CARTWRIGHT

[Traditionalist]

This is the text and list of flies in the appendix from this book by William Cartwright, from 1854 I have merely corrected and reformatted the text. It is remarkable for a number of things. MC.




The only complaint I have to bring against some of  the authorities on the subject, is the difficult aspect under which the art of fly-making is drawn. Materials that would take the whole of a long life to collect, furs and feathers that only a favoured few could procure, colours so nicely shaded and delicately interlaced, that none but the lynx-eyes of the veriest connoiseur could detect. Is not all this enough to frighten the youthful aspirant ?

I rarely use any other flies than those I fabricate myself, and as I almost invariably take anything that comes to hand, if it approach the right colour, particularly in the case of dubbing, (the material for the body,) much of the fancied difficulty disappears.

The materials you really require are easily obtained, such as the hackles of domestic fowls, (feathers that grow on the neck,) blue and red of various shades, (the moft useful,) black, white, &c. Wings of starlings, (indifsensable,) snipes, pheasants, partridges, &c. peacocks' and ostriches" herl, that is, the strands of the tail feathers ; fur of the hare, rabbit, mole, squirrel, waterrat, &c. and, if you can fall in with a piece of Turkey carpet, put it in your pocket; silks of infinite variety, the finest and strongest you can procure, gold and silver twist, or thread, shoemaker's wax, scissors very sharp at the points, and pliers, will, I believe, nearly complete the list of necessaries. The first friend you catch in the act of tying a fly, watch as a cat does a mouse, though not, of course, with the like murderous intent; ask him every question that will help you in your object; and, if he referable his brethren in general, he will not be slow to furnish you, even to repetition, with all the information you require.

In the absence, however, of such an opportunity, I will endeavour to assist you on paper, though I fear I shall not appear to you so lucid as I could wish.

I will commence, then, if you please, by describing how a buzz fly is to be made, that is, a fly without wings (which , by the way, seems rather extraordinary). Take a hook of the proper size at the bend between the forefinger and thumb of your left hand, with the barb downwards, and the shank extended horizontally ; then make a turn or two in the centre with a piece of well waxed silk; bite the end of a fine link of gut just to prevent it from slipping, and commence tying the same from the middle of the hook (always, be it remembered, on the under part). When you have reached the top of the shank, take two turns back again, to form the head of the fly. And now is the time to put in the hackle. Before doing so, however, you must tear off about a third of the feather, or more, as you see fit, at the lower part next the quill, then lay it on the back of the shank (having first with your forefinger and thumb forced back the contrary way as much of the feather as you require), wind the silk a few turns over the stripped part, and fasten off by a mere simple loop, with the end of the silk passed through it, and drawn tight. Having forced back the hackle, which you left with the underpart uppermost at right angles with the shank, seize the end of it with your pliers, and commence winding it flowly, and picking out the fibres with a needle if you see them entangled.

When all this has been done, force back the reverse way the ends of the fibres you have wound round the hook, and which point naturally towards the barb. This will give you an opportunity to form the body, unincumbered by the feather. The waxed silk you left you must now continue winding down as neatly as possible to the length
necessary for the body of the fly. If fur be used, twist a little of it (always in proportion to the body you wish to imitate) on the silk, the latter being of the same colour as the body, and continue winding it up to the hackle, then fasten off as before, with two loops, for security.

If a palmer be the order of the day, the body must be made first, over which you can either wind the hackle, commencing as above at the head down to the bend of the hook, and then fasten off with the silk you leave on purpose, or you can tie in the hackle at the bend, work upwards, and then fasten off, and make the head. I usually adopt the first plan; If gold or silver twist be needed, nothing can be easier than to wind, not too close, round the body as much as you want; if for a buzz, after the hackle is wound on, and if for a palmer, before. With no less difficulty can you fasten with the silk, when you first wind it on the hook, two or three fibres of a hackle, as you may require, or of anything you fancy better, to imitate a tail.

In tying a winged fly, I am aware I deviate from the usual custom, but I have found my plan answer so well, that I shall not apologise for recommending it. Follow the above directions for making a buzz-fly, with the exception of winding less of the hackle, which is to represent legs, on the hook, and leaving sufficient room for the head at the top of the shank, bare of silk. When this is done, take two or three turns with well waxed silk round the bare shank and gut, and having stripped off from the appropriate feather just enough of the fibre to form two wings, lay it, without disturbing its natural adherence, on the back of the hook, fasten with two loops, and nip off the roots. In a little time you will be able so to lay one half of the feather over the other at the roots, as to give a more natural and divided appearance to the wings. You will also see that by drawing the silk more or less tight, you can imitate wings that lie flat, or stand up from the body. The wings so tied on are quite independent of the rest of the fly; you can put on new ones at pleasure, or alter them to your fancy, without at all interfering with the hackle.

Varying from those given by others, as some of the above instructions undoubtedly do, you can follow them or not at your pleasure. I believe my method to be one very easily acquired, which is no small recommendation. Another advantage inseparable from it, is, use your fly thus made as long as you please, you will find the dubbing, hackle, and wings never give way. Bitten to pieces by the candidates for the tempting morfel, it may be, still, as long as there is a vestige of the old material remaining it will cling to the hook.

In proceeding to give a list of flies which, from experience I have found to kill the best, I do not presume to assert that there are not others equally good, or that all I here recommend will kill fish in every river and stream in England. To say that I prefer them myself is, I conceive, the best reason I could advance for advising others to make a trial of them too. I might have swelled the list to double the size, but I have refrained from doing so from the conviction that when several flies of a different class are on the water, to select the best, and have nothing to do with the remainder, is the wisest plan to adopt. Although I have given the size of the hooks, which is ascertained by the number, commencing, in the case of the sneck-bent, with the largest, No.1 and terminating with the smallest, No.12, it does not follow that it should be strictly adhered to. On the contrary, it muft be determined in great measure by the height and colour of the water.


List of Flies from March to September.
MARCH.


1. February Red.—Still on the water. Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat, of a dark drake's feather. Body of a red sheepskin mat, or the dark red part of squirrel's fur; legs, a red hackle.


2. Large Dark Blue.—Hook, No. 9. Wings upright, of a starling's wing feather, not too light; body, of mole's and mouse's fur, slightly tinged with yellow ; legs, a dark blue hackle; tail, two strands of a dark blue hackle.


3. Cockwing Blue.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of a starling's wing feather ; body, of squirrel's blue fur mixed with yellow, either floss silk or mohair, and tied with yellow silk; legs, a light blue hen's hackle ; tail, two strands of a blue cock's hackle.


4. March Brown.—Hook, No. 8. Wings upright, of a woodcock's or pheasant's wing feather, or mottled feather from a partridge's tail; body, of brown sable fur, ribbed with yellow silk, or the fur of a hare's ear; legs, feather from a partridge's back; tail, two strands of a hen-pheasant's or partridge's tail.


5. Small Red Spinner.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of a starling's wing feather; body, reddish brown silk, ribbed with the finest gold thread ; legs, a red hen's hackle ; tail, two strands from a red cock's hackle.


6. Red Palmer.—Hook, No. 8 or 9. Body, peacock's herl, ribbed with gold twist, or not, according to fancy,
legs, a red hackle. Though not a fly, this caterpillar will kill well early in the seafon, more especially when the water is stained.

APRIL.
7. Most of the previous flies.


8. Sand Fly.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat, and very full, of a landrail's wing feather; body, of the sand-coloured fur of a hare's neck; legs, a ginger hackle.


9. Great Red Spinner.—Hook, No. 9. Wings upright, of a starling's wing feather; body, of reddish brown silk ribbed with gold thread, or of peacock's herl stripped, and ribbed with fine yellow silk; legs, a red hackle; tail, two strands of a red cock's hackle.


10. Stone Fly.—Hook, No. 6, very long in the shank. Wings to lie quite flat and longer than the body, of two small grizzled cock's hackles, or of a dark mottled pheasant's wing feather, or woodcock's, well shaded;
body, of brown sable fur, well mixed with yellow, towards the tail especially; legs, a grizzled cock's hackle;
tail, two strands from a partridge's tail feather; horns, if used, two short rabbit whiskers.


11. Gravel Bed, or Spider.—Hook, No. 10. Wings to lie flat, of a woodcock's wing feather; body, of lead- coloured silk; legs, a black hackle, long in the fibre, and wound twice round the body. A killer in warm days.


12. Grannam, or Green tail.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat and full, of a partridge's or hen-pheasant's wing feather; body, dark fur from a hare's ear tied with brown silk, with a little green silk at the tail, to imitate the bunch of eggs there; legs, pale ginger hen's hackle. Made buzz with a hackle from a partridge's neck on the same body.


13. Yellow Dun.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of a light starling's wing feather, or snipe's; body, yellow
silk, well waxed, to tone it down, or very light- blue fur ribbed with yellow silk ; legs, very fine light- blue hackle; tail, two strands from a light-blue cock's hackle. Made buzz with a light-blue hackle on the same body.

MAY.
14. Many of the preceding flies.


15. Iron Blue.—Hook, No. 11. Wings upright, of a tomtit's tail or wing feather, or hen blackbird's; body,mole's fur mixed with a little yellow floss filk, or a paler fur ribbed with purple silk; legs, small yellow dun hackle ; tail, forked, two strands of a yellow dun hackle. A difficult fly to imitate, but very murderous in a cold stormy day.


16. Black Gnat.—Hook, No. 11. Wings to lie flat, short and very full, of a starling's wing feather; body,black oftrich herl, short and thick; legs, fine black hackle. Buzz, a light dun hackle on the same body.


17. Downhill.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat, of a woodcock's wing feather; body, orange silk tied with ash coloured silk, the latter showing most towards the tail and under the wings; legs, a furnace hackle. A good fly in windy weather.


18. Fern Fly, Sailor and Soldier.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat, for the sailor, of a heron's wing feather;for the soldier, of a red hen's feather, or the darkest part of a starling's wing; body, orange silk; legs, a red hackle.Buzz, a furnace hackle on the same body.


19. Alder.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat, of a woodcock's wing feather, or mottled feather of a cock pheasant; body, peacock's herl, or copper-coloured silk, some prefer mulberry; legs, a blue hackle, almost black. Buzz, black or blue hackle on peacock herl body.


20. Black Palmer. Hook, No. 8 or 9; body, black ostrich's herl ribbed with silver twift; legs, black, or blood-red hackle ; not a fly, but a caterpillar.

JUNE.


21. Green Drake.—Hook, No. 6 or 7. Wings upright and full, of a drake's feather stained yellow ;* body, yellow silk, waxed a little, to give it a mottled appearance ; legs, a gray partridge hackle stained a yellowish colour; tail, three long strands of a black hackle, or anything you can get. Buzz, a drake's feather stained yellow on the same body.

* To stain feathers yellow, boil some scrapings of the bark of the barberry-tree, or root, and a small quantity of alum, in a pint of rain-water, with as many drake's feathers as you require, for about an hour, and you will find the latter of the right colour. Or, boil the above in an infusion of alum, fustic, and a little copperas, and they will acquire the proper tint-


22. Gray Drake.—Hook, No. 6 or 7. Wings up-right and full, of a drake's gray feather; body, French white silk, or white ostrich herl, ribbed with dark brown silk; legs, a grizzled cock's hackle; tail, three long strands of a black cock's hackle.


23. Marlo Buzz, or Cochabonddu. — Hook, No. 9 or 10. Body, peacock's herl, or that and oftrich herl mixed, ribbed with gold twist; legs, red hackle with a black butt wound round the body, but not all the way down, like a palmer.


24. White Moth.—Hook, No. 7. Wings to lie flat and very full, of any white feather; body, white ostrich herl; legs, white hackle. Useful at the end of the month and beginning of July, in the dusk of the evening.


JULY.
25. Sky Blue.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of a light feather of a starling's wing, stained pale yellow; body, pale blue fur, mixed with yellow mohair; legs, pale dun hackle ; tail, two strands of a pale blue hackle. Useful towards the evening, when the water is fine, es-pecially in the Wye.


26. Wren Tail.—Hook, No. 11. Body, light brown sable, ribbed with very fine gold thread; legs and wings, made buzz of a wren's tail feather. Good in the middle of a hot summer's day.


27. July Dun.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of the dark part of a starling's wing feather; body, mole's fur mixed with yellow mohair, and spun on yellow silk; legs, dark-blue hackle; tail, three strands of a dark-blue hackle.

28. Partridge Hackle.—Hook, No. 9. Body, light- brown sable, ribbed with gold thread; legs and wings, partridge's back feather.

AUGUST.
29. Red Ant.—Hook, No. 10. Wings to lie flat, of a starling's wing feather; body, peacock's herl, stripped just below the wings to near the tail; legs, a red hackle. This fly sometimes appears in the middle of the previous month.
30. Auguft Dun.—Hook, No.10. Wings upright, of a brown hen's wing feather; body, brown silk, ribbed with yellow; legs, grizzled hackle, brownish, if it can be obtained, or red hackle stained brown; * tail, two strands of a grizzled hackle. *If you boil some red hackles in a pint of water with a piece of copperas as large as a marble, sufficiently long, they will come out a good brown colour.

31. Orange Fly.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of the dark part of a starling's wing feather; body, orange floss silk tied with dark silk; legs, a furnace hackle. A killer.

32. Cinnamon Fly.—Hook, No. 9. Wings to lie flat and full, of the darkest part of a landrail's wing feather; body, fawn-coloured silk; legs, ginger hackle.

SEPTEMBER.

33. Whirling Blue.—Hook, No. 10. Wings upright, of a starling's wing feather; body, Squirrel's red, brown fur, mixed with yellow mohair, and spun on yellow silk; legs, a red hackle; tail, two strands of a red hackle.


34. Willow Fly.—Hook, No. 10. Wings to lie flat, of a pale brown hen's wing feather, and later in the season, of a starling's feather; body, mole's fur ribbed with yellow filk, or fine gold thread; legs, a dark grizzled hackle. Equally good, if not better, without wings, and made buzz.


35. Pale Blue.—Hook, No. II. Wings of a sea- swallow's feather; body, the finest pale blue fur mixed with yellow mohair, and tied with pale yellow silk; legs, the palest blue hackle that can be got.


In describing the materials to be used for the flies above enumerated, (more especially as regards their bodies,) I have done it more as a guide to the proper colour, than with the view of laying down a rule that cannot be  deviated from. Imitation being the object in view, it is very possible that the beginner may, by his own ingenuity, discover something altogether different in its nature from what has hitherto been used, that would far better promote the desired end. At any rate, he need not distress himself, if any of the materials above-mentioned should fail him at the moment he most requires them, as almost any substitute that approaches the right colour will answer in their room. I should remark, that when I have directed the bodies of flies to be made of silk, I mean, in most cases, not floss-silk, which is generally used, but silk unravelled, as I have always found it to sit so much better. One exception to this I adopt in the cafe of the body of the green-drake, which I make with yellow silk in its original state, lightly waxed, as I confider it to look more natural. When it is possible, the mixture of a little mohair with the different furs you use, you will find useful in preventing them from becoming too much saturated with moisture.


FINIS.