Part 5

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 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 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).

Note.--The wings of this fly were tied on first, as seen, and turned up last; the fuller the fly is at the shoulder the more the wings will stand upright on the back, and it often occurs that when the wings of the fly lie flat on the back, and it happens to be an end fly on the casting line, which is usually under the surface of the water, that the fish takes it for a drowned fly eagerly, and the wings much longer than the bend of the hook, this is not unnatural, as the wings of numbers of the brown and olive flies seen on the water have their wings much longer than the body, and when not on the wing lie flat on their backs.

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?

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.