Part 5

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.

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, 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 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 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 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.

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote A: "Taylor's Angler."]

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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.