that can be, as I
mentioned before. The way to angle for them
is to have a couple of very small hooks tied on[229]
hair or fine gut, with a shot or two to carry the
float off the bottom, say a small quill float, bait
your hook with a very small red worm, or a
piece of a brandling worm; they may be seen
very numerous in the Thames, along the sides
of streams, and in smooth running water with
gravelly bottom; they afford nice amusement
to the young angler, and when taken out of the
water are remarkably handsome to look at.

BAITS.

To scour worms:—put them in clean damp
moss, changing it in two or three days, place
them between two layers of it, and choose those
that are free from knots. The lob worms are
found in gardens; brandlings and red worms
are scoured with the lob worm in the same pot
covered at top; those found in old tan yards
are the best, and may be used without scouring.
When you use the worms, dip them in cream,
which will refresh their colour.

The cadis worm or cad bait is excellent for
trout fishing, placed on the hook double, and
cast gently with the wind into the stream, or[230]
dropped into the water beneath bushes that
grow on the banks of pools where large fish
lie, and are the most likely places. In rivers
clearing off after floods in the summer they
do well, and are also good for perch in deep
running water. These cad worms produce
many of the flies for the season after remaining
during the cold weather at the bottom
rolling about, and when the spring and summer
appear they change into these beautiful
insects; before the change takes place, during
the winter, they form themselves a cover to
protect them from the inroads of their enemies.
Their instinct[H] prompts them to incase themselves
like a snail in a piece of hollow reed,
open at each end, and covered with small gravel
and little shells, which they attach with a kind
of glutinous substance to resist the force of
the water; they creep on the bottom with six
legs, and having their little house on their
backs draw into it at pleasure, and settle
amongst the stones like a piece of rotten
branch or stick. The Trout and other fish
feed upon them in the winter, when the winged
insects are nowhere to be seen.

[231]

Showery windy days are generally best for
fly fishing, blowing from the south, south-west,
west, and north; there are but few fish take in
east winds. When the wind blows warm in
the beginning of the season it is good for bait
fishing, and in autumn mild days are best. In
days when there is no likelihood of constant
rain after clear nights, and a nice grey cloud
covers the sky, with a good cool breeze blowing
to ripple the water, this is the time to rise the
large trout, and which afford the best sport.

[232]

THE ART OF

DYEING FISHING COLOURS,

The great advantage the fly fisher must derive
from a knowledge of dyeing his colours
and hackles is obvious. It affords amusement
to the enthusiastic fisher to be acquainted with
the various shades required for making his flies
to suit the rivers, and the flies become valuable
when made of good colours and hackles.
Every hackle and colour that is used for
making a salmon fly must be of the richest
dye imaginable, that they may show brilliant
and good to the fish’s eye at the bottom of
the water, and entice them to rise and take it
at the top. The hackles must be taken from
old cocks, both the neck and saddle ones, as[233]
they hold the dye best. Wool is not good for
the fly, as it soaks the water, and is dull and
heavy. Pig hair, that next the skin, with the
stiff and coarse bristles picked and cleared
away, and mohair, which is Spanish goat hair,
a most beautiful brilliant substance for fly
making when dyed well; white seal’s fur, and
furs of different kinds of a white colour. White
hackles are best for yellows, oranges, gold
colours, blues, greens, &c.; red hackles do best
to dye claret, red, or fiery browns, olives, and
cinnamon browns, &c., and black hackles for
sooty olives, and tawny colours. When the
angler sees a white old cock he should buy
him to procure his hackles, or a black cock, a
grey cock, and old red cocks of every hue, all
of which are good for dyeing. These also
must be washed in soap and hot water before
being dyed, and the flue stripped off, tied in
bunches (see the bunch of white hackles in the
Plate of Feathers, ready for the dye) of proper
sizes, and when about to be put into the dye-pot,
wet them and the hair in hot water.

Provide a small crucible or earthen pot,
glazed inside, with an earthen handle, to hold
a quart of soft water, and before you put in[234]
your hackles or hair, wash them well, as I
said before, in soap and hot water. The five
principal colours to work upon are blue, red,
yellow, brown, and black. From the combination
of two or more of these may be produced
every shade required, from the lightest to the
darkest, so that it only requires some practice,
to know the different ingredients to use, to
become a Dyer of Fishing Colours.

TO DYE YELLOW.

I will begin with yellow, the most useful
colour in general for the gentle craft. Put
your crucible on a slow fire nearly full of water,
or say half full, for the first trial. Take a
tea cup, and into it put a table-spoonful
of the best turmeric, pour over it some warm
water, and stir it well with a clean piece of fire
wood; when the water begins to simmer in
the pot, put in the ingredient out of the cup,
and stir it well with a piece of stick; have a
second crucible, about half full of soft water,
and boil it, into this put two table-spoonfuls
of ground alum and one tea-spoonful of crystal[235]
of tartar, while these are boiling and perfectly
dissolved, put into it your hackles or hair,
and boil gently for an hour or half an hour;
take off your pots and enter the hackles into
the yellow dye out of the liquor into which
you put the alum and tartar, and boil them
very slowly for an hour, taking them out at
intervals to see the shade you require; if too
pale you must put more turmeric in, and if too
heavy in shade the next trial, put in less, and
do the same with all colours till you please
your own eye. When they are the proper
colour, take them out and wash them in soap
and hot water. Draw them evenly through
your fingers in the bunch, and let them dry, as
this keeps them in shape.

There are three or four ways to dye yellow by
changing the stuff. Fill your pots nearly full
of soft water, and put into one the tartar and
alum, and into the other two or three handfuls
of yellow wood, which must be boiled slowly
for three or four hours; when it is well boiled,
strain off the liquor from the wood into a basin,
and throw the wood away; put the dyeing
liquor into the pot again, and when boiling
take out the hackles from the mordant of tartar[236]
and alum and put them into the yellow dye,
let them boil gently for some time till the
yellow colour has entered the hackles or hair,
then take them out and wash them in soap
and water, straighten them between the fingers,
and let them dry; take them in the right hand
and strike them on the fore-finger of the left
till they are quite dry.

By boiling two handfuls of fustic and a table-spoonful
of turmeric together, and repeating
the above process, there will be produced a
golden yellow, which is very good for fly
making. There must not be too much alum
used, neither must the ingredients be boiled
too long. Persian berries, bruised and boiled
slowly, with a spoonful of turmeric, produces
a good yellow; and an ingredient called weld,
boiled as before, and adding the alum, is a
good dye for yellow,—indeed, the weld is the
best dye, if care is taken with it.

TO DYE BROWN.

Put into your dye pot about two handfuls of
walnut rinds, or as much as it will hold nicely
to boil; simmer this slowly over the fire for[237]
three or four hours, and add a little water to it
as it boils away. When all the juice of the
dye is taken out of the rinds, strain the liquor
off, put it into the basin, and throw away the
rinds; you take two handfuls more and boil
them in the same way, and add the stuff
together in the pot; the rinds being thrown
away, put your hackles, &c., previously washed,
into the dye, and simmer them on the fire for
four or five hours, till you have the proper
colour struck on the hackles. The alum and
tartar need not be added to this dye.

Take out the feathers and wash them well;
the walnut roots cut small, dye in the same way.

TO DYE A YELLOW BROWN.

The Saunders’ Wood, brought from the
Indies, and sold in powder or ground mixed
with sumach is good, it takes long to boil,
adding the alum.

A Cinnamon Brown or Fiery Brown may be
struck on the hackles or colours (pig hair or
mohair) by first dyeing them yellow, the same
as explained in the yellow dye; put the hackles,[238]
previously dyed yellow, into the liquor of walnut
rinds, and simmer them over the fire slowly
for three or four hours, and leave them in all
night, if a dark fiery brown is required; the
less of the rinds produce cinnamon or yellow
brown, the roots and rinds of the walnut are
the best for the various shades; the rind of the
alder dyed with alum and tartar is also good.

TO DYE BLUE.

Fill your crucible three parts full of soft
water, and put it on a slow fire, at the same
time put in your blue ingredients, previously
prepared, (this is done by dissolving the
powdered blue in oil of vitriol and water in
a stopper bottle for twenty-four hours). If
there is a very light shade of blue required,
put in a couple of table-spoonfuls of the
blue ingredient, and add to it as the shade
may be varied at will according to the quantity
of the stuff; boil the hackles in tartar and
alum, say a table-spoonful of each, or rather
less of the tartar, simmer it on the fire for
two or three hours according to the process
mentioned before; and when the proper colour[239]
is produced take out the hackles, hair, or fur,
and wash them well in soap and hot water.

There is a paste blue prepared at the dry-salters
all ready for the dye pot, take a table-spoonful
of it and stir it well up in your pot
nearly full of soft water, and boil it gently for
about an hour (or less), then put in your hackles
or hair, previously washed and wet going in,
boil for two hours very slowly and wash off the
dye; any shade of blue may be had in a very
short time by this process; there are two or
three dry-salters in Long Acre where this paste
blue is sold, and any of the other ingredients
may be purchased at their shops, or at chymists.

TO DYE RED.

Prepare your dye pot by nearly filling it
with soft water; and keep it at a scalding heat
when the dye stuff is put in, as it must not boil,
if it is allowed to boil it becomes dull in colour;
put into the dye pot a handful of finest grape
madder, and simmer it slowly over the fire, stir
well, and prepare the hackles or hair in the
alum and red tartar liquor; after having boiled[240]
an hour slowly, take out a bunch and look at
them between your eyes and the sun or light
to see how they take the dye, if too pale there
must be more madder added, and allow them
to remain in the dye all night, simmer them
slowly, next day take them out, rinse and wash
them well, and allow them to dry in the air; mix
a table-spoonful of cochineal with the madder.

TO DYE ORANGE.

When orange is desired take a handful of
best madder and mix it with a spoonful of
cochineal, boil it for an hour or two, add too a
little ground red wood which requires more
boiling than the madder itself; dye your
hackles or stuff yellow first, and dip them into
the red dye a short time, take them out and
look at the shade you have; if too light allow
them to remain in longer, and you will have
darker shades of colour, put a little red tartar
and ground alum into the dye to assist the red
wood to strike on the materials, take them out
and wash them in soap and hot water, and
afterwards rinse them in urine which gives a
lustre and softness to the stuff.

[241]

TO DYE PURPLE OR VIOLET.

First dye the hackles or stuffs blue, and
lay them to dry; then, fill the dye-pot more
than half with soft water, and in the other pot
prepare the tartar and alum, dip your hackles
into this for a little while, and lay them on the
table till you prepare the red dye; bruise a
couple of table-spoonfuls of cochineal, and put
them into the pot of hot soft water, boil for an
hour, and put in the blue hackles, and allow
them to simmer over the fire very slowly to keep
them from burning; when you have the proper
shade, take them out and wash them well.

TO DYE CRIMSON.

Boil your hackles or hair in a tea-spoonful of
alum, and nearly as much pure tartar, for an
hour; bruise two table-spoonfuls of cochineal,
and boil them in your clean water; take out
the hackles from the alum-water, and put them
into the cochineal liquor, and boil for two or
three hours slowly or less, according to the
shade you require; then take out the feathers
and wash them well, and you will have the
color desired.

[242]

TO DYE SCARLET.

Boil your hackles, &c., in a little crystal of
tartar; procure two table-spoonfuls of cochineal,
bruise them a little, and boil them gently over
the fire for an hour or two; take the hackles
you have just boiled in the tartar, and put them
into the dye-pot, and simmer them slowly for
some time, say half an hour; then take your
“spirits of grain,”[I] and put into the dye-pot a
tea-spoonful or a little more; take them out
occasionally, and look at them between your
eyes and the light, and when the right shade
is obtained, rinse them and dry.

If you are in a hurry for scarlet, you may
drop the particles of block-tin into aqua-fortis
till they are dissolved, and add a little to the
scarlet dye; the other is best, as it gives a more
brilliant shade;—boil slow.

If the extract of bismuth is added to the
red liquor of the cochineal in a small quantity,
it will change it to a purple or violet colour.

[243]

CRIMSON RED IN GRAIN.

Boil your hackles or hair in a quarter of an
ounce of alum, and the same quantity of pure
tartar, an hour gently; wash them out of this,
fill your dye-pot with clean water, or as much
as will conveniently boil; put in an ounce of
well-powdered dye stuff they call “grain,” with
one drachm of red arsenic, and one spoonful
of burnt wine lees, this gives a lustre; wash
and rinse well after boiling a short time, and
the colour is good.

TO DYE GREEN DRAKE, FEATHERS
AND FUR.

Boil your hackles, mohair, or fur, in alum
and tartar, a quarter of an ounce of each; rinse
them well, and put them into the dye-pot, with
an ounce of savory, and as much green-wood
as the pot will contain; (it is best to boil off
the savory and green-wood first, throw away the
wood, and boil the feathers in the liquor;) boil
gently, and look at the feathers occasionally to
see if they are the right shade, these give the[244]
natural shades of yellow green. The quantity
of tartar and alum, and of dye-stuff is given in
this dye; and the preceding which will show
what must be used in all shades of colour,
according to the quality or your own taste.

TO DYE CLARET.

Boil two handfuls of red-wood, or ground
Brazil-wood, for an hour, with a handful of
log-wood; then take a table-spoonful of oil of
vitriol, and put it into half a tea cup of cold
water; and when the dye-pot is a little cold,
add it to the liquor, stir it, and put it on with
the hackles or hair, and boil it gently for two
hours; take out your material, and put it into
cold water; add to the dye it comes out of a
little copperas, and a small quantity of pearlashes,
about the size of a nut of copperas, and
a quarter that size of the ashes; put in your
hackles or material again, and when the
proper shade is obtained, rinse and wash well,
and finish in urine, which brightens them, and
your colour is good.

[245]

ANOTHER WAY TO DYE CLARET.

Take a handful of nut galls and bruise them,
put them into the crucible and boil them half
an hour, add to the dye a table-spoonful of oil
of vitriol in half a cup of water, put in the
hackles and boil two hours; then add to the
liquor a little pearl ashes, and a piece of
copperas the size of a nut, boil gently for two
hours or as long as required to suit the taste
of the dyer, rinse and wash them well, the
ashes need not be used in this dye, but if
used a very small quantity will suffice.

Another way:—boil red wood powdered for
two hours (two handfuls), and then put the
hackles in, boil an hour longer, let the liquor
cool, and put into a tea cup half full of water
nearly a table-spoonful of aqua-fortis and pour
it into the dye, stir well occasionally and keep
the hackles down, boil for two hours more and
rinse off, finish in a little urine. If a very
dark claret is required lay them in to boil for a
day and night with a scalding heat.

[246]

TO DYE BLACK.

Boil two good handfuls of log-wood with a
little sumach and elder bark for an hour, put in
the stuff or hackles (boil very gently), bruise a
piece of copperas about the size of two Spanish
nuts, put it in with a little argil and soda;
take out the hackles and hold them in the
open air a little, then put them in again and
leave them all night gently heated, wash the
dye well out of them and your black will be
fine. The argil and soda soften the dye stuff
of the copperas, but a small quantity must be
put in.

TO DYE GREENS OF VARIOUS
SHADES.

The greatest nicety of all is in finding the
exact quantity of ingredients to put in, so as
to prevent the dye stuff from injuring the
fibres of the hackles, &c.; for the light shades
add the smallest quantity, and augment
it by degrees. Dye the hackles a very light[247]
shade of blue first, in prepared indigo,[J] as I
said before, take a spoonful and put it into the
dye pot and boil it softly for half an hour.
Add a very small quantity of alum and tartar
to the dye, put in your hackles, and boil for a
short time; add to the dye a table-spoonful of
the best turmeric, savoy, or green wood, a little
of each would do best, boil slowly for an hour,
take out the hackles, rinse them, and you will
have a green: you may have any shade of
green by dyeing the blues darker or lighter,
and putting in more yellowing stuff and less
blue when light yellow greens are required, boil
gently, and look at the hackles often to see that
they have taken the shade you want.

TO DYE LAVENDER OR SLATE DUN,
&c. &c.

Boil ground logwood with bruised nut galls
and a small quantity of copperas, according to
judgment: you may have a pigeon dun, lead
colour, light, or dark dun. The ingredients[248]
must be used in small quantities, according to
taste. You may have raven grey, or duns of
various shades, by boiling with the logwood a
small quantity of alum and copperas.