BAINBRIDGE

[Traditionalist]

ARTIFICIAL FLIES.
It now remains to proceed to the description of the materials used in the formation of the flies represented in the plates which accompany this treatise. The author is aware that they can by no means be considered fine specimens of the art of representing nature; but as they will convey some idea of the size and form of the natural fly, and may prove a more correct criterion for the imitator to adopt, as to the colours of his materials, than any written description, it is hoped that they will, in some degree, prove useful and advantageous to such brethren of the angle as may deem them worthy their inspection. It may possibly be remarked, that the number of flies selected is insufficient. Certain it is, that the ephemeral aquatic insects, which the sun's genial rays animate in succession, are as endless in variety as they are incalculable in numbers, and may possibly all, at one time or other, serve as food for the trout, &c. Yet to compile a treatise of this description would require the observation and deep attention of a Linnaeus. Such, therefore, only, as practical experience has pointed out to be worthy of selection, are represented; and it is presumed they will be found sufficient to answer the purposes, and meet the wishes of the reasonable angler.

Accurately to enumerate the different names by which the several flies are distinguished would be impossible, as the neighbouring inhabitants of almost every river have different titles for the same insect. Such, however, as are known to be standard flies are given, with references to their numbers and the number of the plate. The remainder are no doubt well known to the experienced angler by some denomination or other; but as name can add little to his information or success, when he has the representation before him, they will be described in the order in whichthey appear on the plates.

PLATE 1

Contains specimens of five flies, which will be found very successful in raising salmon. No. 1 is recommended as a spring fly, and is to be composed of the following materials: wings of the dark mottled brown or blackish feather of a turkey; body of orange camlet, mixed with a little mohair; and a dusky red, or bright brown cock's hackle, plucked from the back, where the fibres are longest, for legs; hook same size as represented in the plate ; and it is to be observed that all large salmon flies should be dressed upon two or three lengths of gut, twisted together, and that the silk, in dressing, be brought beyond the shank of the hook, and wrapped four or five times round the gut, so that the sharpness of the steel may not speedily cut it. As the season advances, the same fly may be dressed with the wings of a brighter shade, and the addition of a little gold wire or thread, wrapped neatly round the body, at equal distances. Wire or tinsel should be preferred to thread, as they retain the lustre longer, and are more showy in the water.

No. 2 is of smaller size, and may occasionally be dressed upon very strong single gut. Any feather of a copper or dirty yellow colour, which is not too coarse in the fibres, will answer for the wings, and may be found on the domestic hen, turkey, or the landrail; the body of lemon-coloured mohair, mixed with a small portion of light brown fur or camlet; and a pale dusky ginger hackle over the whole. The main object to be observed in dressing this fly is, that the wings, body, and hackle, be as nearly as possible of the same shade; from which, and being devoid of tinsel or any gaudy colours, it has been denominated the quaker fly.

No. 3. Although the colours of this fly are of a sombre cast, it is, nevertheless, frequently used in summer with success. The wings are to be procured from the cormorant, or the mottled feather of the mallard, if very dark; body of dark sable, ribbed with gold wire, over which a dusky red hackle should be thickly wound; for the tail, the mottled feathers of the drake; and before fastening off, a little flos silk should be unravelled, and fastened at the extremity of the work.

No. 4 differs materially from those preceding, and is given in order to describe the method of dressing gaudy files ; which, however fanciful or varied in shade or materials, will frequently raise fish when all the imitations of nature have proved unsuccessful. Indeed, so fastidious and whimsical are the salmon at times, that the more brilliant and extravagant the fly, the more certain is the angler of diversion. The fly thus given as a specimen is formed as follows: the wings, the extreme end of the feather of a guinea-fowl, not stripped, but having the feather left on both sides of the stem : a blood-red hackle should be fastened on with the wings, and so arranged as to extend beyond them. The dyed feathers used by officers in the army answer very well for this purpose, if those from the macaw cannot be procured. The body is best made of the harl of an ostrich, dyed to correspond with the red feather introduced, with a bright yellow hackle over it. The beautiful green feather, which forms the eye of the peacock's tail, should be fastened at the head, and left hanging downwards, so as to cover the body for nearly half an inch ; and a few strips of the same part of the feather may be fastened at the tail.

In the dressing of the gaudy flies for salmon, the maker may exercise his fancy as he pleases, for it is impossible for him to be too extravagant in his ideas. The only caution necessary to be given, is, that he should avoid introducing too great a weight of gold or silver wire, which will prevent the fly from being thrown neatly, and will cause it to sink too much under the water. For the same reason beads, which are sometimes used to represent the bright prominent eyes of the dragon fly, are reprehensible.

No. 5 is a copy from the common wasp, in the natural state, which has heen selected as being a favourite with the salmon peal, mort, or gilse ; and well grown fish will sometimes rise at this fly in preference to any other. It is to be made of the wool of a sheep or other animal, dyed yellow, and a black hackle, twisted at intervals over the body; or vice versa, of a black body and yellow hackle. Wasps, bees and hornets are also the favourite food of chub, at particular times, and are to be employed with success, in dibbing under bushes, &c.

Previously to commencing the description of the trout flies, it is necessary to state that, although the greater proportion of those represented in the plates are common to all rivers, yet the time of their appearance will vary in different counties, according to the temperature of climate and forwardness or otherwise of the season; correctness, therefore, in the statement of the periods at which they are usually to be found, cannot be attained. The angler's own observation will be the best guide in this respect; and a very trifling degree of attention will soon enable him to distinguish each particular fly at a considerable distance, from the peculiarity of its flight, or other marked characteristics.

Although the imitation of nature is the principal object to be desired by the fly-maker, yet, in some instances, it will be advisable to enlarge or diminish the proportions of the artificial fly, as the state of the water may require. For instance, if the river be very high, the fly may be dressed larger than nature; if very low, the size may be reduced, and the body made thinner than the natural fly appears; and in many cases the fly, dressed as a hackle only, without wings, will succeed better than if made full, by the addition of the feathers used for that purpose. The colours of the flies will also in some instances, as in the stone fly, duns, &c., undergo considerable change as the season advances, generally becoming lighter with the progress of summer: in this, also, the angler's own observation must direct him.


PLATE IV.
No. 1 represents a dark fly, with black body, which appears very early in March, and sometimes even in February ; and as so few flies suitable for the purposes of the fly fisher are at that time animated, it is to be used with great success during the whole day. The body is made of dark fur, to be obtained from a black water spaniel or rabbit, with a very small proportion of claret-coloured camlet, merely to give the mixture a tinge, when held up to the light; the wings from the back of the fieldfare or hen blackbird; and a dusky black hackle for legs.

No. 2. The Black Gnat does not appear until nearly the end of April. The body is made with a black strip from an ostrich feather, and must be dressed thick, and rather short; the wings of a pale starling's feather; or it is equally neat, if dressed as a hackle, for which purpose a pale dun is most suitable. Although this fly is generally highly praised by writers on angling, and by some has been recommended as a standard, or never-failing fly, the character which it has obtained is infinitely too favourable. During several seasons in which the compiler made use of this fly, he observed that it was neglected by the fish if a grouse hackle was upon the same line, and that his other flies.always proved more attractive than the black gnat. Bat as it is a favourite fly with many persons, and will certainly kill fish when the water is low and fine, to have omitted the description would have been censurable.

No. 3. The March Brown or Dun Drake.—This very excellent fly generally appears about the middle of March, and is strongly recommended as a good killer from eleven o'clock until three. Large quantities of these beautiful insects eail down the streams in succession, and invite the trout to action. Their wings are upright on the body, as shown in the plate ; and whilst they are on the water, it is almost in vain to attempt the use of any other fly. Therefore, as they vary in the shade of the body, it is advised to use three flies of this form, but of different sizes and colours, at the same time, which will insure success to the angler.

The wings are made from the dark mottled feather from the tail of a partridge, or mottled feather from the ptarmigan, in its summer plumage; the body of the fur from the hare's ear, intermixed with a small portion of yellow worsted, well dubbed together; a grizzled hackle for legs; and if the imitator choose to be exact, two fibres from the same feather which composed the wings will enable him to form the tail. This appendage to the flies in their natural state need not be attended to in the artificial formation, as it is of little importance in aiding the success of the angler, although, if flies are dressed for sale, it improves their appearance, and renders them more showy and attractive. It may also be dressed as a hackle, by means of the spotted feather from a partridge's back, using the same mixture for the body as before described.

No. 4. The Hazle Fly is of a round form, and rather difficult to be imitated with success. It is to be used in May and June, and is very destructive where bushes abound. By some this is improperly called the marlow buzz. The body is made of ostrich harl, of two colours, viz., black and purple, which must be twisted very thick; the wings of the sandy-coloured feathers from under the wings of a throstle, or from the red feather of a partridge's tail, provided it be not too dark : a bluish hackle, twisted tolerably full, will answer for the under wing, as well as for the legs. The cow-lady flies are also made in this manner, substituting a red or black hackle for the dun, and reducing the size of the fly very considerably.

No. 5. The Great Dark Dun is one of the earliest flies which appear upon the water, and may be used in February, if the weather be mild. It has four wings, which are to be imitated by the dun feathers from the wing of a mallard, which have a brownish tinge ; the body of dark fur from the mole, mixed with a little dark brown mohair; and a dark grizzled hackle for legs. This fly may be used during the whole year, early in the morning, if the wind be high, and is often successful in raising salmon.

No. 6. The Stone Fly is found near the edge of shallow stony streams, and is a favourite article of food to the trout, so long as it continues in season. It is hatched from a cedis, and issues from the shell before it has completely gained the use of wings. The usual time of the stone fly's appearance is in April; but Salter, in his excellent little work on Angling, gives the following account of his success with this fly, at a much earlier period:—

" The general opinion that it never appears until the middle of April, is a mistaken one. The reason that induces me to trouble you with this digression is to remove the error, by stating a circumstance that I have met with. On the 8th of March, when sitting by the side of a stream to repair my line, I observed a stone fly crawling on the gravel. The appearance of a stranger so unexpected (in a cold day), excited my curiosity so far as to make a trial of an artificial one, the result of which was, very great diversion from half-past eleven till one, when the trout ceased rising to it. It was on a deep slow stream that is generally tinged with turbary water; but I never have found so much success with it upon rapid streams, so early in the season."

This fly is the largest of the representations given, being an inch in length, and large in the body. The wings, which are four in number, should not much exceed the length of the body, and are to be made to lie flat; the mottled feather from a hen pheasant or pea hen is best adapted to this purpose. The body is composed of any dark brown fur : such may be procured from bear's skin, or the dark part of the hare's ear, &c., and is to be mixed with yellow camlet or mohair, so that it may appear most yellow near the tail and belly of the fly, with a grizzled hackle, of good length, wrapped under the wings. Some persons, in imitating this fly, add two hairs from the beard of a black cat, or from the tail of the fulmart or polecat, as representations of the horns ; but, as before observed, attention to such minutiae is unnecessary.

Another very general mode of dressing this fly, is by means of a long-fibred grizzled hackle from a cock's back, without wings. It is also a deadly bait, used in the natural state, by dibbing under bushes, and must, in common with all large flies, be invariably used at the point.

No. 7- The Mealy Brown or Fern Fly appears in May, and is an excellent fly for grayling. It has four wings, which are made from the under part of a throstle or fieldfare's wing: those feathers should be selected which have the yellowest tinge. The common hen is sometimes to be met with of this shade, in which case her feathers may be used. The body is of dusky orange, which the light brown fur from a fox's breast will furnish; and a pale dun hackle for legs. Attention must be given to the division of the wings, which should stand as shown in the plate.

No. 8. The Blue Dun is in appearance one of the most delicate insects which frequent the water. It is therefore extraordinary that it is to be found in the greatest quantities on cold windy days, being hardly ever to be seen in mild warm weather. It is an early fly, making its appearance about the first week in March, at which time it remains on the water during the whole of the morning. It is extremely difficult to meet with a feather of the exact shade, or sufficiently delicate in the fibre for the wings of this fly : it is therefore better to make it of a pale blue dun hackle, and use it as a dropper. The body is composed of the blue fur from a water rat, mixed with a small proportion of lemon-coloured mohair. As the wings of this fly stand erect on the body, a cock's hackle is preferable to that of a hen, not being so liable to yield to the action of the water.

PLATE V.

No. 9 is the representation of another variety of the Duns, being somewhat smaller than the last. It is to be found about the latter end of May, and is a good morning fly. The body of mole-skin, or the fur from a black greyhound ; the wings, which are four in number, are to be dressed in the same form as No. 7, Plate IV., and are made from the feather of a starling; and a reddish ginger hackle for legs. This is also a good fly for grayling.

No. 10. The Orange Fly has four wings, made from the blue feather of a mallard-teal. The head is of the dark fur from the hare's ear; the body gold-coloured mohair, mixed with orange camlet and a little brown fur; a small blue cock's hackle for legs. This is an alluring fly to salmon mort, if dressed rather larger than the representation ;
and, on a smaller scale, none better can be found for the salmon fry.

No. 11. The Cow-dung Fly. Although this is not an aquatic insect, being most commonly found amongst the excrement of animals, it is nevertheless a favourite of the trout; and when high winds have blown these flies upon the water, the angler may calculate upon good diversion, if he make trial of them. They appear in March, and will raise fish until, September. The body is made of yellow camlet or mohair, mixed with a little brown bear's fur, which gives the whole a dusky appearance ; the feather from the wing of the landrail for wings ; and a ginger hackle for legs. The wings are to be dressed flat on the back, and the body made full.

No. 12. The Yellow Dun is a beautiful insect, and is to be used in the morning and evening, during the months of April and May, and again in September. If martin's fur cannot be procured, the body is made of yellow yarn unravelled, and mixed with a little pale ash-coloured fur, which may be had from a cub fox, near the tail; the wings from the under part of a snipe's wing, and are to be made upright; with a pale dun hackle for legs.

No. 13. The Cream-coloured Fly is an excellent bait for grayling, and may be used from May until the end of August. The wings stand upright, and are to be made of a hen's feather which approaches to the colour of yeast; body, dark blue fur; and a pale ginger hackle for legs ; or it may be dressed with a cream-coloured hen's hackle over a blue body.

No. 14. The Harry Long-legs is a summer fly ; and although its merits have been underrated by many anglers, it is an excellent killer on a cloudy day, when there is a good breeze. The body is dressed of brown bear's fur, mixed with the dark dun from a mole's skin ; the dark mottled feather of a partridge for wings; and a brown cock's hackle, of good length, for legs ; wings upright, and body taper.

No. 15. The Little Iron-blue Fly. These flies are rarely to be seen in mild weather; but during the month of May they frequent the water in considerable numbers on cold windy days. They may be ranked amongst the smallest of the insects necessary for the angler's imitation, and can scarcely be dressed too fine. The wings are upright, and best made of a feather from under the cormorant's wing. As, however, it may not be an easy matter to procure one of these birds, and as one bird affords only about a dozen of the feathers requisite, a substitute is recommended in the tail of the torn-tit, which is nearly of the same shade. There is also a small bird, called the American blue bird, which furnishes feathers admirably adapted to the formation of this fly. It is found abundantly in Pennsylvania, at stated seasons. The body, pale blue fur, warped with purple silk, a small portion of which should be neatly picked out, to represent the legs of the fly, as the use of a hackle for this purpose in minute
flies is incorrect.

No. 16. The Gravel or Spider Fly is first seen about the middle of April, at which time the gravel, in which these insects are bred, is literally covered by incalculable numbers of them. They are extremely delicate, and not often visible on cold days; on which, however, success is more probable with this fly, than when they are to be found in such large quantities. They may be used from morning until evening ; and the trout are so passionately fond of them, that they gorge themselves with this favourite food, retire to their secret haunts, and disappoint the most skilful endeavours of the angler. It is probably owing to the short duration of these flies, that the fish are so greedy in devouring them, as they are seldom to be found at the expiration of about three weeks from their first appearance. The wings are made of the feather from the wing of the cuckoo's mate, the goatsucker, or in the absence of the preceding two, from the woodcock; the body of lead-coloured silk, for the lower and middle parts, and a strip of black ostrich harl for the thick part near the shoulders, round which a small dark grizzled hackle should be twisted twice, and the fly is
completed.


PLATE VI.

No.17. The Granam or Green Tail is to be found on the water at the same time of the year as the spider fly, and is used with success early in the morning and late in the evening, whilst it is in season, which is rarely for a longer period than ten days. It is also a delicate fly, and not often out on cold days. It derives the name of "green tail" from a bunch of eggs of a green colour, which drop on the water at the moment of the fly's touching that element. The wings lie flat on the back, and are made of the shaded feather from the wing of a partridge or hen pheasant ; the body of dark fur from the hare's ear, mixed with a little blue fur; and for the tail the green harl from the eye of a peacock's tail is the most showy material, although a small quantity of bright green wax (about the size of a pin's head) attached to the hook, is the best representation of nature ; a yellow grizzled hackle should be used for the legs; or it may be dressed as a hackle, with the shaded feather from under a woodcock's wing over the same body. No. 18 is a representation of the Green Tail, as it appears when on the water, the preceding fly having been drawn with the wings expanded, for the purpose of showing the colour of the body.

No. 19. The Hawthorn Fly is so called from being usually found near the shrub of that name. It is a good killer, and may be used from the middle of April to the end of May, from ten o'clock until three. The wings are transparent, and may be made from the palest feather of a snipe or mallard's wing : some use horn shavings, or the hard substance which is found in the core of an apple, for this purpose: the body of black ostrich harl; and a black hackle for legs.

No. 20. The Summer Dun is thicker in form than the generality of the dun flies, and is to be dressed upon a hook with a short shank. The body of the fur from a mole, ribbed with ash-coloured silk; the wings from a wood-pigeon; and an ash-coloured hackle for legs. A good fly during the summer months, in large waters.

No. 21. The Black Harl Fly is also a summer fly, and is a good killer in warm weather, early in the morning. The hody is of ostrich harl, dressed thin and cut close; the wings, which are four in number, from the pale feather of the starling's wing.

No. 22. The Orl Fly has every appearance of being produced from a cadis, and by some has been called the Brown Cadis Fly. The body is large, and is successfully made of that part of the peacock's tail feather which is perfectly free from a green cast; the wings from the feather of a brown hen ; with a grizzled hackle for legs. The wings are four in number, and should lie flat on the back. If dressed as a hackle, a brown grizzled feather from the back of a cock is the best; and the body may occasionally be varied, by the use of the fur from the body of a brown spaniel, mixed with mohair, of a dark red or claret cast, and ribbed with orange silk. It appears about the end of May, and continues for two months. It is a good fly at all hours of the day, if the water be not very low.

No. 23. The Little Yellow May or Willow Fly resembles the green drake in form, and is composed of nearly the same materials, but on a much smaller scale. The body of yellow fur from the martin's neck; or yellow worsted unravelled, and mixed with a very small quantity of the fur from the hare's ear, so arranged that the yellow shall predominate as the colour of the belly; wings of the mallard's feather, dyed yellow ; or it may be made as a hackle fly, with a white cock's feather, dyed of the same shade of yellow. This fly comes on early in May, and is the precursor of the green drake; until the appearance of which it may be used with success.

No. 24, a little brown fly which appears in June, and continues until September, is a good fly before sunset in a warm evening. The body of dark brown fur, ribbed with orange silk; and a hackle, of a greenish tinge, from the back of a woodpecker or dusky green parrot.

PLATE VII.


No. 25 is a brown winged fly, which is frequently seen during the months of June, July, and August. The body is of dark blue fur, mixed with a portion of black sheep's wool; the wings from the brown feather of a grouse ; and a dark cock's hackle for legs. It is a good fly in still water, where it playfully skims the surface, somewhat in the manner of the harry long-legs.

No. 26. The Brown Dun.—The form of this fly resembles the blue dun, but it is rather less in size. The body is made of otter's fur, mixed with lemon-coloured mohair; a ginger hackle for legs ; and the wings from a fieldfare. This, as well as all the dun flies of the same form, is a great favourite of the trout, and is taken principally in the evening, towards the approach of dusk.

No. 27. The Green Drake or May Fly is one of the most beautiful of our English insects, and is taken with avidity by the trout and chub, being a bait that they are remarkably fond of. These flies are to be found in the greatest plenty on sandy gravelly rivulets or brooks, and also on some large rivers and pools ; but their favourite haunts are most commonly the smaller streams, where they are to be used with the best success. They appear about the 20th of May, and continue for nearly a month. The wings stand erect upon the back, and vary, in the tints of yellow, in different flies. The body is long, slender, and taper towards the tail, from the end of which spring the forked whisks, which, turning up towards the back, give the name of green drake to this fly. The body is made of hog's down, or light bear's hair, intermixed with yellow mohair, or of barber's yellow silk only, warped with pale floss silk, and a small strip of peacock's harl for the head. A bittern's hackle is acknowledged to be the best imitation of the legs and dark stripes of the body; and for the tail the long hairs of sable or fitchet are most appropriate. As no natural feather approaches the resemblance of the wings of this fly, it is necessary to have recourse to art for the imitation, which may be successfully produced by dying the spotted feathers of a mallard yellow; for which purpose a variety of recipes have been given. This fly kills extremely well, at all hours of the day, particularly in still water.

RECIPES
For Staining the Mallard's Feather Yellow.
1.—Take the root of a barberry tree and shave it, and put to it woody viss, with as much alum as walnut, and boil your feathers in it with rain water, and they will be of a very fine yellow.

2.—Scrape a small quantity of the bark of the barberry tree, or bruise in a mortar the root; add to it a lump of alum, and one or two dozen gray feathers of a mallard; boil them in a pint of rain water, in an earthen pitcher, about an hour, and you will find them the colour you wish.

3.—When the barberry cannot be readily procured, take of turmeric one ounce, alum half ditto, stone blue quarter ditto, each pounded fine; boil them with the gray feathers above described, and it will produce the same colour. It may prevent a mistake if you frequently take out a feather and dip it in clean water; you will then observe the progress of the dye.

4.—The best dye for all yellow materials for artificial flies is the bark from the branches of a crab tree, taken in the spring, when the sap is up. Before you use it, put any quantity that you want into a vessel, just cover it with a mixture of one-half hard water and the other half urine, and let it stand twenty-four hours ; then put it into a proper vessel, with some alum, according to judgment, so that it simmer over a slow fire about two hours ; stir up all well together, and take out the bark; then put in your feathers and other materials, and stir them round till the liquor just begins to boil; then take them out, and instantly throw them into some hard cold water, with a little alum dissolved in it, wash them out and dry them for use. You may make the shades of this colour vary, by dissolving more or less of the bark, according to judgment, or letting the materials be in the dye a longer or shorter time.

5.—Gamboge, dissolved in spirits of wine, will impart a fine yellow to the feathers, if they be first boiled in strong alum water. The two following recipes produce very curious and beautiful imitations of the Green and Gray Drake:—

1.—White, or pale straw-coloured flos silk, ribbed with very fine silk, either black, brown, or copper-coloured, and gold-beater's skin neatly worked over the whole, which, being transparent, gives the body a rich cream-coloured appearance, such as is to be observed in the natural fly.

2.—White India rubber properly shaped, and introduced on to the shank, through a hole previously pierced in it, with a needle sufficiently large to admit the shank and gut, when whipped together, to pass through. This has a very natural appearance, if delicately coated with copal varnish. The wings and legs are put on afterwards.

No. 28. The Blue Blow is one of the smallest flies worthy the angler's notice; nevertheless it must claim his particular attention, as, when the water is low, it is an excellent killer, and when these insects appear in large quantities the trout are extremely active in devouring them. It is hardly possible to dress this fly upon too small a hook: the body should be made of any very dark blue fur, or of a peewit's topping, as its appearance on the water exactly resembles a lump of soot; the wings may be made of thistle down, or a bluish white hackle. It is a summer fly, but is most abundant during the first fortnight in August, when, at about one o'clock in the day, the water is covered with them.

No. 29. The Black Midge is another very minute fly, and is dressed with brownish black silk for the body, and a blue cock's hackle over it. It is chiefly to be used as a dropper, when the water is fine, and is taken freely after a shower of rain in the evening, during the summer months.

No. 30. The Gray Drake generally succeeds the green drake, although they are sometimes to be seen together in equal quantities. Its duration is about a fortnight: and it is to be found on almost all waters, whether large or small, rapid or otherwise. It is an excellent fly for attracting large fish, and may be used from three o'clock in the afternoon until dusk. In form and size it resembles the May fly, but in colour it is very different. The body is to be made of dirty white ostrich harl, or cream-coloured crewel, dressed with flesh-coloured silk, and ribbed with a dark grizzled cock's hackle; the head to be formed of peacock's harl, in the same manner as the green drake; the wings of the mottled feather of the mallard or mallard-teal, provided it be not very dark; and the tail of the hair of sable or fitchet's tail. This fly should be thrown directly over the fish, and so managed, if possible, that the wings may not touch the water.

No. 31. The Peacock Fly comes on early in the season, and is an excellent fly, on gloomy days, throughout the year. The body is made of dark peacock harl; the wings from the feathers of the starling, and made to lie flat on the back : a grizzled hackle for legs, to be dressed with mulberry-coloured silk.

No. 32. The Cinnamon Fly has four wings, which are large in proportion to the body. They should be dressed full, and made from the pale reddish brown feathers of a hen, which approach the colour of cinnamon; the body of any dark brown fur; and a ginger hackle for legs. The writer has had excellent diversion with this fly, in the months of August and September, in the Welsh rivers ; hut has been unable to meet with any description of it in the several treatises upon Angling which he has from time to time perused. A representation is given in " Walton and Cotton's Complete Angler/' page 342, plate 13, of a fly which in form exactly resembles this, but is of much larger dimensions ; neither do the materials for composing it correspond with the description here given, as to colour, &c.


PLATE VIII.
Nos. 33 and 34 represent the Sand Fly; the former with the wings raised, in order to show the size of the body, the latter to point out the form in which the fly is to be dressed artificially. This may be considered as one of the best flies for affording diversion which can possibly be selected; for it may be used successfully, at all hours of the day, from April to the end of September, and is equally alluring to trout and grayling.

Whilst on the borders of Yorkshire, where, as well as in Cumberland and Westmoreland, the snipe's wing and golden plover's feathers, dressed as hackles, without dubbed bodies, are the favourite flies, the writer was induced, by the recommendation of an experienced angler, to try them. During the morning, the weight and number of fish taken were nearly equal, say from three to four pounds each. Not satisfied with this diversion, as the fish were eagerly rising at something, the idea of trying the sand fly suggested itself; the consequence of which experiment was, in a very short time, a pannier well filled with fine trout, amounting in weight to nearly sixteen pounds ; whilst the other party, well acquainted with the river, had not caught half the weight. His astonishment at this success was extreme, as he said he was ignorant of the existence of such a fly. Indeed, so prejudiced are the generality of the fishermen of these counties in favour of the flies made from the snipe and plover (which they regard as incomparable), that almost every other description is neglected by them.

The wings are made from the sandy-coloured feather of the landrail's wing, with a ginger hackle for legs ; and the bright sandy-coloured fur from the hare's neck, mixed with a very small quantity of orange-coloured mohair, for the body; or if dressed as a hackle, the feathers from under the throstle's wing are nearest the colour of the wings of the fly.

No. 35. The Great Red Spinner is to be used with effect all the year, particularly when the water is clearing after a flood, and is of a dark brown or red colour. It has four wings: the two uppermost are of a red colour, those under are transparent, and of a blue shade. It may be made with a starling's feather, and red hackle for the wings, and seal's fur or hog's down, dyed red, and mixed with brown mohair, for the body. Or it may be dressed in the same manner as the Marlow Buzz, which is a fly of a similar description, but rounder in form and thicker in body, somewhat resembling No. 4, in Plate IV. For this fly the copper-coloured feather of the peacock's tail is used for the body; and the inestimable cock's hackle, which is of perfect red, having a black stripe down the middle, wound pretty full over the body. This and the Sand Fly, before described, may be considered standard flies.

No. 36. The Pale Evening Dun approximates to a yellow, and is taken extremely well late in the evening of a calm summer's day. The body is made of martin's yellow fur, with a little mouse's fur mixed with it; the wings of the mallard's feather, dyed of a very pale yellow, or with a pale ginger cock's hackle. The same process will answer for staining this colour as is recommended for the green drake; but it must not be allowed to imbibe too deep a tinge.

No. 37. The Blue Gnat is a small delicate fly, and an excellent bait for grayling, in the months of September and October. The wings must be made very small, from the snipe's wing ; or, as is equally to be recommended in all small flies, of a hackle of a bluish dun colour; the body of dark moleskin, wrapped with bright purple silk.

No. 38. The Oak Fly, Downlooker, or Canon Fly, is to be found in April, May, and June, on ash trees, oaks, willows, or thorns, growing near the water. Its head is always pointed downwards, whence it obtains the name of "downlooker." The wings are short in proportion to the body, and lie flat on the back. The colours of this fly being various, and unequally mixed, make the imitation difficult. The head, of the fur from the hare's ear; body, under the wings, dun fur, in the middle, orange and yellow, and towards the tail, a brownish dun ; the wings from the feather of a yellowish brown hen; or it may be made with a bittern's hackle only, without wings. It is an excellent fly both for dibbing in the natural state and using artificially.

No. 39. The Great Black Ant commonly appears in warm gloomy weather, from the middle of June to the latter end of August. The ant flies are excellent killers from eleven o'clock in the forenoon until six in the evening, and they may be used in still water as well as streams. The wings of this fly are made of the lightest blue feather from under the snipe's wing, or from the tom-tit's tail. Some make them of thistle down; but its want of durability is a great objection to the use of this material, unless for a fly that remains on the water for a very short time, which is not the case with the ant flies. The body of black ostrich harl, made thick at the tail, and under the butt of the wings, with a reddish brown hackle for legs.

No. 40. The Great Red Ant resembles the preceding in size and form, appears about the same time, and is to be used during the same hours of the day. The wings are to be made of a light starling's feather; body in the same manner as described for the black ant, of gold-coloured mohair, or copper-coloured peacock's harl, with a ginger hackle for legs.

No. 41 represents the Small Black Ant. Both this and its companion of the same size are to be made of the same materials as directed for the large ants, but (as exhibited) on a much smaller scale.

No. 42. The Yellow Sally Fly is to be used early in May, being one of the flies which prepare the fish for the green and gray drakes. In appearance it is extremely delicate. The wings, which are four, lie flat on the back, and are to be made of a dyed feather or hackle; the body of yellow martin's fur, crewel or mohair.

The description of the flies represented in the plates being here concluded, it remains only to direct the attention of the reader to such of them as may be considered standard flies, and of which he ought first to make trial, when he visits a river with which he is not familiar. He should have two lines, with three flies affixed to each. For the first attempt he may use the March brown (or, later in the season, a reduced fly of the same form and materials) at the point, with a dun hackle, having the body light or dark to suit the day, for the first dropper ; the second dropper a red hackle, with peacock body. If these flies do not raise fish, after trying two or three streams, it will be advisable to change them, and put on the following, viz.; at the point the sand fly; first dropper, grouse hackle or wren's tail, with orange body; second dropper, a pale yellow or cream-coloured hackle over a bluish body, or one of the ant flies, as a variety from the preceding five. The bodies of the hackles are to be dressed large or small, in proportion to the water. With some of these flies an experienced angler will take abundance of fish all the year round; and it will be time enough for him to change them, when he shall correctly have ascertained which fly is the favourite of the fish for the time being.

No fisherman should commence his operations in the morning without having a reserve of at least triplicates of his flies; for he will find it extremely mortifying, should accident deprive him of a particular fly, at which the trout were rising freely, not to have another, of corresponding colours and form, to substitute in its place.


MOTHS, FOR NIGHT FISHING.
Although angling by night has a close affinity to poaching, and, as such, is beneath the notice of a gentleman ; yet, as in extreme droughts during the summer months it may be difficult to procure a dish of fine fish, however urgent the necessity, and as this method is decidedly more sportsman-like than the use of the net, a description of the two baits most likely to succeed is subjoined, for the benefit of such persons as may choose, for the sake of a dish of fish, to expose themselves to the heavy dew of a summer's night.

The wings of the White Moth are made from the feather of a white owl; the body of white ostrich harl, and a white cock's hackle over it. If a gentle be added, the success will be more certain.

The wings of the Brown Moth are to be made from the wings of the brown owl, or the back feathers of a brown hen ; the body of dark bear's hair, and a brown cock's hackle over it. A cadbait, as being nearer the colour of the body, is preferable to a gentle for this fly. Both these moths are to be dressed rather larger than the green or gray drakes, and may be used until the approach of dawn. The fish will be heard to rise at them very distinctly, at which moment the angler must strike.

Method of Preserving Gentles.—These baits having been mentioned several times in the foregoing pages, it may be expected that some instructions should be given as to the method of procuring and preserving them. Take the liver of any animal, and hang it over a barrel, half full of dried clay, and as the gentles grow large they will fall into the barrel and scour themselves, and will be always ready for use; or, if it be required to keep them all the year, procure some dead animal which is fly-blown, and when the gentles begin to be alive and stir, bury the carcase and them together in soft moist earth, free from frost. These gentles may be dug out as they are wanted, and will be fit for use until March, at which time they will turn to flies.


GROUND FISHING FOR TROUT WITH A RUNNING LINE.
When the rivers are thick and discoloured, so as to prevent the use of the fly, good trout are to be taken with a running line, without float, so leaded that it shall just touch the ground, without resisting the force of the stream. The lead should be fixed about eight inches from the hook, and may consist of two or more shot, in size according to the strength of the current. The best baits are well scoured lob or dew worms, or a couple of brandlings; and the edges of streams are the most likely for sport. The line should be so held as to admit the perception of the slightest impediment. When the bite is felt, it is requisite to slacken the line a little, by lowering the hand, and then strike gently upright. Fishing up the stream is earnestly recommended, particularly when the water is low.

This diversion is so inferior to that which fly fishing affords, that few who have the opportunity of making choice will hesitate in their preference of the latter; but when fishermen make distant excursions from home, for the express purpose of indulging their inclination for the amusement of angling, they ought to be enabled to avail themselves of every fair method which may yield them sport.

TROLLING OR MINNOW FISHING.
Next to the use of the artificial fly, this is the most sportsman-like and successful method of killing trout; and for the char of our northern lakes the minnow is by far the most attractive bait. Those minnows are to be chosen which are of middle size, and brightest under the belly. Where they are to be found in shoals, as is the case in most trout streams, the landing-net, if made of large dimensions, as recommended under the list of necessaries, will, with very little trouble, supply an ample stock of bait. Those minnows which are dusky or yellow coloured, being out of season, are invariably to be rejected ; and those selected for use, if not wanted until the following day, should be kept in a pail of water, which should be changed at night, and early the next morning; and if the angler does not choose to take them to the river in a minnow kettle, and thus preserve them alive, he may put as many as convenient in a small box, with some bran.



The best way of baiting the minnow is to draw the large hook first through both lips, So that they be not torn, and then insert it at the mouth, and pass it down the body, until the point protrudes below the ventral fin ; the two small hooks must then be fastened through the back of the head, so that they may stand upright, with the points towards the head. Some use three small hooks for this purpose ; but, as the fish take this bait greedily, two, in addition to the body, or large hook, are sufficient. Other persons use six small fly hooks, two of which are placed back to back, at the foot of the line; two at the distance of about an inch above these, and the remaining two an inch higher; one of which is fixed through the lips of the minnow, one of the succeeding two into the back, and one of the last two a little above the tail, making it to curve slightly; thus offering some resistance when drawn across or against the stream, and thereby facilitating the spinning of the minnow, which cannot turn too * quickly. Two double box swivels should also be used, as they prevent the line from twisting : the lower one should be fixed about three feet above the bait, and the other three feet higher.

The great advantage of minnow fishing is, that it may be most successfully practised at those periods when the water is unfit for the use of the fly, as the strongest streams are best for this purpose, when the water is clearing after a flood, or is thickened or discoloured from any other cause; and it is an equally good bait in streams, when the waters are very low. The line must be thrown across the stream, and the bait kept in continual motion, by spinning it towards the angler. The action in striking must be perpendicular, or there will be a risk of the bait being drawn from the mouth of the fish ; the rod must be then kept upright, and the fish played in the same manner as before described.

*Nobbe's Treatise on this subject, lately reprinted and attached to Best's Art of Angling, will furnish the minnow fisher with every information which may be requisite.

In lakes or large waters, where a boat can be used, very large trout are not unfrequently taken by trolling with a par, or small trout, having two strong rods, with proportionately strong tackle, at the stern of the boat, leaving about forty yards of line out, and as much on the reel. The force of the rowers must be just sufficient to spin the bait, without drawing the line much out of the water; or, if the angler should not be provided with suitable tackle for trolling, he will, in changing his station in a boat, frequently succeed in taking large trout by trailing a salmon fly or flies fifteen or twenty yards from the stern of the boat.


Having thus treated of all the modes of angling in rivers, which afford exercise as well as amusement, the compiler leaves to other hands the task of showing the use of night lines, salmon roe, spears, and nets, all of which are beneath the notice of the fair angler and true sportsman. He cannot but regret the incalculable injury which rivers sustain from these implements. This can only be prevented by gentlemen possessed of manorial rights giving encouragement to the fair angler, who will have frequent opportunities, and will gladly do his utmost, publicly to expose such persons as may unlawfully trespass upon their rights. The use of a coracle in angling, by strangers, ought always to excite suspicion; for it rarely happens that it is not made the vehicle of nets, night lines, or spears, which the occupier has the most favourable opportunities of using to advantage.

FINIS