UC-NRLF

*B Z5 714

¥&

*v.

^r

^ ; " *+Z

*****

_

*""■ « u

SSiy*^1" ^r:.^x..

-^

*Sg^ij

, " >t*££^

*^/«GV^

*

T\

* D

the

FLY-FISHER'S ENTOMOLOGY.

C. WHITTINCHAM. TOOKS COURT, fHANCflRY LANK, LONDON.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/flyfishersentomoOOronarich

/

THE

FLY-FISHERS ENTOMOLOGY,

ILLUSTRATED BY

COLOURED REPRESENTATIONS

OF THE

NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL INSECT.

AND ACCOMPANIED BY

SL feto Ctoctottontf anti 3|ti0tcttction0

RELATIVE TO

TROUT-AND-GRAYLING FISHING.

BY ALFRED RONALDS.

£rronlr attrition.
WITH TWENTY COPPER PLATES.

" Devouring Ephemeral* I Can you not sutler the poor insects to sport out their day?
They mail be insipid eating— bal lure ire Mae savoury exceedingly ***«•* they
carry aottea plfntmtt in their taiU. Do in the taste of this Bobber — but any of the
three yoa please— There! Hold fast Kirby — for thafs a Whopper."

Christopher North.

LONDON

LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN,
AND LONGMANS.

1839.

IS 3?

PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION.

The Author of this little work entreats that
it may be considered and judged of as the
labour, or rather the amusement of an ama-
teur ; whose chief object has been to faci-
litate to the Tyro in the art, the making and
choice of artificial flies, on a plan of eluci-
dation derived from personal experience.

Having himself sorely felt the inadequacy
of mere verbal instructions to enable him to
imitate the natural fly correctly, or even ap-
proximatively, and the little utility of gra-
phical illustrations unaccompanied by the
principal requisite, viz. colour, he has been
induced to paint both the natural and ar-
tificial fly from nature, to etch them with his
own hand, and to colour, or superintend the
colouring of each particular impression.

He therefore presumes to hope that he

M8420G8

VI PREFACE.

has succeeded in giving a useful collection
of the leading flies for every month in the
season, and that any one, who may be led
by it to a choice of flies from the stock of
the manufacturer, or to the construction of
his own, will not have cause to repent of
having consulted the catalogue, chiefly com-
posing the fourth Chapter.

But since in his endeavours to improve
the art of fly-making, careful observations
were made relative to some of the habits of
the Trout and Grayling, and of many in-
sects upon which these fish prey ; it is hoped
that a few of these observations, intermixed
with a little useful information, and some
remarks on other points more or less con-
nected with the principal subject, will not
be thought inappropriate. These form the
subjects of the three preceding Chapters.

Chiswick, June, 1836.

PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The favourable judgement passed upon
these humble labours, by the respectable
Magazines and Journals, which have con-
descended to review them, the promptitude
with which indulgent brother anglers have
responded to that decision, and the very
encouraging terms in which it was pro-
nounced, have constituted the natural and
pleasing motives for printing this second
edition.

A correction (concerning the weight of
Trouts, usually rising to a fly,) with which
the learned and tasteful Christopher North
seasons his most grateful dish of praise, is
adopted on the occasion, with profound re-
verence, by one, who, although not ranking
amongst the elite of Scottish Anglers, ever

Vlll PREFACE.

rejoices in doing fealty and honour to the
great and glorious modern Sire of every true
born British Angler.*

To a friend in need and in deed, C. S.
Hall, Esq., his sincere acknowledgment of
deep obligation for timely and efficient sup-
port, must also be specially expressed ; and
from an experienced sportsman, his judicious
reviewer, in the New Sporting Magazine, he
cannot (however irregular the proceeding
may be) withhold his hearty thanks.

He also avails himself of the opportunity
to publicly apologize for not having ade-
quately met some of the earlier demands for

• Vide Blackwood's Edin. Mag-. June, 1838 ; New Monthly
Mag. Aug-. 1836; New Sporting Mag. Sept. and Oct. 1836;
Examiner, Sept. 26th, 1836; Atlas, Aug. 13th, 1836; Lite-
rary Gazette, July 15th 1836 ; Staffordshire Advertiser, Aug.
13th and 20th, 1836, and June 9th, 1838.

The view to interests near at home, which is (avowedly)
mixed up with a higher motive in citing these valuable autho-
rities, will perhaps be deemed excusable, seeing that a fry of
"odd little Jish" (which the consummate eloquence of the
great Christopher himself could never induce to devour a single
Green Dragon, either alive, sauced, or painted), must never-
theless be supplied with something to rise at every day, and
trained, at least, to distinguish the Little-dark-spinner from
the Great-dark-drone.

PREFACE. IX

copies. The insufficiency partly arose from a
strong determination to spare no pains upon
the colouring of the flies and palmers ; but
he begs leave to assure his future patrons,
that, although practice has now enabled him
to maintain an ample stock of paintings,
it has not impaired that resolve in the
smallest degree. Indeed a new incentive
to exertion arises from the recent appearance
of other works on angling, which, valuable
as they may be in many respects, are not, in
his partial opinion, at all calculated to
satisfy the chief wants and wishes of the
accomplished flyfisher ; coloured flies and
palmers being wholly omitted in them.

This edition results from a careful revi-
sion of the former, and comprehends several
improvements, amongst which may be reck-
oned greater exactness in the delineation of
certain hooks, and the addition of a fron-
tispiece.

The two little foot notes at pp. 14 and
16, are mere indices to some good remarks
and experiments relative to the iris colours
of, and to the sense of taste in, fish, &c.

X PREFACE.

and are intended for the use of such curious
Anglers as may not happen to have con-
sidered these subjects in the light in which
they are there presented. Wider discussions
might soon have become incompatible with
our wish to avoid the error (not wholly
avoided even in these manuals) of speaking
too much of, to, or for, one's vain. self.

Chiswick, June, 1839.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE TROUT AND GRAYLING.

Page

Of tiii: Trout. Measurement, Weight, Fins, Colour,
Condition, Haunts, &c. Description of a Fishing-hut
or Observatory. The Trout's sense of Hearing. Sight.
Taste and Smell. Manner of feeding, &c. Form,
Weight, Fins, &c. of the Grayling. Colour. Con-
dition. Haunts. Food 1

CHAPTER II.

OF TACKLE.

Rod. Line. Reel. Foot Line. Hook. Dubbing Bag.
General Directions for making a Fly and a Palmer.
Dyes for Feathers. Fly Books and Boxes. Creel.
Landing Net. Et ceteras. Tackle-makers. ... 22

CHAPTER III.

MANNER OF FISHING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING.

Preparation of the Rod and Line. Art of Throwing.
Choice of Weather. State of the Water. Choice of a
Fly. Appearance of Life to be given to the Fly. Buzz
flies sometimes preferred. Rising short, &c. Sudden

i CONTENTS.

Page

cessation of Rises, &c. Places to be whipped, &c.
Throwing to a Trout just risen. Striking. Killing.
Landing. Differences between Trout and Grayling-
fishing. Manner of presenting the Fly to a Grayling.
Landing him, &c 37

CHAPTER IV.

OF A SELECTION OF INSECTS, AND THEIR IMITATIONS,
USED IN FLY FISHING.

Flies, &c. used in March. Flies, &c. for April. For
May. For June. For July. For August. For
September. Palmers for the Season 48

THE

FLY-FISHERS ENTOMOLOGY.

Chapter I.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE TROUT AND GRAYLING.

Of the Trout. Measurement, Weight, Fins, Colour, Condition, Haunts,
&c. Description of a Fishing-hut or Observatory. The Trout's
sense of Hearing. Sight. Taste and Smell. Manner of feeding, &c.
Form, Weight, Fins, &c. of the Grayling. Colour. Condition.
Haunts. Food.

Of the Trout there are several species or varieties
described by Naturalists arid Anglers, but the ob-
servations which follow are chiefly applicable to
the Salmo Fario, or common Trout.

This much esteemed fish, when in the best
condition, generally measures from the nose to the
fork of the tail twice as much as the girth. The
weight of those usually taken with the fly is from
two ounces to two pounds and a half, and of those
sometimes taken from four to H\e pounds, but all
under three or four ounces are too small for the
creel.

He has eight fins (viz.) one dorsal, one anal,

B

OBSERVATIONS

a rocky or gravelly bottom. An attempt has been
made in the annexed plan to point out his favourite
haunts, &c. in such waters. They are the tail of a
stream, (i. e.) the end of a little rapid, or swifter
running portion of the current, as A, the junction
of little rapids formed by water passing round an
obstruction in the midst of the general current, as
B, and such tracts as C, where a chain of bubbles
or little floating objects indicate the course of the
principal current ; which course is chiefly depen-
dent upon various reflections of the water, from
projecting banks, rocks, scours, and shoals, and
may often be guessed at, when not sufficiently
visible, by attending to the position of the banks,
&c. At roots of trees, or in other places where
the froth (called in Staffordshire Beggar's Balm)
collects, and in little whirlpools, as G, and eddies
he will often be found. All such places are by
far the most favourable for sport ; for insects
follow the same course as the bubbles, &c. and
are sought there by the fish.

The larger Trout are on the scours, as at D, in
the night, chasing minnows and other small fish.
In the day, they are cautiously watching for food
in deep holes, under hollow banks, or roots of
trees, or in the angles of rocks, as E. In May and
June, when the fish are strong, they are also to be
found in the more rapid parts of the water, as F.

n-x

'*-*:»'

F

ON THE TROUT

These remarks, although not strictly applicable
to the Trout of all streams, may still, perhaps, not
be found useless, in a great variety of instances,
particularly in respect of brooks.

His great shyness renders it extremely difficult
to obtain any accurate knowledge of his habits,
by ocular demonstration. Even a thick bush will
seldom be found sufficiently opaque to conceal the
observer.

Observatory .

With a view to obviate this difficulty I built a
little fishing Hut, or Observatory, of heath, over-
hanging a part of the river Blythe, near Uttoxeter,
in Staffordshire, which seemed favourable for the
purpose. Its form was octagonal, and it had three
windows, which being situated only four feet and
a half above the surface of the water, allowed
a very close view of it. The middle one com-
manded a scour, each of the two others a small
whirlpool or eddy. The curtains of the windows
were provided with peepholes, so that the fish
could not see his observer, and a bank was thrown
up, in order to prevent a person approaching the
entrance of the hut from alarming the fish.

The stream was regularly fished, and nothing
else was done to interfere with the natural state of
the animal.

The stationary position in which he is enabled

6 OBSERVATIONS

to maintain himself in the most rapid stream,
poised as it were like a hawk in the air, was the
first thing which seemed worth noting at this
fishing-hut. Even the tail, which is known to be
the principal organ of propulsion, can scarcely be
observed to move, and the fins, which are used to
balance the fish, seem quite useless, except when
he sees an insect; then he will dart with the
greatest velocity through the opposing current at
his prey, and quickly return. The station which
he occupies in this manner is invariably well
chosen. Should a favourite haunt where food is
concentrated by the current be rather crowded by
his fellows, he will prefer contending with them
for a share of it, to residing long in an unfruitful
situation.

A Trout will chiefly frequent one place during
all the summer months. It is well known that he
quits the larger waters, and ascends the smaller
brooks for the purpose of spawning in October and
November, when the male assists the female in
making a hole in the gravel wherein to deposit the
ovae. By some it is supposed, that they both lie
dormant in the mud during the greatest severity
of the winter.

Sense of Hearing.

In order that we might be enabled to ascertain
the truth of a common assertion (viz.) that fish

ON THE TROUT. 7

can hear voices in conversation on the banks of a
stream, my friend, the Rev. Mr. Brown, of Grat-
wich, and myself, selected for close observation a
Trout poised about six inches deep in the water,
whilst a third gentleman, who was situated behind
the fishing-house, (i. e.) diametrically opposite to
the side where the fish was, fired off one barrel of
his gun. The possibility of the flash being seen
by the fish was thus wholly prevented, and the
report produced not the slightest apparent effect
upon him.

The second barrel was then fired ; still he re-
mained immovable ; evincing not the slightest
symptom of having heard the report. This expe-
riment was afterwards often repeated, and precisely
similar results were invariably obtained ; neither
could I, or other persons, ever awaken symp-
toms of alarm in the fishes near the hut by shout-
ing to them in the loudest tones, although our
distance from them did not sometimes exceed six
feet. The experiments were not repeated so often
as to habituate them to the sound.

It is possible that fishes may be in some manner
affected by vibrations communicated to their ele-
ment, either directly, or by the intervention of
aerial pulsations ; although it does not seem to be
clearly proved that they possess any organ appro-
priated exclusively to the purpose of hearing. At

R OBSERVATIONS

all events it appears, that neither the above men-
tioned explosions, nor the loud voices, had power
to produce vibrations in the water, which could so
affect them.

Leaving the discussion of this intricate subject
to more able and learned speculators, it is suffi-
cient to know that the above mentioned Trout had
no ears to hear either the voices or the gun ; and I
firmly believe, that the zest which friendly chat
often imparts to the exercise of our captivating
art, need never be marred by an apprehension that
sport will be impaired thereby.

Sight.

Of all the senses in fish, sight is perhaps the
one of most importance to them. Their eyes are
perfectly adapted to the element they inhabit ;
indeed their subsistence seems to depend mainly
upon the great sensibility of the optic nerve and
the just adaptation of the crystalline and other
humours to their proper office.

A fish can perhaps frequently distinguish (with
greater or less distinctness) much more of objects
which are out of his own element than it is often
imagined that he can.

When A B (fig. 1 . plate 2), for instance, situated
upon a certain eminence at a given distance from
a fish, C, which is near the bottom of the water,

ON THE TROUT. 9

looks over the edge of a bank, D, in the direction
A F Z, he might (if unacquainted with the laws of
refraction) imagine, that neither the fish C, nor
any other fish below the line of his direct vision,
AFZ, could see him; whereas C could see A B
by means of the pencil of light, A F C E B, bent,
or refracted at the surface of the water, E F, and
the image of A B would appear in the eye of the
fish shortened and transferred to G H. The fish
in fact could see the whole of the man, round, or
over the corner of the bank, by the aid of the water
above C, if both were situated as respectively
represented in the diagram ; but if the surface of
the water should be at IK, (i. e.) about as low as
the fishes' eye, then, he could not see any part of
the figure AB, because a straight or unrefracted
pencil of light, ACB, would be obstructed by
the bank.

Increments of obliquity in pencils of light fall-
ing upon a surface of water, &c. are accompanied
by increments of refraction, not in direct ratio to
the increase of obliquity, but in a much higher
ratio ; and indistinctness of vision in an eye re-
ceiving the pencil increases, on this account, in
some similar high ratio.

The bending or refraction which a pencil of
light, as NEOFM, (fig. 2), falling very obliquely
upon the surface of the water, undergoes before

10 OBSERVATIONS

arriving at the eye of a fish, as at O, is sufficient
to produce very great indistinctness and distortion
of the image of M P formed in his eye.

(Perhaps indistinctness of vision may, on other
accounts, take place in the eye of a fish looking
through air. The crystalline and perhaps other
humours may not be capable of such comprehen-
sive adjustment as would enable him to see so
distinctly through air as he can through water).

But long before a pencil of light, as NEL,
becomes horizontal it will not enter the water at
all ; consequently, although the fish at O may see
the upper part of the man situated at M P, he
will do so very indistinctly, and in a new position,
because the pencil NEOFM will be very much
refracted ; he will not see the part, N L, of the man
at all, because the pencil, NEL, does not enter
the water at all ; and he will see probably his
legs, LP, (in the clear water), because there is
neither refraction nor obstruction to prevent him.
So that the figure M P will, in the eye of the fish,
be cut up into two portions separated from each
other by a long unsubstantial interval. The appli-
cation of these two little theorems to the use of the
fisherman is too obvious to need pointing out here.*

* This diagram is constructed on two well-known optical laws, viz.
first, the sine a. b. of the angle of incidence, A E f, of a ray of light
passing out of air into water, is always to the sine, c. d, of the angle
of refraction, C E e, as about four to three : and, secondly, light will

ON THE TROUT. 11

Taste and Smell.

It seemed almost impossible to devise experi-
ments relative to the sense of smell in fishes, which
would offer the prospect of satisfactory results,
without depriving the animal of sight ; the cruelty
of which operation deterred me from prosecuting
the enquiry.

Observations on the taste of fishes are involved
in still greater difficulty. I once threw upon the
water, from my hut (by blowing them through a
tin tube) successively, ten dead house-flies, towards
a Trout known to me by a white mark upon the
nose, (occasioned by the wound of a hook), all
of which he took. Thirty more, with Cayenne
pepper and mustard plastered on the least con-
spicuous parts of them, were then administered in
the same manner. These he also seized ; twenty
of them at the instant they touched the water,
and allowing no time for the dressing to be dis-
persed ; but the other ten remained a second or
two upon the surface before he swallowed them,
and a small portion of the dressing parted and
sank. The next morning several exactly similar
doses were taken by the same fish, who was appa-

not pass out of air into water, if the angle of incidence, N E f, (fig. 2),
exceeds about 88 degrees (but will be reflected).

The old experiment of the shilling and the basin of water affords an
easy practical demonstration of the first mentioned theorem.

14 OBSERVATIONS

gills for performing the office of respiration ; but I
think there are some nerves in these organs which
give fishes a sense of the qualities of water, or of
substances dissolved in or diffused through it
similar to our sense of smell or perhaps rather
our sense of taste, for there can be no doubt that
fishes are attracted by scented worms which are
sometimes used by anglers that employ ground
baits." Also page 184, he says, " We cannot
judge of the senses of animals that breathe water —
that separate air from water by their gills ; but it
seems probable that as the quality of the water is
connected with their life and health, they must be
exquisitely sensible to changes in water, and must
have similar relations to it, that an animal with
the most delicate nasal organs has to the air."

Surely no reasoning can be more sound than
this. Should not our endeavours be directed,
rather to the discovery of senses in fish, which we
have not, than to attempts at comparison between
our own senses and theirs ?#

Having examined the stomachs of many Trouts
taken in almost every week throughout the three
last entire fishing seasons, with a view chiefly to
assist my choice of flies for the catalogue below ;

• Those who may have curiosity enough to pursue this interesting
topic, might possibly find amusement in the perusal of a paper read to
the French Institute by M. Dumeril, August 24th, 1807, and translated
in Nicholson's Journal, vol. xxix. p. 344, in which many circumstances
judiciously adduced, and fairly reasoned on, lead him to three general

O N T H E 1 R O U T. 15

I found that his food consisted besides Flies and
Caterpillars, of Larvae, Squillse (or fresh water
Shrimps) small Fish, young Crawfish, Spiders,
Millipedes, Earwigs, and the Water Beetle. I
never discovered Frogs, Snails, or Mice, but have
no doubt that other waters afford other fare even
" Sauces piquantes offish hooks."

A convenient method of examining the contents
of the stomach is to put the materials into a hair
sieve and pump clean water upon them ; when
parted and sufficiently clean the whole may be
put into a large cup, full of clean water, for
examination.

THE GRAYLING

Is a more elegantly formed fish than the Trout.
He has a smaller head and mouth, is broader
across the shoulders, and tapers off more rapidly
to the tail, which is more forked. The front
of the eye is elliptical, and the pupil much more
elongated than that of the Trout, the side towards
the nose being drawn out to an acute angle.
The opposite side is less acute.

His back fin is very large. It has twenty-three

conclusions, viz. : 1st. That the organ of taste in fishes, if taste they
have, " does not reside in the mouth." 2ndly. That the sensation of
taste, or some equivalent sensation, " is imparted to them by the ap-
paratus which had hitherto been considered as adapted to perceive the
emanations of odorate bodies." And Lastly, " That no real smell can
be perceived in water."

14 OBSERVATIONS

gills for performing the office of respiration ; but I
think there are some nerves in these organs which
give fishes a sense of the qualities of water, or of
substances dissolved in or diffused through it
similar to our sense of smell or perhaps rather
our sense of taste, for there can be no doubt that
fishes are attracted by scented worms which are
sometimes used by anglers that employ ground
baits." Also page 184, he says, " We cannot
judge of the senses of animals that breathe water —
that separate air from water by their gills ; but it
seems probable that as the quality of the water is
connected with their life and health, they must be
exquisitely sensible to changes in water, and must
have similar relations to it, that an animal with
the most delicate nasal organs has to the air."

Surely no reasoning can be more sound than
this. Should not our endeavours be directed,
rather to the discovery of senses in fish, which we
have not, than to attempts at comparison between
our own senses and theirs ?#

Having examined the stomachs of many Trouts
taken in almost every week throughout the three
last entire fishing seasons, with a view chiefly to
assist my choice of flies for the catalogue below ;

* Those who may have curiosity enough to pursue this interesting
topic, might possibly find amusement in the perusal of a paper read to
the French Institute by M. Dumeril, August 24th, 1807, and translated
in Nicholson's Journal, vol. xxix. p. 344, in which many circumstances
judiciously adduced, and fairly reasoned on, lead him to three general

ON THE TROUT. 15

I found that his food consisted besides Flies and
Caterpillars, of Larvae, Squillae (or fresh water
Shrimps) small Fish, young Crawfish, Spiders,
Millipedes, Earwigs, and the Water Beetle. I
never discovered Frogs, Snails, or Mice, but have
no doubt that other waters afford other fare even
" Sauces piquantes of fish hooks."

A convenient method of examining the contents
of the stomach is to put the materials into a hair
sieve and pump clean water upon them ; when
parted and sufficiently clean the whole may be
put into a large cup, full of clean water, for
examination.

THE GRAYLING

Is a more elegantly formed fish than the Trout.
He has a smaller head and mouth, is broader
across the shoulders, and tapers off more rapidly
to the tail, which is more forked. The front
of the eye is elliptical, and the pupil much more
elongated than that of the Trout, the side towards
the nose being drawn out to an acute angle.
The opposite side is less acute.

His back fin is very large. It has twenty-three

conclusions, viz. : 1st. That the organ of taste in fishes, if taste they
have," does not reside in the mouth." 2ndly. That the sensation of
taste, or some equivalent sensation, " is imparted to them by the ap-
paratus which had hitherto been considered as adapted to perceive the
emanations of odorate bodies." And Lastly, " That no real smell can
be perceived in water."

1-6 OBSERVATIONS

spines, the ventral fin (near the head) has sixteen,
the pectoral ten, the anal fourteen, and the tail
eighteen.

He sometimes grows to about three pounds in
weight, though one of a pound and a half is con-
sidered a good sized fish, and larger are not very
often caught with the fly, the usual weight being
from two ounces to a pound of those which rise
freely to it. The fish of the spawn of April or
May (measuring from the nose to the fork of the
tail) grows to about six inches by the next April.

A general tint which may be called a light blue
silvery grey, pervades nearly the whole surface of
his body, except the belly, which is white or nearly
so, but the scales often exhibit by deflected
light a great variety of colours dependant upon
the positions chosen to view them from.*' The

• From a very curious series of experiments detailed by Sir David
Brewster in his Treatise on Optics, (p. 113 et seq.) " it is obvious that
the splendid colours of mother of pearl, &c. are produced by a parti-
cular configuration of surface, and by examining this surface with
microscopes, he discovered in almost every specimen a grooved structure
like the delicate texture of the skin at the top of an infant's ringer," &x.
By cutting grooves upon steel at the distance of from the 2,000th to the
10,000th of an inch apart, Mr. Barton produced still more brilliant
hues, and his iris ornaments on brass and other metal, buttons, and
articles of female embellishment, are the result of machinery constructed
on this grooving principle, upon which, we believe, depends the above
mentioned and many similar phenomena (as in the peacock's feather, &c.)
In sun, gas, or candle-light some iris ornaments rival " the brilliant
flashes of the diamond." (A superb example of a grooved medallion
may be seen in the library of the Royal Institution). But in day light
and in ordinary circumstances the colours of the iris ornaments are not
easily distinguished.

G R A V L I N G.

back and head are of a much darker grey, but
its components cannot, perhaps, be particularized.
Some lines of brown are intermixed with the grey
of the sides, and a few black spots are seen near
the shoulder. The back fin has a purplish tint
studded with large dark spots, the other fins are
not so red as those of the Trout, but have more
yellow-brown in them shaded off with purple.
The tail is a kind of slate colour. The colours vary
a little in different waters, and, unlike the Trout,
the better the condition, the darker is the fish,
especially upon the back and head, " and you are
to note," that the throat has a long very dark brown
patch upon it, visible when the mouth is open, when
he is in high condition, but it is hardly to be seen
when he is out of order. He is, however, seldom
or never found in the miserable state so common
to Salmon and Trout after spawning.

The Grayling is an excellent fish both for sport
and the table, and as his finest condition subsists
during the Autumn and Winter months, when the
Trout season ceases, the Angler finds great plea-
sure and consolation in visiting the streams in the
autumn in search of him, or even on fine days in
winter. On this account, those who have not the
Grayling in their waters, would perhaps some-
times do well to try to introduce him.

The waters in which he thrives may be either
c

18 OBSERVATIONS

clear or discoloured, but a rather peculiar forma-
tion of the bed of the current seems to be required,
his favourite streams having: now somewhat shal-
low and rapid, then long, slow-running, deep,
tracts ; in which latter places he poises himself
about three or four feet below the chain of insects,
&c. as at H H (see plate 1 .)

As he feeds principally on Larvae and flies, he
should, according to Malthus, be populous, (all
other things being equal), in proportion as these
insects are so.

Temperature, both atmospheric and aqueous, no
doubt affects both the food and fish, as also may
the chemical properties of the stratum over which
the stream flows ; the mineral held in solution by
the fluid (which he breathes) cannot fail to affect
his constitution in some measure.

But there exists no authority for the localities
of the Grayling at all comparable with Sir H.
Davy, who " has fished much in, and enquired
much respecting the places where it is found."
At p. 221 (Salmonia) he says, " In the Test, where
the Grayling has been only recently introduced,
they have sometimes been caught between three
and four pounds ; in this river I never took one
above two pounds, but I have heard of one being
taken of two pounds and a half. The Grayling
is a rare fish in England, and has never been found
in Scotland or Ireland ; and there are few rivers

ON THE GRAYLING. 19

containing all the conditions necessary for their
increase. I know of no Grayling river farther
West than the Avon, in Hampshire ; they are
found in some of the tributary streams of this river
which rise in Wiltshire. I know of no river con-
taining them on the North coast West of the
Severn ; there are very few only in the upper
part of this river, and in the streams which form it
in North Wales. There are a few in the Wye
and its tributary streams. In the Lug, which
flows through the next valley, in Herefordshire,
many Grayling are found. In the Dee, as I said
before, they are found, but are not common. In
Derbyshire and Staffordshire, the Dove, the Wye,
the Trent, and the Blythe, afford Grayling; in
Yorkshire, on the North coast, some of the tribu-
tary streams of the Ribble, — and in the South, the
Ure, the Wharfe, the Humber, the Derwent, and
the streams that form it, particularly the Rye."

Again at page 203, he says, " Having travelled
with the fishing-rod in my hand through most of
the Alpine valleys in the South and East of Eu-
rope, and some of those in Norway and Sweden, I
have always found the Char in the coldest and
highest waters ; the Trout in the brooks rising in
the highest and coldest mountains ; and the Gray-
ling always lower where the temperature was
milder : and if in hot countries, only at the foot of
mountains, not far from sources which had the

20 O li S E R V A T IONS

mean temperature of the atmosphere; as in the
Vipacco, near Coritzea, and in the streams which
gush forth from the limestone caverns of the Noric
Alps.

" Besides temperature, Grayling require a pecu-
liar character in the disposition of the water of
rivers. They do not dwell like Trout in rapid
shallow torrents ; nor like Char or Chub in deep
pools or lakes. They require a combination of
stream and pool ; they like a deep and still pool
for rest, and a rapid stream above, and gradually
declining shallow below, and a bottom where
marl and loam is mixed with gravel ; and they are
not found abundant except in rivers that have
these characters. ■'

The Rev. Mr. Low says, (p. .), " The Gray-
ling is frequent in the Orkney Islands, as it is in
Lapland and Switzerland ; but it is rare in Scot-
land, and confined in England to the Avon near
Salisbury, the Ure near Fountain's Abbey, the
Dee between Corwan and Bala, and the Dove ;
also the Trent, the Wharfe, the Humber, the Rye,
and the Derwent."

The Grayling is seldom known to take the
Minnow, and I have never found any in his
stomach, although I have taken out much Larvae
covered with cases of sand, and some having six
stones attached to each, as also Larvae when in the

ON THE GRAYLING. 21

mummy state. I have always found flies, and
those principally of the more delicate sorts of
Ephemerae.

He rises with great velocity and almost perpen-
dicularly to seize his prey, at the top of the water,
and descends as quickly after making a summerset,
for the performance of which feat, the figure of his
body and the great dorsal fin, seem well adapted ;
his agility on this occasion is indeed so great, that
he seems a phantom or flitting shadow; hence,
say some, his name Umbra corrupted to Umber.
It has been supposed that he feeds upon the water-
thyme, but I never found any vegetable whatever
in the stomach, though I have opened as many
Grayling as Trout. He has, however, a rather
peculiar scent when just taken from the water,
fragrant and grateful to the fisherman, and thought
by many to resemble that of thyme, consequently
has been also called (by Linnaeus) the Salmo Thy-
mallus, and by St. Ambrose " the flower of
fishes."

He seems to congregate more than the Trout,
and is not so easily driven from his station by an
approach, but whether this be owing to his lying
lower down in the water, or from his being na-
turally a less timid fish, remains yet to be ascer-
tained.

Chapter 11.

OF TACKLE, ETC.

Rod. Line. Reel. Foot Line. Hook. Dubbing Bag. General Direc-
tions for making a Fly and a Palmer. Fly Books and Boxes. Creel.
Landing Net, et ceteras. Dyes for Feathers.

Like the bow of the Archer, the Rod of the Angler
should be duly proportioned in dimensions and
weight, to the strength and stature of him who
wields it. The strong or tall man, may venture
upon a rod about fourteen or fifteen feet long : but
to the person who is shorter or less robust, one
so short even as twelve or twelve feet and a half,
and light in proportion, is recommended, as the
command will be sooner obtained, and with very
much less fatigue to the arm. The best materials
are, ash for the stock, lance wood for the middle, and
bamboo for the top ; the but should have a hole
drilled down it with a spare top in it, and a spike
is made to screw into the end, which will be found
useful to stick into the ground, and keep the rod
upright, when landing a good fish. The ferrules
of brass should fit into each other with screws.

A good Rod should be such that its pliability
may be felt in the hand, yet it should not deviate
or droop by its own weight, if held by the but in
a horizontal position, more than three or four
inches from a straight line.

THE ROD AND LINE. 23

The rings are usually too small ; not allowing
such slight obstacles on the line, as can never be
totally prevented, to run with sufficient freedom
through them ; they should all be of the size of
those usually put upon the stock. The rod may
not have quite so neat an appearance thus treated,
but this will be found to be amply compensated in
its use ; for the sudden stops occasioned by an ac-
cident to the line, whilst being pulled up rapidly,
has often caused the loss of a good fish, the strain-
ing of, if not breaking, a good rod, and sometimes
a breach of the third commandment.

Rings may be had (slit down the middle) in the
manner of key rings, very little heavier, yet larger
than the usual rings. These can be easily sub-
stituted upon the little metallic loops in lieu of the
smaller rings, by the possessor of a rod himself,
without at all injuring it.

Line.
The beginner should not take the finest Fly Line
he can buy, but rather choose the strongest line of
this kind to be had, since too fine a line will not
only be more likely to break than a heavier one,
but will not be so easy for him to throw.

Reel.
Notwithstanding the many complaints which
have been made of the Reel usually sold, no very
great improvement upon it seems to have been put

U O F T A C K L I-:.

into practice. The principal requisites seem to
be, first, a capability of winding" up the line
rapidly ; secondly, smallnes's ; thirdly, lightness ;
fourthly, freedom from liability to derangement.

Perhaps rather too much of the first requisite is
generally sacrificed, for the sake of cheapness, and
for the purpose of obtaining the second and third.
A reel having a sheave upon which the line is to be
wound, whose groove for the reception of the line
is three quarters of an inch broad, whose barrel is
two inches in diameter, and whose total diameter
is two inches and three quarters, would receive a
trout-line of twenty yards perfectly well. The
whole diameter of such a reel need not exceed
three inches and a quarter, nor the whole breadth
one inch and a quarter. The wheels might mul-
tiply five times, and therefore the average rate at
which it would wind up the line would be nearly
three feet for every revolution of the handle,
whereas a common reel (now before me), multi-
plying four times, winds up at every turn of the
handle, when the line is nearly out, only three
inches, and when it is nearly wound up, eighteen
inches, making a mean of ten inches and a half.
The proposed reel would therefore wind up the
line more than three times as fast, and besides this
superior rapidity, would possess the advantage
of winding up the line almost as quickly when it
is nearly all out, as when it is nearly all in. It

T HE RE E L. gg

might also be so constructed as to weigh very
little more than the common reel, made for such a
line, and would be less liable to derangement,
(which last advantage would be a consequence
of both the multiplying wheels being larger than
usual.)

A simple reel with a sheave of large diameter
has been made of wood, and without multiplying
wheels, but it has a very clumsy appearance, and
is liable to obvious objections.

A reel has been invented lately containing a
spiral spring which acts (in the manner of the
spring in a window blind) upon the axis to wind
up the line.

And it has been recently, and very ingeniously
proposed by an experienced brother of our art,
to inclose, either wholly or partially, a kind of
reel in the but of the rod. If sufficient rapidity
can be given to such a reel, without much liability
to derangement (which does not seem a very diffi-
cult task), it will be an invaluable and elegant
acquisition. This hint seems to have been 'par-
tially adopted since the first edition appeared.

Bottom Line.

For making a good Bottom, or foot line, or
casting line, gut is recommended in preference to
weed, or hair; it should be of the very best
quality, round, and of even thickness, clear, and

2<i OF TACKLE.

white. By adopting the precautions recommended
in the following instructions, it may be used fine,
although as strong or nearly so as the end of the
line. The length of the bottom should be about
equal to that of the rod.

Four or five of the very finest lengths of gut
should first be chosen, then three or four more of
the middle size, and lastly one or two much
stronger.

These must all be proved before they are put
together, thus : — One end of a length must be put
between the teeth, and the other pulled until the
gut breaks at the weakest part. This operation
must be repeated continually with the best por-
tions, until they snap with considerable resistance.
Then the ends may be reversed and the operation
proceeded with as before, until the last remaining
piece is deemed strong enough for its office. This
manner of getting rid of the bad portions will not
appear extravagant, but the contrary, when it is
considered that the loss of a whole or large part
of the foot-line, with a fly or two, and perhaps a
fine Trout, may be the consequence of an undue
weakness existing in any particular part of it.

These well-proved lengths of gut must now be
lashed together with waxed silk, or tied by a knot,
and the strongest must be provided with a large
loop, whereby it may be attached to the line.

I HE HOOK. 27

Hook.

The Hook requires particular attention. It is
sufficiently provoking to discover that one has
made a good fly upon a bad hook ; but to lose a
good fish in consequence is truly awful.

The Kendal hook, see fig. 40, plate 17, is fre-
quently preferred, if not made too long in the
point. The Limerick is also a good hook for
large flies, as at present made by O'Shaughnessy
of Limerick, see fig. 29, plate 13. His is not too
proud in the barb, and is generally properly tem-
pered. The Carlisle hook may also rank amongst
the good ones, fig. 38, plate 17. The Kirby is
used by some.

To prove the temper of a hook, stick the point
into a piece of soft wood before it is fastened
to the gut and pull by the shank. If it is well
tempered, it will not break or bend without con-
siderable resistance.

Dubbing Bag.
The Dubbing Bag contains every thing in the
world. Some people have very neat little cabi-
nets made expressly ; we cannot blame their taste,
if they possess the organ of order.

Fly Making.
Many books, after trying to tell us how to
make a fly, very justly add, that the art cannot

28 OF TACKLE.

be told, it must be seen. We shall follow the
fashion.

1. Take a piece of gut proved to be strong
enough by the above mentioned process, and bite
about a tenth of an inch at one extremity, so as
to make it flat, (in order that it may be less liable
to slip after being tied on to the hook). Then
holding a fine thread well waxed with cobbler's
wax, (A B C D, plate 3, fig. 1.) in one hand,
whip a part of it three or four times round the
end of the shank of the hook, beginning to whip
at B, and leaving a few inches of thread at A B
hanging down, with a pair of forceps, or little
weight at the end of it.

2. Hold the bitten end E (fig. 2.) of the gut
E C F, in contact with the shank of the hook,
and wind tightly the portion of thread C D of
fig. 1. first, once or twice round the gut close to
the end of the shank, fig. 2. and then over the
portion of gut C E, the three or four coils B C,
already made, and the shank of the hook, .C B E,
leaving out the piece of thread A B, still hanging
down.

3. Bring two or three stylish whisks from a red
hackle into the position shewn in figure 3, and
bind them securely there, for the tail, by means
of the same end (c, d) of silk as was last used.
Bind in, at the same time, the extremity of a
piece of fine gold twist (e, f), and also an end of

7/

\ \

<Cl-

B C

FLY MAKING. 29

some dubbing of orange and red floss silk mixed.
Then spin the floss silk on to the remnant (c, d) of
silk thread, and wind it on the shank, or wind it
on the shank without spinning.

4. Warp the remnant (c, d) round the shank,
&c. back to B, and make it fast there with the
thread A B ; then coil or rib the gold twist (e, f)
over the coils made by c, d in the manner shewn in
fig. 4, and make it fast also with the thread A B.
This completes the body.

5. Bring the upper end of a red hackle stained
amber colour into the position shewn in fig. 5,
tie it there by means of the well waxed thread,
A B, and cut off the projecting piece (G) of the
hackle.

6. Wind the other part of the hackle, B H,
(fig. 5) two or three times round the upper end
of the body, and bind it tightly and neatly there
(with A B), and in such manner that the fibres
may stand as shewn in fig. 6. This represents
legs.

7. Take two pieces, I K, fig. 6, from the under
side of the wing of a starling, and bind them on
(with the but ends towards the top of the shank)
firmly and neatly, at nearly the same place B,
(a little nearer to the top of the shank.) Part
them, if you choose, snip off the but ends ob-
liquely, bind the short stumps down upon the
shank, &c. (so that they may not be seen) and

30 OF TACKLE.

fasten off with the invisible knot of three coils.#
You will now possess a great red spinner complete,
provided always that you have seen a great deal
more of the art than you have read, and that you
have been yourself a tolerably good dubbing spinner.

To make a Buzz- fly with a hackle, (see fig. 5,
plate 5) the upper or pointed end of the hackle
must be tied at the tail E (fig. 3, plate 3) with
the ends of the materials of the body (by means of
the thread c, d) and the hackle must be wound up
over the dubbing, and fastened off with the thread
A B, after the gold or silver twist or other ribbing
has been wound on and fastened off with A B.

If a Buzz-fly (as figs. 28 and 29, plate 13) is to
be made with any other feather than a hackle, the
feather should be stroked back, its pointed end
should be tied on at the shoulder B, fig. 4, plate 3,
of the fly, three or four coils of the feather should
be made round the part above B, and the stands
or fibres of the feather should be carefully picked
out, as the coiling proceeds, otherwise it will not
lie well. The but end of the feather must be
tied in at the head of the fly with the thread A B,
which must be fastened off as usual with the invi-
sible knot of three coils.

* To make this knot : Make three loose coils over the fore finger of
the left hand, pass the end of the thread under them, and draw each
coil tight by pulling each separately as it were.

PALMER MAKING. 31

In making a fly with wings intended to repre-
sent natural wings at rest, (as fig. 2, plate 4), the
hackle feather may, in some cases, be dispensed
with, and a little of the dubbing may be left out
in the warping, or picked out of the body with a
needle, after the winding or warping, to serve for
legs instead of the hackle feather. In every other
respect the fly may be made in the manner pre-
scribed for the great red Spinner. (See p. 28.)

When a hackle or other feather is used for the
purpose of imitating a winged fly buzz, its tint
should be lighter than that of the natural wings;
for the effect of the buzzing motion is to give this
lighter appearance.

To make a Palmer.

1 . Bite the end of a strong piece of gut, and
whip a part of the thread A BCD, fig. 1, plate 3,
round the end of the shank of a hook (as before,
see page 28).

2. Place the gut in contact with the hook, and
wind the portion of thread, CD, of fig. 1, over
the part of gut CE, fig. 2, the three or four coils
BC, and the shank of the hook CBE, &c. not
leaving the end of thread as before hanging from
B, but including it in the new coils, and allowing
it to hang from E (fig. 7).

3. Wind rapidly (or run) c d back again to C,
and include the but end of a red hackle G H

32 C) ¥ T ACKL E.

(fig. 7) in the four or five last coils of this wind-
ing.

4. Bring another hook, I, into the position
shewn in fig. 7, and attach it to the gut E C F, by
winding the same thread, c d, round its shank and
the gut. Then wind cd two or three times
round the gut only (close to the end of the hook)
and back again two or three coils over the shank,
to form the head of the Palmer.

5. Tie in (with the same thread, c d) another
hackle, K L, by the but, together with three pea-
cock's hurls, M N.

6. Wind the thread c d with the peacock's
hurls, spun or rather twisted on it, back to C, and
make it fast there (or hold it tight), but do not
cut off the remnant. Also wind the hackle K L
over the dubbing of peacock's hurl back to C,
and tie it, picking out any strands which may
happen to be tied in, and snip off the ends of
KL.

7. Now wind the remaining dubbing-spun piece
of silk (c d) over the coils of thread and the shank
of the first mentioned hook down to E, bind it
there with the well-waxed thread A B ; wind also
the hackle G H over the dubbing down to E, make
all fast by means of the thread A B and the invi-
sible knot ; snip off all the remnants, and your red
Palmer (see fig. 45, page 19) will be ready to make
a pilgrimage in search of a Trout.

V L V B O X E S. 33

Fly Books, Boxes, et cetera.

Having lost many flies out of the boxes and
books usually sold, I at last adopted the following
little device of a friend, which has certainly served
to retain them better, and to keep them in better
order for selection. Several round pieces of card-
board, as fig. 8, plate 3, are first fitted to the box.
At the centre of each of these is fixed a piece of
cork, round which two concentric circles of stitches
of gut (or sometimes very well waxed fine silk
thread) are formed, and they are covered at the
back (or under side of the card) with a piece of
paper pasted over them. On the upper side and
under these stitches the barbs of the hooks are
passed, the long ends of the gut are put through
a hole in the centre of the cork, and these cards
are packed in the box over each other, without
injury or derangement to the flies upon them.

The Basket or Creel should not be large and
cumbersome, and should neatly fit the back.

The Landing-net should be light, the handle
long, and the net deep.

Nothing need here be said of the usual and
very necessary Clearing ring, or of a few other little
necessaries, conveniences, and luxuries, which
tackle-makers know so well how to describe and
recommend. These gentlemen should be listened

D

S4 OF TACKLE.

to, even although one may sometimes pay rather
dearly for the whistle. More fish than cash is
taken by their nets after all ; and every body
knows the peculiar comfort of being well pro-
vided with tackle (and Prog by the by) when
distant from the sources of provision. We also
know the pride and pleasure of supplying a
" Venator" with a seasonable well-made fly or
a length of gut, &c.

RECIPES FOR DYEING AND STAINING
FEATHERS, ETC.

1. TO DYE WHITE FEATHERS A DUN COLOUR.

Make a mordant by dissolving about a quarter
of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, and slightly
boil the feathers in it, taking care that they shall
be thoroughly soaked or saturated with the solu-
tion, then boil them in other water with fustick,
shumach, and a small quantity of copperas, put
into it until they have assumed the required tint.
The fustick and copperas will make a yellow dun
tint ; the shumack and copperas a blue dun tint.
The greater the quantity of copperas the deeper
will be the dye.

2. TO TURN RED HACKLES BROWN.

Put a piece of copperas the size of half a wal-
nut into a pint of water; boil it, and whilst boil-

DYEINCJ. Sfi

ing put in the red feathers. Let them remain
until by frequent examination they are found to
have taken the proper colour.

3. TO STAIN FEATHERS AN OLIVE DUN, ETC.

Make a very strong infusion of the outside brown
leaves or coating of an onion root, by allowing the
ingredients to stand warm by the fire for ten or
twelve hours. If dun feathers are boiled in this
dye they will become an olive dun ; and white
feathers a yellow. If a small piece of copperas be
added the latter colour will become a useful muddy
yellow, darker or lighter as may be required, and
approaching to a yellow olive dun, according to
the quantity of copperas used.

4. TO DYF, A MALLARD'S FEATHER FOR THE GREEN DRAKE.

Tie up some of the best feathers in bunches of
a dozen, and boil them in the same mordant of
alum as given in No. 1, merely to get the grease
out. Then boil them in an infusion of fustick to
procure a yellow, and subdue the brightness of
this yellow by adding copperas to the infusion.

5. TO DYE FEATHERS DARK RED AND PURPLE.

Hackles of various colours boiled (without alum)
in an infusion of logwood and Brazil wood dust,
until they are as red as they can be made by this
means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting

36 OFT A CKL E.

them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin,
and to a purple by a warm solution of potash.
As the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with
tin, the solution must be much diluted. If it
burns your tongue much, it will burn the feathers
a little.

6. TO DYE FEATHERS VARIOUS SHADES OF RED, AMBER,
AND BROWN.

First boil them in the alum mordant (see No.
1) ; secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustick
strong enough to bring them to a bright yellow
(about a table spoonfull to a pint of water), then
boil them in a dye of mather, peach wood, or
Brazil wood. To set the colour, put a few drops
of " dyers spirit" (i. e. nitrate of tin combined
with a small quantity of common salt,) which
may be had from a silk dyer, into the last men-
tioned dye.

7. TO STAIN SILK GUT THE COLOUR OF RET, WEEDS, ETC.

Make an infusion of onion coatings (see No. 3),
put the gut into it when quite cold, and let it re-
main until the hue becomes as dark as may be
required.

Gut may be stained in an infusion of green tea,
a useful colour for some waters.

A dye of logwood will turn it to a pale blue.

Chapter III

MANNER OF FISHING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING.

Preparation of the Rod and Line. Art of Throwing. Choice of Wea-
ther. State of the Water. Choice of a Fly. Appearance of Life
to be given to the Fly. Buzz flies sometimes preferred. Rising
short, &c. Sudden cessation of Rises, &c. Places to be whipped,
&c. Throwing to a Trout just risen. Striking. Killing. Landing.
Differences between Trout and Grayling-fishing. Manner of pre-
senting the Fly to a Grayling. Landing, &c.

When the rod is put together the rings upon it
should fall into a line with each other. The reel
containing the line is sometimes fastened to a belt
round the body, but generally attached to the rod
at the distance of ten to fourteen inches from the
end of the but, (i.e.) that place where it produces
a small and pleasant degree of counterbalance to
the upper end of the rod. The fine end of the
line with a loop receives the foot line, and to the
fine end of the foot line is attached a fly or palmer,
which is called the Stretcher. Other flies, which
are made fast to the foot line, are called Droppers,

38 OF FISHING FOR

two of which are generally sufficient. The first
dropper is placed at about one yard distant from
the stretcher, the second about three quarters of a
yard from the first, each upon a piece of gut
about four inches long. And the knots used for
this purpose are so contrived, that they can be
detached and resumed at pleasure.

Throwing.

In order to acquire the art of throwing a fly, it
may be advisable to practise, previously to visiting
the stream, in an open space free from trees, where
a piece of paper may represent the spot required
to be thrown to. Taking the wind in his back,
the tyro, with a short line at first, may attempt to
cast within an inch or two of the paper, and after-
wards by degrees lengthen his line as his improve-
ment proceeds ; he may then try to throw in such
a direction that the wind may in some measure
oppose the line and rod ; and lastly, he may practise
throwing against the wind. In this way any per-
son may become an adept in throwing a fly, much
sooner than by trusting solely to the experience
which he may get when at the water-side ; for his
attention being then wholly engrossed by the hopes
of a rise, &c. a bad habit may be very easily en-
gendered, which will not be as easily got rid of.

He should endeavour to impart to the line a
good uniform sweep or curve round the head ; for

TROUT AND GRAYLING. 39

if it returns too quickly or sharply from behind
him, a crack will be heard and the fly whipped
off. There is some little difficulty in acquiring
this management. The larger the fly the more
resistance it meets with in the air ; this resistance
causes it to make a better curve, and the danger
of smacking it off is lessened. A Palmer made
as shewn in plate 19 is not easily lost in this
manner.

The attempt to describe by words all the pre-
cautions and manipulations requisite for throwing
a fly successfully and gracefully would be as hope-
less a task as that of teaching to dance by such
means. It must be abundantly evident that the
fly should drop as lightly as possible on the water,
and that an awkward unmannerly splash will in-
evitably mar the delusion.

Weather, §c.

The best days to select for fly fishing are those
that are warm and cloudy, with a gentle breeze
from the South or West, causing a ripple upon
the water; by which the fish is not only prevented
from seeing the fisherman so plainly as in smooth
water, but is also deprived of so good an opportu-
nity of detecting the fly-maker's artifice.

The water after a flood sometimes remains for
several days too turbid for fly fishing. When it
is very low in its bed and clear it is also unpro-

40 OF FISHING FOR

pitious, and success is obtained with difficulty.
When the water is unusually high, though it be
not discoloured, the fish seem to be feeding more
at the bottom than above : but these two last ob-
stacles will not deter the sportsman from trying
his skill.

Choice of Flies.

The selection of a fly requires more judgment,
experience, and patience, than any other branch of
the art. The beginner will soon discover that his
choice cannot be absolutely decided by reference
to the catalogue in the following chapter merely,
or to any catalogue whatever. For when a fly is (in
the former) said to be in season, it does not follow
that it is abroad every day of its existence. The
state of the weather, in respect of heat and mois-
ture, have great influence in this respect; he
should therefore bear in mind that the Coleop-
tera, or Beetle, will be on the water on hot days
principally. The Ephemera, or fish fly, on rather
cold days. The Phryganea, or water fly, as the
Granam, &c. on cloudy days with gleams of sun-
shine. The Diptera and other land flies on windy
days, as the Cow Dung, &c. He would often do
well to begin fishing with a Palmer as a stretcher,
and the fly which seems most suitable for the day
as a dropper, one yard and three-quarters from it :

TROUT AND GRAYLING. 41

not changing these until he can discover what fly
the fish are actually rising at. The Palmer is
never totally out of season, and is a good fat bait.
It should never be forgotten, that, let the state
of the weather or the water (in respect of clear-
ness) be what it may, success in fly fishing very
much depends upon shewing the fish a good imita-
tion, both in colour and size, of that insect which
he has recently taken : an exact resemblance of the
shape does not seem to be quite so essential a
requisite as that of colour, since the former varies,
according to the position of the insect either in or
upon the water; but a small fly is usually em-
ployed when the water is fine, because the fish is
then better enabled to detect an imitation, and
because the small fly is more easily imitated. The
resemblance of each particular colour, &c. is not
required to be so exact as in the case of a large

fly-

When the fly is thrown on the stream, some
little resemblance of life must be attempted to be
given to it ; this I imagine to be best accomplished
by throwing across and down the current ; the top
of the rod should in this case, after throwing, be
held over the side of the stream, on which the
fisherman stands, ready to strike ; the current will
then act against the part of the line lying on the
water, and cause the fly to sail over towards the

42 OF FISHING FOR

same side, yet still to float down a little, as a natural
fly when struggling might be supposed to do.

When the fly is thrown into a still place, a few
gentle jerks (after it has remained a second or two
on the water) may be given to it ; but no greater
force should be used than is sufficient to move it
an inch or two at a time.

Some fishermen frequently prefer their flies made
buzz, (i. e.) representing probably flies with their
wings fluttering, or in rapid motion ; whilst others
succeed best with their flies made with the wings
to represent the appropriate natural wings at com-
parative rest. Probably a difference in the mode
of fishing may create this difference of choice in
the make of a fly. He whose manner of fishing
is that of throwing dowm the stream, close to the
bank on which he stands, and then drawing the
fly up the current, towards him, or in any manner
giving it a good deal of motion, may find that the
Buzz fly, made with a three year old cock's hackle,
is best suited to that method, on account of the
above mentioned fluttering appearance;* whilst

* Any person may become convinced of this resemblance by visiting
the Serpentine in Hyde Park (or similar waters) on a warm evening of
April, and by very carefully watching the motions of the Golden Dun
(see Chap. IV. No. 10) immediately after it has quitted its nympha
state. He will then see it buzzing along upon the surface of the water
for some yards (previously to taking flight) and assuming an appear-
ance exactly like that of the buzz-hackle, &c.

T R O II T A N D Ci H A VLING. 43

the artificial wings, resembling the natural wings
of a fly partially immersed in the water, would be
more suitable to the quieter mode of fishing.

Much valuable time is frequently lost by chang-
ing the fly often. It is better to persevere with that
which produces tolerable sport, than to do so.

Rising short, 8$c.

A fish is said to rise short when he does not
seize the bait voraciously and confidently, and this
want of zeal is no doubt frequently occasioned by
the imitation shewn to him being a too faint re-
semblance of the real insect.

Fish will sometimes rise freely at one moment,
and in ten minutes afterwards not a rise is to be
seen. One frequent cause of this is no doubt a want
of food to rise at. A sudden change of weather,
so slight as to be hardly perceptible to us, may
have great influence upon the insects, as we per-
ceive that it often has upon cows, asses, dogs, and
many other animals.

Another cause for diminution or total loss of
sport may be the falling of the water in the bed of
the brook or river, occasioned by the stopping of a
mill above the situation of the fisherman. I have
observed from the fishing-house very frequently a
remarkable diminution of rises in a given interval,
to occur as soon as the water began to drop in

44 OF FISHING FOR

consequence of such a stoppage. When this case
occurs he will, generally, do better by going below
the next mill which is working, or above that
which has just stopped, than by remaining in the
first place.

We have already pointed out in the plan or
map, and in (Chap I. p. 4) the places in a brook
where Trout and Grayling are chiefly to be found:
such places should be carefully whipped. Two
or three throws in the same place is generally
sufficient.

We have also shewn (Chap. I. p. 8) the advan-
tage of avoiding high stations, of seeking low
ones, of stooping down sometimes as low as pos-
sible, and even of wading, (provided that the
man takes care not to get " caught by the fish.")
Water-proof fishing boots as used in Scotland are
good things.

The precaution of preventing our shadow, and
even that of the rod from falling on the water,
should also be adopted.

Throwing to a Fish just risen and killing him.

When a fish has just risen at a natural object, it
is well for the fisherman to try to throw into the
curl occasioned by the rise, and left as a mark for
him, but should the undulations have nearly died

TROUT AND GRAYLING. 45

away, before he can throw to the spot, then he
should throw, as nearly as he can judge, a yard
or two above it, and allow the flies to float down
to the supposed place of the fish ; if a rise does
not occur, it may be concluded that the fish has
removed without seeing the flies ; he may then try
a yard or two on each side of the place where the
curl appeared, when he may probably have a rise,
and may possibly hook the fish, provided he has
the knack of striking, which knack, like all others,
is acquired only by practice ; it must be done by a
very sudden but not a very strong stroke, a twitch
of the wrist. Having hooked him, the rod should
be carefully retained in that position which will
allow its greatest pliability to be exerted. (For
beginners to do this, it may be advisable that they
should get it up over the shoulder, and present
the but end towards the fish.) A gentle pull
must now be kept upon the fish, and he should be
led down the stream rather than up, (making use
of the reel as occasion may require to shorten the
line.) But if he runs in towards the bank upon
which the fisherman stands, it will be necessary for
him to approach the edge of the water as nearly as
possible, holding the rod with an outstretched arm
in almost an horizontal position, and if the reel is of
the usual bad construction, it will be also neces-
sary to pull in the line as quickly as possible with

46 OF FISHING FOK

the left hand, this may prevent the fish from
reaching his harbour : if it should not, he will
most likely twist the gut round roots, &c. and
break away.

To kill him, the nose must be kept up as much
as possible ; should he be very importunate and
resolute, he may be lent a little more line now and
then, but it must be promptly retaken with tre-
mendous interest, and got up as short as possible.
After various fruitless efforts to escape, which ex-
hausts his strength, the nose may be got fairly out
of the water, he may be towed gently to the side,
and the landing net passed under him.

From the time of hooking the fish, if a large
one. to the time of landing, care must be had that
the line shall not be touched by the hand, excepting
under the just mentioned circumstances; all should
depend upon the pliability of the rod. In case a
landing net should not be at hand, the reel may be
stopped from running back, the rod stuck up in
the ground by the spike, and both hands being
disengaged, the fisherman may stoop down and
grasp him firmly behind the gills.

If a fish of less than half a pound is hooked
fairly, he may be cautiously lifted out by the line,
but should he begin to struggle in the least degree,
he must be allowed to drop into the water, where
he will be again under the influence of the pliable

T R () U T A N D V, R A Y L ING. 47

rod, when be must be towed up again and another
effort made to secure him.

The principal differences between Trout and
Grayling Fishing are, that the latter requires a
more delicate hand, a quicker eye, and the use of
smaller flies upon the finest gut. The strike
must be made on the instant of the rise. The fish
may be sometimes seen, if he be of a good size and
the water bright, a few inches before he gets up
to the fly, and the fisherman must strike imme-
diately that he does so, for his motion at the
instant of seizure is too rapid to be visible.

When the fisherman comes upon a favourable
place for Grayling, he should recollect that this
fish does not follow the fly as the Trout does, and
should therefore allow it to float down the stream
in a natural way ; for shouW a Grayling be wait-
ing for it, and it is drawn away, " the fish will be
disappointed of that which it was the fisherman's
intention to entertain him with."

It must also be remarked here that the mouth of
the Grayling is much more tender than that of
the Trout, therefore much more care in landing is
required ; and a landing net is generally indis-
pensable, especially where the banks are high, for
the mouth will seldom bear his weight out of the
water.

Chapter IV.

OF A SELECTION OF INSECTS, AND THEIR IMITATIONS,
USED IN FLY FISHING.

Flies, &c. used in March. Flies, &c. for April. For May. For June.
For July. For August. For September. Palmers for the Season.

It would much exceed the proper limits and pur-
pose of a Fishing Book to enter upon the details
by which even the Genera and Orders, to which
every fly here spoken of belongs, are known to the
Entomologist. Reference can easily be made, by
means of the names placed on the pages opposite
to the plates, to sources of abundant information
on these points ; but the names of some species
and varieties of Ephemera mentioned, would in
vain be sought for.

All the vulgar names known to me of each in-
sect are given for the purpose of assisting fisher-
men of various counties to recognize it. And the
order in which they are placed, is that of the
months in which they are used, as forming, per-
haps, the most convenient arrangement for his pur-
poses.

OF A SELECTION OF INSECTS, ETC. 49

The term Dun appears to have been applied in
a general sense to the different species of Ephe-
meridre, in their first winged state, (except those
of the largest size,) another term being added to
designate each species, as the Blue Dun, Yellow
Dun, &c.

In like manner the term Spinner seems to have
been applied as a general name for the final
change or perfect state of the same insects, another
name also being added to distinguish each species,
as the Red Spinner, Great Red Spinner, &c.

It may be here added, that the Imitations of
the Palmers are, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, new ; and I beg leave to assure my brother
Anglers, that they have proved very effective.
The figures represent the insect in its medium size ;
it may be made and used either larger or smaller.

It should also be stated that the length of the
lives of the Ephemeridae described below, is esti-
mated by the time they lived in boxes.

50 FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 1. RED FLY.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Perlidce.
Genus, Nemoura.

No. 2. COCK WING. (Blue Dun, Cock Tail.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, B'detis.

No. 3. RED SPINNER.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus. B'detis.

PI. IV.

%

//

lo

*

FLIES FOR MARCH. 51

No. 1. RED FLY.

In a forward spring this fly conies out about
the middle of February, it is in season until the
end of March, and may be used on fine but rather
windy days, until the Blue Dun (see No. 2) and
other flies come in. I have taken very large
Grayling with it.

IMITATION.

Body. The dubbing is composed of the dark
red part of squirrel's fur, mixed with
an equal quantity of claret-coloured
mohair, shewing the most claret
colour at the tail of the fly. This
is spun on, and warped with brown
silk thread.

Wings. From a ginger dun covert feather of
the mallard's wing. The pea hen
has also feathers of the exact tint.

Legs. Of a claret-coloured stained hackle.
No feather of its natural colour,
that I know of, is of the proper
shade.

To make it buzz, a copper tinged dun hackle is
wound upon the above body.

52 FLIKS FOB MARCH.

No. 2. COCK WING.

This fly lives three or four days in the state
represented ; then becomes the Red Spinner, (see
No. 3.) It begins to be plentiful in the early part
of March, or a little sooner, should the weather be
mild. When in full season it will be found on the
water, chiefly on rather cold windy days. It en-
deavours to take flight in three or four seconds
after it leaves its Nympha. On cold days it
seems to have rather more difficulty in rising
from the water than in warm weather, and conse-
quently becomes very frequently food for fishes
at the moment of its new birth.

IMITATION.

Body. Fur of a hare's ear, or face, spun on
yellow silk. When this dubbing-
spun silk is warped on, some of the
longest part of the dubbing is left
out to form legs.

Tail. Two small whiskers of a rabbit.

Wings. From a feather of the starling's wing,
slightly stained in onion dye, (see
List of Dyes.)

Legs. If a sufficient quantity of dubbing was
not left out for the legs, whilst the
body was made, more must be pick-
ed out of it with a needle.

FLIES FOR MARCH. 53

No. 3. RED SPINNER.

This is the name given to the Blue Dun (see
No. 2.) after it has cast off its olive brown coat.
It now appears of a bright red brown, and its
wings, which were before rather opaque, are
transparent. It lives four or five days. It sports
in the sunshine, and will be more successfully used
in warm than cold weather; but when the sun
becomes too powerful, this delicate insect seems to
be disabled from continuing abroad in the middle
of the day, and is to be considered more as an
evening fly. Several of the other spinners (or
perfect Ephemeridae) resemble it so nearly, that
it may be kept as a model ; the tint only varying,
(as will be subsequently shewn).

IMITATION.

Body. Brown silk, ribbed with fine gold

twist.
Tail. Two whisks of a red cock's hackle.
Wings. From a mottled grey feather of the

mallard, stained to match the colour

of the natural wings.
Legs. Plain red cock's hackle.

FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 4. WATER CRICKET.
Order, Hemiptera.
Family, Hy drome tridce.
Genus, Velia.
Species, Currens.

No. 5. GREAT DARK DRONE. (Saw Fly,
Great Dark Dun.)
Order, Hymenoptera.
Family, Tenthredinidce.
Genus, Dolerus.

No. 6. COW DUNG FLY.
Order, Diptera.
Family, Muscidce.
Genus, Scatophaga,
Species, Stercoraria.

PbV.

^

FLIES FOR MARCH. 55

No. 4. WATER CRICKET.

This insect lives upon small flies, &c. whose
blood it sucks in a manner similar to that of the
land spider. It runs upon the water, and darts
upon its prey whilst struggling on the surface, and
is one amongst the first insects which the Trout
finds there. In the hot summer months it is pro-
vided with wings. It may be fished with through-
out this month, and the next, on all sorts of days,
but principally when the Blue Dun is not very
abundant upon the water.

IMITATION.

Body. Orange floss silk, tied on with black
silk thread.

Legs. Are made best of one of the two longest
feathers of a peawit's topping. If
this cannot be easily procured, a
black cock's hackle will answer the
purpose. Either of these must be
wound all down the body, and the
fibres then snipped oft', as far up as is
shewn in the figure.

56 FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 5. GREAT DARK DRONE.

This fly is found upon the grass in a very dull
(almost torpid) state, until nine or ten o'clock in
the morning ; (whence its name of Drone) but
when the sun begins to warm the air, it takes
wing ; and afterwards, if there be a slight breeze,
it will be found upon the water.

There is a great variety of colour in the family.
A bright orange is sometimes seen all over the
body, a lemon colour sometimes pervades only the
middle part of the body, the knee joints are some-
times tipped with orange, sometimes orange veins
appear in the wings ; but the black body is by far
the most frequently met with, and therefore the fly
with this colour is usually fished with.

IMITATION.

Body. Mole fur, or black ostrich feather,

warped with black silk.
Wings and Legs. Made buzz with a dun

hackle, the tint lighter than that of

the natural wings. (See Chap. II.

p. 31.)

When this fly is made with wings and legs
not buzz, the dun feather of the wing of the mal-
lard is used, and a grizzle hackle for legs, upon
the same body.

FLIES FOR MARCH. 57

No. 6. COW DUNG FLY.

This fly is to be seen throughout the year. In
the young state it is very abundant about the
middle of March, when vast quantities are seen
upon the water if there be a high wind. The
colour of the male, when newly hatched, is a very
bright tawny yellow, that of the female a greenish
brown ; she is rather smaller than the male, is
found in as great numbers on the water, and is as
good a fly to imitate. This insect is not in full
season after the end of April, but in very bluster-
ing days may be used all the year round.

IMITATION.

Body. Yellow worsted, mohair, or camlet,
mixed with a little dingy brown
fur from the bear, and left rather
rough, spun upon light brown silk.

Wings. From the landrail.

Legs. Of a ginger coloured hackle.

The female is made buzz thus :

Body. Olive-coloured mohair, or worsted,
spun on silk of the same colour.

Wings and Legs. Of a red cock's hackle,
changed to a brown colour by put-
ting it into a solution of copperas.
(See Dyes, Chap. II. p. 33, article 2).

58 FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 7. PEACOCK FLY.

Order, Coleoptera.
Family, Staphylinidce.
Genus, Lathrobium.
Species, Elongatum.

No. 8. MARCH BROWN. (Dun Drake, called in Wales
the Cob Fly.)

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, B'detis.

No. 9. GREAT RED SPINNER, (or Light Mackerel.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephetneridce.
Genus, Bdetis.

n vi

c*

•

FLIES FOR MARCH. 59

No. 7. PEACOCK FLY.

This small beetle is extremely abundant on
warm sunny days. Its usual habit on alighting
is to gather up the wings under its short wing
scales, (a habit like that of the earwig, which flies
about in Autumn) ; but when it falls upon water,
it cannot always succeed in doing so ; then there-
fore the wings lie nearly flat upon its back. How-
ever fine the day may be, and however clear the
water, some sport may still be expected with this
fly, until the end of May, but it is most success-
fully used on a sultry gloomy day.

IMITATION.

Body. Brown peacock's herl, dressed with
mulberry-coloured silk.

Wings. The darkest part of a wing feather of
the starling.

Legs. A hackle stained dark purple; ap-
pearing black when looked down
upon ; but when held up to the
light, having a most beautiful dark
tortoiseshell hue. (See Dyes, Chap.
II. p. 34, article 5).

60 FLIES FOR MAHCH.

No. 8. MARCH BROWN.

The pupa or nympha of this fly seems to
require a warmer day to enable it to rise to the
surface of the water, and to change to a fly, than
is required for the similar rise and metamorphosis
of the Blue Dun's nympha (No. 2) ; the fly lives
three days in the state represented in the figure,
then changes into the Great Red Spinner, (see fig.
9). The male has a chocolate hue, and the female
a green brown ; it generally appears in great num-
bers upon the streams, where it is found towards
the latter end of March, and is very eagerly de-
voured by the Trout. It continues in season until
May ; and although it may occasionally be found
later, I do not recommend the use of it after that
time.

IMITATION.

Body. Fur of the hare's face ribbed over with
olive silk, and tied with brown.

Tail. Two stands of a partridge feather.

Wings. Feather of the pheasant's wing, which
may be found of the exact shade.

Legs. A feather from the back of a par-
tridge.

FLIES FOR MARCH. 61

No. 9. GREAT RED SPINNER.

The Dun Drake (fig. 8.) changes into this spin-
ner, and enjoys for three or four days its newest
state and title. It seems to be in season much
longer than the Dun Drake, and may even be
used on warm evenings during most of the summer
months ; yet although the Dun Drake is not
seen on the water after the middle of May, it
would seem that it must still continue to come
into existence afterwards, otherwise the Great Red
Spinner could be in season only three or four days
longer than the Dun Drakc.#

IMITATION.

Body. Hog's down dyed red-brown, (or orange
and brown floss silk mixed), spun on
brown silk. It is ribbed with fine
gold twist.

Tail. Two long whisks of a bright amber
red stained hackle.

Wings. From a feather of the starling's wing.

Legs. A bright amber red stained hackle.

* Although I have spoken of this Spinner as appearing throughout
most of the summer months, I am by no means certain that the indivi-
duals which are produced later than the middle of May, may not be a
distinct although very similar species of B'aetis.

FLTES FOR APRIL.

No. 10. GOLDEN DUN MIDGE.
Order, Diptera.
Family, Tipulidce.
Genus, Chironomus.
Species, Plumosus.

No. 11. SAND FLY.

Order, Trichoptera.
Family, Phryganidce.
Genus, Phryganea.

No. 12. STONE FLY.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Perlidce.
Genus, Perla.
Species, Bicaudata.

n- vii

%w

K

W5

FLIES FOR APRIL. 63

No. 10. GOLDEN DUN MIDGE.

The male has two feathered horns which the
female has not. It seems to require a warm day
to disengage itself from its water nympha. On
such days very great sport may be had with it
until the end of May.

IMITATION.

Body. Olive floss silk ribbed with gold twist,
and tied with dun silk thread.

Wings. From the palest feather of a young
starling.

Legs. A plain dun hackle.

64 FLIES FOR APRIL.

No. 11. SAND FLY.

This fly comes from a water larva. It is highly
extolled by Mr. Bainbridge, who says, " that it
may be reckoned 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 the Trout and Grayling."
(Fly Fisher's Guide, p. 143). My own experience
leads me to recommend the use of it during April
and May, on days when there is no abundance of
any particular insect on the water. A fly very
like it is used in September and October, called
the Cinnamon Fly.

IMITATION.

Body. Of the sandy coloured fur from the
hare's neck, spun on silk of the
same colour.

Wings. From the landrail's wing made full.

Legs. From a light ginger feather from the
neck of a hen.

This fly is made buzz with a feather from the
underside of the wing of the throstle, wound upon
the above body.

FLIES FOR APRIL. 65

No. 12. STONE FLY.

This fly comes from a water larva. It is heavy
in its flight, but uses its legs with extreme activity,
and is generally found amongst the stones, or close
to the sides of the water. I have kept an indivi-
dual alive for three weeks, during which time it
drank much water. It is in season from the
beginning of April until the end of May, and
should be used in the rapid parts of streams, and
on windy days where the water is rough.

IMITATION.

Body. Fur of hare's ear mixed with yellow
worsted or camlet, ribbed over with
yellow silk, leaving most yellow at
the tail.

Tail. A mottled stand or two of a partridge
feather.

Wings. Feather from the pheasant's wing.

Legs. A hackle stained greenish -brown.

Horns. Two rabbits whiskers.

Ch) FLIES FOR A PR II,

No, 13. GRAVEL BED. (Spider Fly.)
Order, Diptera.
Family, Tipulidce.
Genus, Anisomera.
Species, Obscura.

No. 14. GRANNOM. (Green Tail.)
Order, Trichoptera.
Family, Phryganidce.
Genus, Tinodes.

No. 15. YELLOW DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, B'detis.

PI viji

^

FLIES FOR APRIL, 6T

No. 13. GRAVEL BED.

This fly is not upon all waters : upon those
where it is found it is extremely numerous on
fine days ; but in cold weather it seeks shelter
amongst the larger stones of the gravel. It may
be used all the day. It comes in about the middle
of April and lasts about three weeks.

IMITATION.

Body. Dark dun, or lead-coloured silk thread

dressed very fine.
Wings. From the underside of a feather of the

woodcock's wing.
Legs. A black cock's hackle rather long,

wound twice, only, round the body.

To make it buzz, a dark dun cock's hackle tinged
brown may be used.

68 FLIES FOR APRIL.

No. 14. GRANNOM.

This fly comes from a water larva, and is upon
the surface at about the same season as the Gravel
Bed, (No. 13), and chiefly in the morning and
evening. It lasts a little longer. The green tint
of its body is derived from the colour of the eggs.
It lays these upon the water. There are several
varieties, but the figure (14) represents the most
common kind, and I have taken many of these
flies out of the stomachs of Trout, even in August,
which had a green colour at the tail of their
bodies, and were as nearly as possible of the same
size and general tint as those of April.

IMITATION.

Body. Fur of hare's face left rough, spun on
brown silk. A little green floss silk
may be worked in at the tail to re-
present the bunch of eggs there.

Wings. Feather from the partridge's wing, and
made very full.

Legs. A pale ginger hen's hackle.

Made buzz with a feather from the back of the
partridge's neck, wound upon the above body.

FLIES FOR APRIL. 69

No. 15. YELLOW DUN.

This fly proceeding* from a water nympha, lives
in the form shewn about three days. It is on
the water generally from ten o'clock until three,
and is one of our best.

IMITATION.

Body. Yellow mohair, mixed with a little pale
blue fur from a mouse. Or yellow
silk thread well waxed with cobbler's
wax to give it an olive tint.

Wings. The lightest part of a feather from a
young starling's wing.

Legs. A light yellow dun hackle.

To make it buzz, a lighter dun hackle than is
represented in the figure, is wound upon the same
body.

This Yellow Dun changes to a Spinner of rather
a lighter and yellower brown, than that which
the Blue Dun (No. 2) turns to, is very nearly of
the same size, and lives nine days. It is to be
used on warm evenings. Its imitation may
consequently be made of the same materials as
that of the Red Spinner, (see No. 3), only choos-
ing lighter tints.

?<> flies fob a run,.

No. 16. IRON BLUE DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Faintly, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Bdetis.

No. 17. JENNY SPINNER. (Spinning Jenny.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Bdetis.

No. 18. HAWTHORN FLY.
Order, Diptera.
Family, Tipulidce.
Genus, Bibio.
Species, Marci.

*l

PI M-

V

%

c

FLIES FOR APRIL. 71

No. 16. IRON BLUE DUN.

After emerging from its water nympha, this fly
remains about two days in the state shewn, and
then changes to the Jenny Spinner, (see No. 17).
It is one of the smallest flies worth the Angler's
notice, but not the least useful. The male has a
brownish red crown or cap on his head. The fe-
male is also crowned, but her cap is too small to
be easily seen. It is in season from the latter end
of April until the middle of June, and is on the
water chiefly on cold days ; influenced by effects
similar to those which act upon the Blue Dun,
(see No. 2).

v J IMITATION.

Body. Blue fur from a mole. Reddish brown
floss silk may be tied on for the head.

Tail. A whisk or two out of a yellow dun
hackle.

Wings. From a feather of the under side of the
cormorant's wing ; or in default
thereof, a feather from the breast of
the water hen ; the tip of which must
be used. Or the upper end of the
wing feather of a tomtit when in full
plumage.

Legs. A very small yellow dun hackle.

It is difficult to find a hackle feather of the tint
proper to make this fly buzz.

n FLIES FOR APRIL.

No. 17. JENNY SPINNER.

This is the name given to the Iron Blue (No.
16) in his new dress, and it lives four or five days
after the metamorphosis, sporting in the still sum-
mer atmosphere. The Iron Blue must be coming
out of its nympha at the same time that this fly is
in season ; the Iron Blue is however found on
the water chiefly on cold days, from the end of
April until the middle of June.* The Jenny
Spinner lasts all the Summer, is out on mild days,
particularly towards the evening, and is a killing
fly even when the water is extremely fine.

IMITATION,

Body. White floss silk wound round the shank
of the hook, &c. and tied on at the
head and tail with brown silk, which
must be shewn.

Tail. A whisk or two of a light dun hackle.

Wings and Legs Are best imitated by making
them buzz ; for which purpose the
lightest dun hackle that can be pro-
cured should be used.

* A little dark dun with a brown head, not exactly similar to, but
very much like the Iron Blue, is found in August, and then a Spinner
like the Jenny Spinner, has an orange-coloured head, and the extremity
of its body a lighter colour.

F LIES FO R A P K I L. 73

No. 18. HAWTHORN FLY.

This fly is by some called the black caterpillar.
It has good wings, and makes good use of them.
It may be seen about the last week in April, when
the air is warm, sporting up and down by the sides
of hedges, and may then be used. There are three
very common species, one of the size represented,
another much larger, and another much smaller.
The female of each has dark wings, (almost black) ;
whereas those of the male are a very pale blue,
(almost white). Her head is very much smaller
than that of the male, and her body thicker. The
male is most abundant. The figure (18) repre-
sents him.

IMITATION.

Body. Black ostrich herl.

Wings. From a feather of the sea swallow.

Legs. A black cock's hackle ; or one of the

two largest feathers from a peawit's

top-knot.

The fly cannot very easily be made buzz, unless
the female is imitated, in which case a black
hackle wound over the above mentioned black
ostrich herl will answer the purpose.

71 F L I E S F O II M A Y.

No. 19. LITTLE YELLOW MAY DUN.
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce .
Genus, B'detis.

No. 20. BLACK GNAT.

Order, Diptera.
Family , Empidce.
Genus, Ramphamyia.

No. 21. DOWNHILL FLY. (Oak Fly, Ash Fly,
Cannon Fly, Down looker, Woodcock Fly,
Down head Fly.)

Order, Diptera.

Family, Rhagionidce.

Genus, Rhagio.

Species, Scolopaceus.

Pfc.X.

^

><*

FLIES FOR MAY. 75

No. 19. LITTLE YELLOW MAY DUN.

This fly proceeding from a water nympha, re-
mains in the state represented about three days,
then changes to a very light red, or amber-coloured,
spinner. It lasts (as shewn) in season until the
Green Drake (No. 28) comes in at the end of
May, or beginning of June.

IMITATION.

Body. Pale ginger-coloured fur from behind
the hare's ear, ribbed over with
yellow silk thread.

Tail. One or two whisks from a dun hackle.

Wings. Mottled feather from the mallard, stain-
ed olive. (See list of Dyes, Chap.
III. p. 34, article 4.)

Legs. A light dun hackle also very slightly
stained yellowish in the same dye.

The Light Amber Spinner, to which this fly
changes, lives in its new state about four days. It
i- used successfully on the evenings of warm days.

76 FLIES FOR MAY.

No. 20. BLACK GNAT.*

This insect skims the brook all the day long in
immense crowds, flying at great speed for about
ten yards up and down the stream. When
night approaches, or on cold wet days, it may be
found on the grass at the water side. The sto-
machs of Trout have been found nearly gorged
with this fly. It is in season from the beginning
of May until the end of June.

IMITATION.

Body. Black ostrich herl.

Wings. The dark part of a feather from the

starling.
Legs. A black hackle.

To make it buzz, a light dun hackle tinged with
brown may be wound upon the above body.

* This is not a Gnat, although commonly called one by fishermen.

FLIES FOR MAY. 77

No. 21. DOWNHILL FLY.

This fly may be found upon the trunks of any
kind of tree or post near the water side. As soon
as it alights, it turns its head downward. It is
in season throughout May and June, and may
be used with most success on windy days.

IMITATION.

Body. Orange floss silk tied with ash-coloured
silk thread, which may be shewn at
the tail and shoulders.

Wings. From a feather of the woodcock.

Legs. A furnace hackle, (i. e. a red cock's
hackle, with a black list up the
middle, and tinged with black also at
the extremities of the fibres). This
should be warped all down the body,
and the fibres snipped off again
nearly up to where the wings are set
on, leaving a sufficient quantity for
the legs uncut off.

7» J I.IKS FOK MAY,

No. 22. TURKEY BROWN, (Little Brown Dun.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Ephemera.

No. 23. LITTLE DARK SPINNER.
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Ephemera.

No. 24. YELLOW SALLY.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Perlidce.
Genus, Perla.
Species, Lutea.

PLXI

&

Jt

FLIES FOR MAY. 79

No. 22. TURKEY BROWN.

This fly comes from a water larva, lives two
days as shewn, and then turns to the Little Dark
Spinner, (see No. 23). It is to be used on cold
days ; is a very good fly upon some waters ; and
is in season from about the time that the March
Brown becomes scarce until the end of June.

IMITATION.

Body. Dark brown floss silk ribbed with

purple silk thread.
Tail. A whisk or two of a red cock's hackle,

stained as for the legs.
Wings. Tip of the brownest feather from a

partridge's tail.
Legs. Red cock's hackle stained a good brown

with copperas.

To make it buzz, a feather from the Grouse may
be tied on, in the manner shewn in the imitation of
the Green Drake, No 28.

FLIES FOR MAY

No. 23. LITTLE DARK SPINNER.

This is the metamorphosis of the Turkey Brown,
(No. 22.) It is a most killing fly just at the be-
ginning of dusk.

IMITATION.

Body. Mulberry-coloured floss silk ribbed over
with purple silk thread.

Tail. Three or four whisks out of the stained
hackle feather which is used for the
legs.

Wings. From a feather of the starling's wing.

Legs. From a purple stained hackle which
appears black when looked down
upon, but which shines with a dark
tortoiseshell tint, when held up be-
tween the eye and the light.

FLIES FOR MA V.

No. 24. YELLOW SALLY.

This fly comes from a water nympha. It has
been believed by some persons to last in season
only six days, but it continues for six weeks or
more, and may be used not unprofitably on very
hot days, when it is busily employed laying its
eggs upon the water.

IMITATION.

Body. Any yellowish buff fur ribbed with

fawn coloured silk.
Wings. From a wing feather of a white hen

stained pale yellow.
Legs. From an extremely pale ginger hackle,

or a white feather dyed of a yellowish

ginger tint.

82 FLIES FOR M A V

No. 25, SKY BLUE.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce,
Genus, Bdetis.

No. 26. FERN FLY. (Soldier.)

Order, Coleoptera.
Family, Telephoridce.
Genus, Telephorus.
Species, Livadus.

No. 27. ALDER FLY, (Orl Fly.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Sialidce.
Genus, Sialis.
Species, Niger.

pi.xa

•■■-*

^^

FLIES FOR MAY. 83

No. 25. SKY BLUE.

This fly comes from a water nympha, maintains
its present state of existence two or three days, and
then changes to a much lighter fly or spinner,
which lives three or four days.

IMITATION.

Body. Pale ginger mohair mixed with light

blue fur.
Tail. A whisk or two of the hackle used for

the legs.
Wings. From a feather of the sea swallow, or

of a very light blue dun hen.
Li-:gs. Hackle stained a pale yellow.

The body of the above mentioned spinner is
more brilliant than that of the Sky Blue ; the
wings perfectly transparent, and almost colourless :
it is very little used.

84 FIFS FOR MAY.

No. 26. FERN FLY.

Two of the most common varieties of this genus
are known by the appellations of the soldier and
the sailor, one wears a red the other a blue coat,
both are much admired by fish, and taken until
the end of July, principally on hot days. They
live upon other insects, such as the aphides, or
plant-lice.

IMITATION.

Body. Orange floss silk.

Wings. The darkest part of a feather from the

starling's wing.
Legs. A red cock's hackle.

To make it buzz, a furnace-hackle (see p. 77)
is wound upon the above body. It kills very well
thus made.

FLIES FOR MAY. H6

No. 27. ALDER FLY.

This fly comes from a water nympha. It is
earlier on some waters than on others. It lays its
eggs upon the leaves of trees which overhang the
water, and delights to skim the brook, but it may
also be found at some distance from it. It is
in season from about the last week in May until
the end of June.

IMITATION.

Body. Dark mulberry floss silk, or peacock's
herl, tied with black silk.

Wings. From a feather of a brown hen's wing.

Legs. Dark amber stained hackle, or in case
of need a black cock's hackle will
answer the purpose tolerably well.

To make it buzz, a dark dun hackle tinged
brown may be wound upon the above body.

F LI KS I'U R J V N i.

No. 28. GREEN DRAKE. (May Fly, Cadow.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Ephemera.
Species, Vulgata.

No. 29. GREY DRAKE. (Glossy-winged Drake.)
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Ephemera.
Species, Vulgata.

PI..X//I.

t

FLIES FOR JUNE. 87

No. 28. GREEN DRAKE.

This fly proceeding from a water nympha, lives
three or four days as shewn ; then the female
changes to the Grey Drake, (No. 29) and the male
to the Black Drake, (see p. 89). The Green
Drake cannot be said to be in season quite three
weeks on an average. Its season depends greatly
upon the state of the weather ; and it will be
found earlier upon the slowly running parts of
the stream, (such as mill dams) than on the rapid
places.

IMITATION.

Body. The middle part is of pale straw-
coloured floss silk, ribbed with silver
twist. The extremities are of a
brown peacock's herl, tied with light
brown silk thread.

Tail. Three rabbit's whiskers.

Wings and Legs. Made buzz from a mottled
feather of the mallard, stained olive.
(See Dyes, Chap. II. p. 35, article 4.)

To make it with wings in their state of rest,
part of a feather similarly stained must be used,
and a pale brown Bittern's hackle, or in case of
need a partridge feather must be wrapped round
the same body under the wings.

88 FLIES FOR JUNK.

No. 29. GREY DRAKE.

This is the metamorphosis of the female Green
Drake. She lives three or four days, and is
caught by the fish whilst laying her eggs on the
water. She lasts a few days longer than the
Green Drake, and is to be fished with in the
evening. Some fishermen prefer other flies in
season to this ; when well made, it will however
furnish excellent sport, especially towards the
evening. The buzz form is intended to imitate it
when struggling and half drowned.

IMITATION.

Body. The middle part is of white floss silk,
ribbed over neatly with silver twist.
The extremities are of a brown pea-
cock's herl tied with brown silk
thread.

Tail. Three rabbit's whiskers.

Wings and Legs. Made buzz from a mottled
feather of the mallard, stained a fkint
purple.

To make it with wings at rest, the same pale
purple stained feather may be used for them, and
a dark purple stained hackle for the legs, upon the
above body.

FLIES FOR JUNE. 89

THE BLACK DRAKE

Is the male Green Drake metamorphosed. Its
term of existence is about the same as that of
the female above mentioned. It is smaller than the
female, and very much darker, and is erroneously
supposed by some, who call him the Death Drake,
to kill her. He is never in season without her ;
but is not here represented because he is not so
fat and tempting a bait.

90 FLIES FOR JUNE.

No. 30. MARLOW BUZZ. (Hazel Fly, Coch-a-
bonddu, Shorn Fly.)
Order, Coleoptera.
Family, Chrysomelidce.
Genus, Chrysomela.
Species, Populi.

No. 31. DARK MACKEREL.
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce .
Genus, Ephemera.

nxiv

I

VIA ES ro R .1 U N E. 91

No. 30. MARLOW BUZZ.

This insect comes from a pupa which inhabits
the earth. It is very abundant in hot weather at
the water side, from the beginning until the
middle of June, flying about amongst poplar trees,
and feeding upon the leaves.

IMITATION.

Body. Black ostrich herl twisted with peacock
herl and black silk thread.

Wings and Legs. Are made buzz with a dark
furnace cock's hackle. (See p. 77.)

There are other varieties, some much smaller, of
the Red Beetle, and Lady Bird, which may be
imitated in a similar manner, and used when nu-
merous. This is the largest ever employed.

To make it with wings at rest, the darkest part
of the starling's wing, and a red cock's hackle
may be wound upon the above body in the same
way as for the Fern Fly, No. 26.

92 K L 1 E S F 0 R J r n E.

No. 31. DARK MACKEREL.

This is the name given to the insect represented
by the figure on the right hand side of the plate,
after it has changed from a dark kind of Green
Drake shewn on the left side. Both the male and
female change to the dark brown, but the former
is the smallest and darkest fly. Their habits are
similar in every respect to the Green and the Grey
Drake, (Nos. 28 and 29). Sir H. Davy says, that
" the Green Ephemera, or May Fly, lays her eggs
sitting on the water." (Salmonia, p. 249.) My
observations lead to the conviction that neither the
dark nor light Green Ephemera lay eggs, (being
imperfect insects,) but that their metamorphoses,
the Grey Drake and the Dark Mackerel, lay eggs
(whilst rising and falling, &c.)# This fly continues

• The egg of this fly and that of all the last metamorphoses of the
Ephemeridse, here spoken of, sinks to the bottom of the water, and is
there, in a few days, hatched into a white grig; this larva undergoes
several transmutations before it becomes a nympha, which, rising to the
surface at its appointed season, bursts the case or skin which incloses it
(at the shoulders), displays beautiful wings, quits its old husk, and, after
the lapse of a second or two, generally flies to the nearest terra firma,
where it remains in solitude and shelter (from the wind and sun-beams)
for about two days, (see fig. 22, plate 11.) It then undergoes its last
metamorphosis, and enters upon its imago or perfect state, (see fig. 23),
changing the whole of its envelopes, even those of its line tails and legs.
The tails and the two fore legs of the male increase to about double

FLIES FOR J V NK. 98

in season until the end of June, or for a few days
in July.

IMITATION.

Body. Dark mulberry floss silk, ribbed with
gold twist.

Tail. Three rabbit's whiskers.

Wings. From a brown mottled feather of the
mallard, which hangs from the back
over a part of the wing.

Legs. A purple dyed hackle, appearing black
when looked down upon, but a dark
tortoise-shell hue, when held between
the eye and the light. (See Dyes,
Chap. II. p. 35, article 5.)

their former length, those of the female receive an accession of not quite
one third. The colour is generally altered, the wings become shining
and transparent. The male carries two large stemmata upon his head,
and a pair of callipers at the end of his body, which two peculiarities
chiefly distinguish his appearance from the female. He is also usually
rather smaller than she is. He may be seen merrily dancing, as it
were, up and down in the air in vast crowds, frequently near a bush by
the water side, whilst the female is to be discovered busily employed
rising and falling and hovering over the water, and sometimes touching
the surface and making use of her long tails to spring up again. She
lays her eggs at this moment.

The Larva and Nympha of the Genus Baetis have three tails, although
the fly which comes immediately out of the Nympha has only two.

94 I'M ES PO H J I LY,

No. 32. PALE EVENING DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Ge?ius, Cloeon.

No. 33. JULY DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Ephemera.

No. 34. GOLD EYED GAUZE WING.
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Hemerobiidce.
Genus, Hemerobius.
Species, Perla.

PVXV

\

)1

J J

M

FLIES FDR JULY. 95

No. 32. PALE EVENING DUN.

This fly comes from a water nympha, lives two
or three days as shewn, and then changes to a
brighter yellow bodied fly. It may be strongly
recommended as a fly which can be used when the
water is fine.

IMITATION.

Body. Yellow martin's fur spun on pale fawn-
coloured silk thread.

Wings. From a very fine grained feather of the
starling's wing, stained of rather a
lighter yellow than that which is
used for the Green Drake, No. 28.

Legs. Pale dun hackle.

The brighter yellow bodied fly to which this
changes lives four or five days, is fainter coloured,
and more transparent in the wing. The change
is not given, as the Dark Mackerel (No. 31) is
very much preferable for the evening.

96 FLIES FOR JULY.

No. 33. JULY DUN.

This fly comes from a water nympha, lives three
or four days as shewn, and then changes to a very
small Dark Spinner. It affords a great treat to
the Trout and Grayling, and lasts until the August
Dun takes its place, in the beginning of August.

IMITATION.

Body. Mole's fur, and pale yellow mohair
mixed and spun on yellow silk.

Tail. Two or three whisks of a dark dun
hackle.

Wings. Dark part of a feather from the star-
ling's wing, stained darker in strong
onion dye.

Legs.~ Dark dun hackle.

To make it buzz, a lighter hackle may be wound
upon the above body.

The tint of its metamorphosis is the same as that
of the Dark Mackerel, No. 31. It will catch well
late in the evening.

FLIES Foil JULY. 97

G.

No. 34. GOLD EYED GAUZE WIN

This is rather a scarce insect upon some waters,
but where it is found affords great sport on windy
days. Both larger and smaller individuals than
that represented, of this green sort, are to be found,
and also a brown kind much larger and with dark
round spots upon it. The eye possesses wonderful
brilliancy. It may be used as soon as the Green
Drake goes out, for about three weeks, (i. e.) to-
wards the middle or end of this month.

IMITATION.

Body. Very pale yellowish green floss silk,
tied on with silk thread of the same
colour.

\R i\Gs and Legs. The palest, blue dun hackle
which can be procured.

FLIES FOR JULY.

No. 35. WREN TAIL. (Frog Hopper, Pale
Brown Bent Hopper.)
Order •, Hemoptera.
Family, Cercopidce.
Genus, Cercopis.
Species, Spumaria.

No. 36. RED ANT.

Order, Hymenoptera.
Family, Formicidce.
Genus, Formica.
Species, Rufa.

No. 37. SILVER HORNS. (Black Silver Twist.)
Order, Trichoptera.
Family, Leptoceridce.
Genus, Leptocerus.

PLTVI

* *-

*

itf

J&

&

FLIES FOR JULY. 99

No. 35. WREN TAIL.

There are many varieties of this insect ; the pale
brown, the dark brown, and the greenish blue, are
the most common. It is very busy on hot days
hopping about and taking flights of about twenty
yards, and this is the time to use it, for it some-
times drops short and falls upon the water. In
colder weather it is found upon the long grass
principally ; not much on the water. On very
cold days it seems to seek shelter near the roots of
the grass.

IMITATION.

Body. Ginger-coloured fur ribbed with gold

twist.
Wings and Legs. Feather from a wren's tail.

10.) FLIES FOR .1 ULV.

No. 36. RED ANT.

This insect is very abundant on the water after
a swarm or flight of Ants and Emmets, the time of
which is uncertain. There are two sorts; the
black and the red of the size shewn, and two sorts
much smaller which are used later in the season.

IMITATION.

Body. Peacock's herl tied with red-brown silk.
Wings. From a feather of the light part of a

starling's wing.
Legs. A red cock's hackle.

The Black Ant is made of peacock's herl, and
black ostrich mixed, for the body. Wings from
the darkest part of the starling's wing, and legs a
black cock's hackle.

FLIES FOR JULY

101

No. 37. SILVER HORNS.

This fly is extremely abundant upon some
waters, and is well taken both by the Trout and
Grayling until the end of August throughout the
day, and principally in showery weather. The
figure represents the female. The male has black
horns.

IMITATION'.

Body. Black ostrich herl tied with black silk,
and dressed off.

Wixgs. Feather from a wing of the cock black-
bird.

Legs. Small black cock's hackle.

Horns. Grey feather of the mallard.

To make it buzz, the body is ribbed with silver
twist upon the black ostrich herl, and a black
hackle wrapt all down.

102 FLIES FOR AUGUST

No. 38. AUGUST DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, B'detis.

No. 39. ORANGE FLY.

Order, Hymenoptera.
Family, Ichneurnonidce.
Genus, Cryptis.

No. 40. CINNAMON FLY.

Order, Trichoptera.
Family, Phryganidce.
Genus, Phryganea.

PL XVII

4

*T*^

or

FLIES FOR AUG UST. 103

No. 38. AUGUST DUN.

This fly comes from a water nympha, lives two or
three days as shewn, then changes to a Red Spin-
ner. It is quite as important a fly for this month
as the March Brown is for March. It is in
season from the beginning of August to the
middle of September.

IMITATION.

Body. Brown floss silk ribbed with yellow

silk thread.
Tail. Two rabbit's whiskers.
Wings. Feather of a brown hen's wing.
Legs. Plain red hackle stained brown.

It is made buzz with a grouse feather wound
upon the above body.

The Red Spinner, to which it changes, is very
similar to that which the Blue Dun (No. 2) turns
to, and is a good fly on a mild evening.

10 1 FLIES FOR A I' U U S T.

No. 39. ORANGE FLY.

This is one of the best flies that can be used
both for Trout and Grayling. There are a great
many varieties, some larger, some smaller than the
representation. It may be used all day. Al-
though discovered alive with difficulty, it is found
abundant in the stomachs of the fish. It is fur-
nished with an apparatus called the sting, used
for the purpose of piercing the skin of caterpillars,
in which it deposits its eggs, the grub from which
grows in, and ultimately kills the insect in which
it was hatched.

IMITATION.

Body. Orange floss silk tied on with black

silk thread.
Wings. Dark part of the starling's wing, or

feather of a hen blackbird.
Legs. A very dark furnace hackle.

I- LI KS FOR A I GUST, lo.i

No. 40. CINNAMON FLY.

This fly comes from a water pupa. There are
many varieties. The larger variety being stronger
can resist the force of rain and wind better than
that represented, and are therefore not so well
known to the fish. It should be used in a heavy
shower, and also on a windy day. In both cases
very great diversion may be expected with it.

IMITATION.

Body. Fawn-coloured floss silk, tied on with
silk thread of the same colour.

Wings. Feather of a yellow brown hen's wing,
rather darker than the landrail's
wing feather.

Legs. A ginger hackle.

It is made buzz with a grouse feather or a red
hackle stained brown with copperas, and tied on
the same body.

106 FLIES FOR SEPT EM BE It.

No. 41. BLUE BOTTLE.

Order, Diptera.
Family, Muscidce.
Genus, Musca.
Species, Vomit oria.

No. 42. WHIRLING BLUE DUN.
Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephetneridce .
Genus, Btietis.

No. 43. LITTLE PALE BLUE DUN.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Ephemeridce.
Genus, Cloeon.

No. 44. WILLOW FLY.

Order, Neuroptera.
Family, Perlidce.
Genus, Nemoura.
Species, Nebulosa.

PIXVIIL

♦ )

•^T^

4/

4<3

«»-

4'

X4

4eJ

44

FLIES FOR SEPTEMBER. 107

No. 41. BLUE BOTTLE.

This and the house fly become blind and weak
in this month, and are therefore frequently driven
on to the water on windy days, when very good
sport may be expected with them. The Blue
Bottle is perhaps to be preferred. It may be used
until cold weather sets in.

IMITATION.

Body. Bright blue floss silk tied with light
brown silk thread, shewing the brown
at the head.

Wings. Feather of the starlings wing.

Legs. Black hackle from a cock wrapped
down the principal part of the body.

To make it buzz, a dark dun hackle may be
wound upon the above body.

108 FIJI'S F O R S E P T E M B E K.

No. 42. WHIRLING BLUE DUN.

This fly comes from a water nympha, lives
about three days as shewn, then turns to a Light
Red Spinner. It is in season until the middle of
October, and on the water chiefly in blustering
cold weather. It has been supposed to be a second
edition of the Yellow Dun of April. If compared
with that it will be found rather smaller and more
of a ginger-colour.

IMITATION.

Body. Squirrel's red brown fur mixed with

yellow mohair, tied with yellow silk

thread well waxed.
Tail. One or two whisks of a pale ginger

hackle.
Wings. Feather from a starling's wing not very

light.
Legs. Pale ginger hackle.

The Red Spinner lives three or four days. In
making it, reference may be had to fig. 3, plate 4.
It must be rather lighter than that figure.

FLIES FOR S E P T E AT R E R . 1 09

No. 43. LITTLE PALE BLUE DUN.

This fly comes from a water nympha, lives two
or three days as shewn, then changes to a more
delicate fly than that represented. It is upon the
water at the same time as the Whirling Blue, (No.
42) and lasts until the end of the fishing season.
It is very abundant, and taken equally well by
both Trout and Grayling.

IMITATION.

Body. Very pale blue fur mixed with a very

little yellow mohair.
Wings. Feather from the sea swallow.
Legs. The palest blue hackle to be had.

To make it buzz, a sea swallow's feather only
may be wound upon the same body.

The metamorphosis of this fly has very transpa-
rent wings. It is too delicate to be imitated.

.110 FLIKS FOR SEPTEMBER.

No. 44. WILLOW (OR WITHY) FLY.

This fly comes from a water pupa. It is ex-
tremely abundant during this month and the next,
and even later in the season. On very fine days
it may even be found on the water in February.
It generally flutters across the stream, and is best
imitated buzz fashion.

IMITATION.

Body. Mole's fur spun upon yellow silk.
Wings and Legs. A dark dun cock's hackle
strongly tinged a copper-colour.

KX/X

PALMERS FOR THE FISHING SEASON. in

No. 45. RED PALMER.

This is the caterpillar of the Arctia caga or
Tiger Moth. I have found this palmer more
abundantly than any other early in the Spring,
and can recommend use of it to be made as soon
as the water is fit for fishing after a flood ; also on
windy days.

IMITATION.

Peacock herl with a red cock's hackle wrapped
over it, and tied with dark brown silk thread.

No. 46. BROWN PALMER.

This is the caterpillar of the Spilosoma lubrice-
peda, or common Ermine Moth.

It will catch fish throughout the fishing season,
and may be used with most success after a flood
and on windy days.

IMITATION.

Mulberry-coloured worsted spun on brown silk
thread, and a brown stained cock's hackle wrapped
over the whole of it.

US PALMKKS FOIl THE FISHING SEASON

No 47. BLACK PALMER.

This is the caterpillar of the Laciocampa rubi,
or Fox Moth.

It is used at the same times as the Brown
Palmer.

IMITATION.

Black ostrich herl ribbed with gold twist, and
a red cock's hackle wrapped over it.

FINIS.

INDEX.

Alder Fly, 85

Amber colour, recipe for dy-
ing, 36

Art of throwing a fly, 38

Artificial fly, method of mak-
ing an, 28 ; should closely
resemble the natural fly,
13—41

Ash Fly, 74

August Dun, 103

Barton's trie ornaments, 16

Basket, or Creel, 34

Bees and Wasps not taken by
Trout, 12

Bent Hopper, 98

Black Drake, 89

Black Gnat, 76

Black Silver Twist (Fly), 98

Blue Bottle, 107

Blue Dun, 52

Blythe (river), 5

Bottom-line (or foot line), 25

Boxes and Books for flies, 33

Brewster, Sir David, on de-
flected light, &c. 16

Brown, Rev. Thomas, 7

Brown colour, recipe for dy-
ing, 34—36

Buzz Flies, method of mak-
ing, 30; manner of using, 42

Cadow, 86
Cannon Fly, 74
Carlisle Hook, 27
Casting-line (or Bottom), 26
Choice of a fly for fishing,
40 ; of weather, 39

Cinnamon Fly, 105

Clearing Ring, 33

Cob Fly, 58

Coch-a-bonddu, 90

Cock Wing, 50

Cock Tail, 50

Colours of the Grayling, 16;

of the Trout, 2
Condition of the Grayling, 16 ;

of the Trout, 2
Cow Dung Fly, 57
Creel, or Pannier, 34

Dark Mackerel Fly, 92

Davy, Sir Humphrey, on the
fins of Trout, 2 ; on the
colouring matter in the sur-
face of the skin of Trout,
3 ; on the use of nostrils in
fish, 14; on the localities
of the Grayling, 18

Deflected light, 16

Down Hill Fly, 77

Down Head Fly, 74

Down Looker, 74

Dropper and Stretcher, 37

Dubbing Bag, 27

Dun Drake, 60

Dumeril on the Taste, &c. in
Fish, 14

Dyes, recipes for, 34

Examination of the stomach
of the Trout, 14 ; of the
Grayling, 20

Ephemeral Flies, account of,
92

114

IN UEX,

Feeding of Trout, 12

Fern Fly, 84

Fiery Furnace, 104

Fins of the Grayling, 15 ; of

the Trout, 1
Fishing hut (or observatory),

5
Fishing, manner of, for Trout,

37 ; for Grayling, 47
Fly, choice of a, 40
Flies small, why and when

preferred, 41
Fly Books, and Boxes, 33
Fly making, 27
Food of the Grayling, 20 ; of

the Trout, 12
Foot-line, or Bottom, 26
Form of the Grayling, 15
Frog Hopper (light brown), 99
Furnace hackle, 77

Gold Eyed Gauze-Wing, 97
Golden Dun Midge, 63
Glossy winged Drake, 86
Grayling, 15 ; form, 15 ; fins,
15; weight, 15; colour,
16; condition, 16; haunts,
1 7 ; food, 20 ; other names
for, 20 ; fishing for, 47
Grannom, 68
Gravel bed, 67
Great Dark Drone, 56
Great Dark Dun, 54
Great Red Spinner, 61
Green Drake, 87 ; recipe for

dying a feather for, 35
Green Tail, 66
Grey Drake, 88
Gut, recipe, for staining, 36 ;
manner of proving the
strength of, 26

Haunts of Grayling, 17; of

Trout, 3
Hawthorn Fly, 73
Hazel Fly, 90
Hearing, sense of, in fish, 6

Hooks, Kendal Kirby, Lime-
rick, Carlisle, temper of, 27
Humble Bee, 12

Iris ornaments, &c. 16
Iron Blue Dun, 71
Jenny Spinner, 72
July Dun, 96

Kendal Hook, 27
Killing a fish, manner of, 46
Kirby Hook, 27
Knot of three coils, to make
the, 30

Landing Net, 34 ; for Gray-
ling indispensable, 47

Life, resemblance of, should
be given to the artificial flv,
41

Light Mackerel Fly, 58

Limerick Hook, 27

Line, 23

Little Dark Spinner, 80

Little Pale Blue Dun, 109

Little Brown Dun, 79

Little Yellow May Dun, 75

Manner of fishing, 37
March Brown, 58
Marlow Buzz, 91
May Fly, 86
Measurement of the Trout, 1

Nostrils of fish, use of the, 13

Oak fly, 74

Observatory described, 5
Olive Dun colour, recipe for

dying, 35
Orange Fly, 104
Orl Fly, 82

Pale Brown Bent Hopper, 98
Pale Evening Dun, 95
Palmers, black, brown, red,
111; method of making.

INDEX.

115

31 ; never totally out of
season, 41
Pannier, or Creel, 34
Peacock Fly, 59
Plan, or map of a brook, 4
Practice in throwing a fly, 38
Preparation of the rod and

line, 37
Purple feather, recipe for dy-
ing, 35

Recipes for dying, 34
Red Fly, 51
Red Spinner, 53
Red Ant, 100
Reel, 23

Resemblance of life should be
given to the artificial fly, 4 1
Rod, 22

" Rising short" explained, 43
River Blythe, 5

Salmo Fario, 1

Salmo Thymallus, 21

Sand Fly, 64

Saw Fly, 54

Sense of hearing in fishes, 6 ;

of sight, 8 ; of smell, and

taste, 11
Shadow, 44
Shorn Fly, 90
Shyness of the Trout, 5
Sight of fishes, 8
Silver Horns Fly, 101
Sky Blue Dun, 83
Small Flies, 41
Smell and Taste in fish, 1 1
Soldier Fly, 82
Spawning of Trout, 6
Species of Trout, 70 ; of Flies,

48
Spinning Jenny, 70
Spider Fly, 66
Sport, state of the water in

reference to, 39

Stationary position of the

Tret, 4
Stomach of fishes, manner of
examining, 15; of Trout,
14; of Grayling, 20
Stone Fly, 65'
Stretcher and Dropper, 37
Striking a fish, manner of, 45
Sudden cessation of rises, 43

Tackle, 22
Tackle-makers, 33
Taste and smell offish, 11,16
Temper of hooks, 27
Throwing a fly, art of, 38
Throwing to a fish just risen,

44
Trout, measurement, 1 ;

weight, 1 ; fins, 1 ; colour,

2 ; condition, 2 ; haunts,

3 ; stationary position, 5 ;
hearing, 6 ; sight, 8 ; taste,
and smell, 1 1 ; feeding,
&c, 12

Turkey Brown, 78

Umber, or Grayling, 20

Wasps and Bees, rejected by
fish, 12

Water, the state of, for fish-
ing, 39

Water Cricket, 55

Weather, choice of for fishing,
39

Weight of the Trout, 1 ; of
the Grayling, 15

Whirling Blue Dun, 108

Willow Fly, 110

Woodcock Fly, 74

Wren Tail, 98

Yellow Dun, 69
Yellow Sally, 81

C. VVHITTINGHAM. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.

•-..

^n

! 1 1 i

ILLUSTRATED

FLY-FISHER'S TEXT BOOK

COMPLETE GUIDE

SCIENCE OF FLY-FISHING FOR SALMON,
TROUT, GRAYLING, &c,

THEOPIIILUS SOUTH, Gent

TWENTY-THREE ENGRAVINGS, /LITER PAINTINGS BY COOPER, NEWTON
FIELDING, 1 . A. LEE. AND OTHERS.

LONDON :

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN

MDCOCXLV.

LONDON : \V. SPIERS, PRINTER, 17, NORTH AUDLET STREET.

THE

FLY-FISHER'S TEXT-BOOK.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I. THE ANGLER'S PLEASURES 1

II. OF BOOKS ON ANGLING 5

THE ANGLER'S OUTFIT 7

SIEBE'S WEIGHING MACHINE, with an illustration .. 8

GUT 9

SALMON GUT 11

TROUT GUT 12

REEL LINES 12

SALMON REEL LINES 13

TROUT REEL LINES 14

REELS 15

GAFF 17

LANDING NET 18

CLEARING RING, AND ROD SCYTHE 19

TWISTING MACHINE 20

THE FLY-FISHER'S DRESS 21

WADING BOOTS, with an illustration 22

III. FLY RODS 23

COLOUR OF RODS 24

TOP JOINTS 26

SPLICED TOPS 27

WHALEBONE TIPS 28

ASH OR WILLOW BUTS 29

HOLLOW BUTS 30

THE GROOVE AND RING 31

SPLICED RODS 32

ELASTICITY OF RODS, with an illustration 34

BALANCE OF RODS 38

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

HOLMES'S RODS 39

SALMON RODS 40

TROUT RODS 41

HOOKS, with two illustrations 42

IV. THE MILLS OF TREFRIEW, with an illustration 47

SALMON RISING 48

THE HABITS OF FISH 49

TOM AND THE SALMON 52

LARGE SALMON * 54

SIZE OF FISH 55

V. HABITS OF SALMON 58

CASTING LINE 59

COLOUR OF GUT 60

DIRECTIONS FOR DYEING GUT . 61

RECIPES FOR DYEING GUT 62

RECIPES FOR TRANSPARENT WAX 65

COLEMAN'S INSTRUMENT CASE 67

LOOPS, with two illustrations * 68

WAXING 69

THE INVISIBLE KNOT, with three illustrations 71

FOOTLINES 73

WEIGHT OF FISH IN WATER 74

SIZE OF LINES 75

FOOTLINES 76

KNOTS IN LINES, with three illustrations 77

WATER KNOTS, with four illustrations 80

WHIPPING OFF FLIES 82

THROWING THE FLY, with three" illustrations 84

VI. FANCY'S DIFFICULTIES AND FANCY'S DANGERS 104

VII. RECIPE FOR POTTING FISH 108

THROWING THE FLY, with two illustrations 110

THROWING AMONG TREES, with two illustrations ... . 125
THROWING UNDER TREES, HOW TO DISEN-
TANGLE TACKLE 129

THROWING UNDER BUSHES * 132

VIII. THEOPHILUS AND TTRO SETOUT 136

RECIPE FOR PRESERVING TROLLING LINES .. 137
THE RECTOR'S POOL LLANRWST, with an illustration 139

IX. SIZE OF FISH IN WATER 144

HEARING OF FISH 145

CONTENTS. V

CHAPTEll PAGE

COURAGE OF FISH 152

OPTICS OF FISH 153

WEATHER FOR FISHING 154

HAUNTS OF FISH 155

HABITS OF SALMON , 157

POOL FISHING, with an Illustration ' 159

THEOPHILUS HOOKS A FISH 164

HIS MANOEUVRES 165

HE LANDS HIS PRIZE 166

STRENGTH OF FISH 168

THE CAPTAIN'S YARN 169

THE CONWAY 172

MIGRATION OF SALMON * 174

GROWTH OF SALMON 175

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR 183

SALMON FISHING IN SALT WATER 194

SALMON FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER 195

STAKE-NETS 200

DESTRUCTION OF SALMON 202

PRESERVATION OF SALMON 205

X. HAUNTS OF TROUT 210

CHUB-HOLES 212

BAIT FOR SALMON 213

FLIES 214

THE AUTHOR'S SCALE OF HOOKS 220

SIZE OF FLIES 222

A KILLING FLY «..-. *29

EVANS'S FLY 229

AN UNEXPECTED CONCLUSION ..., 230

VI

EMBELLISHMENTS.

No. Subject. Painter. Engraver. Page.

1 Fresh Water Fish F. R. Lee R. A. . . W. B. Scott . . Front.

2 Noon, at the River-side Newton Fielding.Radclyffe. .. . Title

3 Wading the Trout Stream A. Cooper, R.A.J. R. Scott . . 23

4 The Mills at Trefriew. N. Wales . L. J. Wood Griffiths 47

5 The Fisherman's Fire-side J. W. Archer. . . J. W. Archer 57

6 The Trout Strean G. Balmer J. W. Archer 89

7 Trout A. Cooper, R.A. J. Outrim. . . 108

8 The Rector's Pool, Llanrwst L. J. Wood W. B. Scott. . 139

9 The Pool A. Cooper, R.A. W. R. Smith. 159

10 The Wall Stream on the Conway L. J. Wood J. W. Archer 172

11 Leistering Salmon on the Tweed G. Balmer J. W. Archer 174

12 The Thames above Twickenham. J. Jackson J. W. Archer 212

AND MANY ILLUSTRATIVE WOODCUTS.

THE

FLY-FISHER'S TEXT BOOK.

ttftapter $♦

THE AUTHOR DISCOURSETH OV THE DELIOHTS OF FLY-FISHIVG SETTING

FORTH ITS SUPERIORITY ABOVE ALL OTHER SPORTS.

What angler will acknowledge other pleasures

equal to his own ? Yet is it not the sport alone

which draws us with magnetic influence to fix us

spell-bound by the rivers side. No — we have yet

a brighter source of true enjoyment in the pure

air and tranquil country scenes, which wait upon

our wanderings. One while, amid the wildest

sources of the mountain stream — anon, beside the

lovely lowland river. Now tempting its placid

depths of pool, — its freshening runs, — its eddying,

gurgling, glistening rockholes ; — or pausing to

admire the majestic plunge of some adjacent

waterfall. What is so beneficial to a body worn

with the many cares of study, or close application

to a worldly calling, as the free relaxation inwhich

B

Z THE ANGLER S PLEASURES.

we revel when we quit the noise £nd bustle of the
crowded town, to feast upon the mountain breeze ?
Or what can be so renovating to the wearied
mind as to contemplate Nature's loveliness, with
placid thoughts, which gladden and improve the
heart, and turn its peaceful reveries in gratitude
to Nature's God ?

Angling is a pastime which has been much and
frequently villified and ridiculed. I use the past
tense advisedly ; for since so many men, good and
great, rich and mighty, not only in worldly, but
also in mental lore, have appeared as its advocates,
it has long since ceased to be considered a mean,
or despicable art. Some few have ventured to
pronounce it a childish amusement : but I con-
sider that the love of it derives not its existence
from juvenile habit alone ; for though it mostly
" grows with our growth and strengthens with our
strength," — and though the old adage "once a
chub-hole always a chub-hole," may fairly be read
" once an angler, always an angler," oftentimes it
will win a tyro of ripened years, or be adopted as
the recreation of old age. I need notice no more
striking instance of this than the conversion of
Sir H. Davy, who handled a^-rod, at all events,
for the first time when he was Professor of the
Royal Institution; although he did so, under the
preceptorship of one who might, perhaps, re-
member the use of thread and a bent pin in

THE ANGLERS PLEASURES. 3

childhood, my late esteemed friend Sir Anthony
Carlisle. The bare mention of such name, is surely
enough at once to deaden the barb of derision.

Some writers have expressed surprise at the
enthusiasm of anglers, seeing that the produce of the
sport seldom appears to counterbalance the general
disappointment and dulness. But surely they
have not traced the subject up to its source. The
sportsman's real object is not, in general, to ac-
quire a quantity of game ; else he might purchase
it at less cost and with less trouble in the
public markets ; but it is, that he may enjoy the
pleasure of an art. The game is but the means
of his excitement.

The quantum of success by no means consti-
tutes the test of pleasure in any field sport ; else
how insipid would be fox-hunting! But on the
average we fishermen catch as much per head,
compared with the expenditure of coin upon
tackle, as any other field sport produces under
like comparison.

Dr. Johnson has the discredit of having defined
angling to be a stick, and a string, with " a worm
at one end and a fool at the other," this is a poor
illogical sarcasm. The doctor knew nothing of
the skill called for in the rare art. I know many
followers of the craft who by their skill would
have landed " the great bear" himself, with a gut-
line not thicker than a single thread from his

b 2

4 THE ANGLEU S SCTENCE.

" three ribbed hose/' and a genuine O'Shaughnessey
bend, with as much ease as the doctor would
have hoisted a minnow with Chinese twist as thick
as whipcord, and a No. 5 hook, from out the tiny
rivulet. I doubt not but that the science of the
fool would beat all the doctor's learning in this
respect !

Again as to the folly of fishing— if science be
the standard which should direct our choice, look
at the names of those who have from age to age
enrolled themselves as its supporters, and the dis-
ciples of Walton will then appear as the sands of
the sea, compared with the admirers of Nimrod.
— Field sports are but " an employment for idle
time which is then not idly spent," and I know no
reason why the question of superiority amung
them should ever have been mooted. But without
seeking to give offence to any, I might fairly
venture to assert that there are, and have been,
more thinking men among anglers than any other
class of sportsmen, and in my humble judgment
there is likewise more to think about. Let no one
in his ignorance say that there is folly in fishing ;
but rather take my word for it, that there is a
science in its practice and in the economy of fish,
the depths of which would not be sounded by a
lead-line as long as the days of Methuselah.

®UpUt M.

BOOKS ON ANGLING— LONDON TACKLE THE BEST— THE FLY- FISHER'S OUTFIT
— SIEBE'S WEIGHING MACHINE— OUT IN GENERAL AND HOW MADE-
SALMON AND TROUT OUT HEEL LINES IN GENERAL— DITTO FOR SALMON

AND TROUT-FISHING— REELS OR WINCHES IN GENERAL AND FOR SALMON
AND TROUT LINES— SIR F. CHANTREY's PATTERN— GAFF— SCYTHE BLADE

AND STICK LANDINO-NET— CLEARING-RING— ROD SCYTHE OR "ANGLER's

FRIEND" TWISTING MACHINE— THE AUTHOR INFORMETH THE TYRO AS

TO AN APPROPRIATE DRESS.

I have read almost every book on angling extant,
and out of, I know not how many, for Pickering
published a fearful catalogue, entitled " Biblio-
theca Piscatoria," at the end of his " Piscatorial
Reminiscences," and some have appeared since, I
cannot pick one volume that has pretensions to
anything like a perfect treatise. This is surely a
disgrace to our craft ; since it tends, either to the
conclusion, that there is not among us one who
can express his thoughts, if he possess any, as to
the practice of the art ; or else, that we are all too
jealous to divulge our secrets in a pastime so
generally enjoyed. Many of these books have
some good point or points, but none are altogether

6 BOOKS ON ANGLING.

worthy of attention, in regard to their practical
information. Upon the subject of fly-fishing (al-
though it unfortunately gives no more than the
outline of bright ideas), the work which evinces
most thought and industry in its author, is Cap-
tain Williamsons "Vade Mecum," published in
1808. In another work, Ronalds' " Fly-fisher's
Entymology," the drawings and descriptions of flies,
natural and artificial, render it not only an acqui-
sition, but almost absolutely essential to an angler's
" armory :" and that author's observations on
the senses of fish, are, I think, well worth attention,
though I do not entirely subscribe to them, and
may have occasion to dispute their correctness in
some respects hereafter.

With respect to the fly-fisher's outfit, let me
premise, that it is not prejudice which gives pre-
ference in my esteem to London-made tackle;
but rather a strong conviction that it is much
more serviceable, better constructed, and of better
manufacture and materials, both to the eye and
hand, than any which can be procured from the
country or even from the sister countries : and for
one obvious reason, viz. that we have in this
immense metropolis, the emporium of the world,
the greatest command of capital ; which always
attracts to it the best artificers and materials;
while the best sportsmen of all kinds (who, in

THE ANGLER'S OUTFIT.

fact, direct the style of manufacture), always re
sort hither to make their purchases.

The requisites in the anglers outfit for a short
excursion are; two hanks of salmon-gut, three
ditto of stout trout-gut, two ditto, very fine ditto,
a salmon-rod of eighteen feet, a double handed
trout-rod of about fifteen feet, a light single-handed
rod of about twelve feet, two salmon reel lines, three
trout ditto,* a salmon-reel, a trout ditto, a gaff,
stick, and strap, a landing-net, one hundred and a
half of salmon-hooks, the like of trout ditto, a
clearing-ring and string, a rod-scythe (called by
its maker " the angler's friend in need,") and what
is equally useful, a gardener's pocket saw-knife or
hatchet, and a twisting machine, weight, and guide.
These, with a fly-book, will complete the usual
outfit.

But there is one other article, which, although
not prone to novelty seeking, I must recommend
to the notice of my brethren. This is the " Sports-
man's Weighing Machine." The principle of
it is somewhat the same as that in the com-
mon eighteen-penny iron spring balance : but
this to which I allude, is not only more correct
owing to the reduction of internal friction,

* A reserve of these last two articles is always desirable, since breakage
towards their respective centres renders them comparatively useless.

SIfclBES WEIGHING MACHINE.

but being made of brass, and more
highly finished, is so neat and por-
table, that it may very conveniently
be carried in the waistcoat-pocket.
It is altogether a very beautiful
contrivance, and, by the way, ema-
nates from the same clever engineer,
who, amongst other things, invented
what is called, " Marriott's Patent
Circular Dial Weighing Machine,"
now so universally used ; as well as
of the well known diving helmet and
dress. These machines are calcu-
lated to carry any weight, measuring
by a quarter of a pound, up to lOlbs.
and 20lbs. or more. One for 20lbs.
is about half an inch diameter, and
five inches in length, and for lOlbs.
it is much smaller. To fishermen they are de-
sirable instruments, because they reduce "fish-
erman's weight" to standard measure ! or give by
the waterside the exact weight of a fish the moment
he is taken : moreover, they are extremely handy
to test the strength of hooks — gut-lines, and so
forth, and enable us to feel what strain we may
reasonably throw upon our rods, while playing
a fish. I need hardly say they will weigh beef
and mutton as well as fish: and are, therefore,

GUT. 9

of as much general domestic use as any other
weighing machine of this kind can be. The
maker has also contrived one still more accurate,
similar to the circular dials above mentioned,
which, though they weigh up to 30lbs., are no
larger than a watch made forty years ago — these,
however, are rather more expensive.

I shall now devote some space to a more par-
ticular description of the good and bad qualities
of the articles mentioned in the foregoing list.

Gut. — In choosing gut of any kind, be not
too much guided by an apparent thickness, but,
as far as your time and patience will permit,
select such as is perfectly round ; and to prove it
so, try each piece by turning it quickly between
the fore-finger and thumb ; for if it be in anywise
flat, this will only be effected with difficulty, and
then you may safely condemn it. Each piece or
length, should be also to the teeth, hard like wire,
— colourless, and transparent as glass, which tes-
tifies strength — free from unravelled fibres, which
are attended with an inclination to split or peel —
knotted roughness, which shows almost actual
rottenness ; the spaces between the knots when
pulled lengthways between the fingers, being soft
and weak; or flashing lights when seen in a
slanting direction, which indicate flatness, and
consequent weakness. It should possess stiffness,
too, in bending, and with this should be com-

10 GUT.

bined elasticity ; so that after being doubled
upon itself (in the shape of a loop for instance),
it instantly returns to its straight position. If,
in thus doubling, it assume anything like angu-
larity, it will not do — for it surely possesses
unequal degrees of strength, even if, where it
forms into such angles, it be not absolutely rotten.

When gut is first imported, and before expo-
sure to the air and light, it is sometimes of a
yellowish tinge; therefore do not discard it on
that account, if it be at the same time transparent,
and possess the other good qualities.

Hereafter I shall explain how to dye gut ; I
would therefore recommend you to buy it in its
natural state ; whereby you will more readily
observe defects, which the stain might conceal,
and be also satisfied that deleterious ingredients
are avoided in obtaining the colour you require,
or which I may advise.

It may not be altogether uninteresting to learn
the mode by which this beautiful material is
produced, and which I find no where mentioned.
It. is made in the silk provinces, where the silk-
worm is much larger than any we see in this
country. About two days, or less, before the
worm would spin its cocoon — that is, just as it
begins to assume a transparency about the head,
it is immersed in an acid of some kind, weaker,
I apprehend, than vinegar, and colourless ; after

SALMON GUT. 11

soaking about eighteen hours, the insect is taken
out, and on opening it, two short thick lobes, or
guts, are discovered towards the upper end of the
body, perfectly transparent, though tinged with
yellow. Each of these, on being separately drawn
out with great care, stretch, and become opaque
at they do so, and ultimately transparent, to the
length of upwards of a yard, and are then left
upon the full stretch to dry, and the good part,
from ten to twenty inches, ultimately becomes
fit for use. For its thickness, its strength is really
wonderful, since, under fair circumstances, a
good length fit for salmon fishing, will lift at least
151bs. dead weight, when tested by Siebe's
machine. I have myself made gut out of our
native worms ; not fit for use, certainly, because
too fine ; yet the experiment was sufficient to
show the principle of its production, and there-
fore very interesting. We find it to be the silk
in its unripe state, and not a part of the organs
of the insect itself (as its name would imply),
that forms this invaluable assistant to our skilful
endeavours against " the shadows that glide
through the waters."

Salmon Gut may be in substance as thick as
you can find it, and you will possess a treasure,
if, in one hank, many lengths are as thick as a
middling sized pin, or stout netting silk. In
length, the part for use, should run from sixteen

J2

REEL LINES.

to eighteen inches at least ; and the longer the
better, provided the substance be uniform.

The thicker Trout Gut should be of the
diameter of ordinary sewing-silk ; whilst the
thinner sort may be almost the very finest you can
procure, provided it be " round and sound," and
keeping in view all other requisites for strength.
Ten to sixteen inches is the usual length of each
thread. "Store is no sore;" so a few extra
hanks cannot be objectionable, especially as so
much is consumed in twisted lines for salmon-
fishing, one hank not making more than three
twisted bottom or foot-lines, as you will find
hereafter.

Reel Lines. — I have had some talk with one
of the best line makers in London, who is a prac-
tical angler to boot, and he thinks nothing equal
to the silk and hair for fly lines, or the plaited
and prepared silk for trolling or spinning. We
talked of fly lines made of human hair, and his
objection to them was their liability to " sponge"
up much water, and to stretch and shrink to a
great degree. He had found them shrink a foot
to the yard in water, and if pulled when dry to
stretch in the same proportion. I have not made
up my own mind on the subject, never having
tested them in actual use. If, as he says, they
soak up so very much water, that is a decisive
objection. They are not certainly so strong as a

SALMON REEL LINES. 13

new silk and hair line of equal thickness ; but as
human hair is thought to defy the rot and ruin even
of the grave for many years, I feel satisfied that
aline of this latter material would be much more
durable; for the silk in the ordinary line is soon
worn out by friction against the rod's rings, if
ever so great care be taken to preserve it from
rot, and then its strength is gone. For my part
1 never expect the point of a line to last above
half a season's fishing, although Lnever put my
line away without first drying it well. Human
hair lines must necessarily be nearly double the
expense of others. As to their elasticity I should
rather look upon it as an advantage than other-
wise, especially in striking and playing a fish.
However, take the silk and hair for the present,
for these on the whole appear the best. Some
persons prefer twisted silk alone, lines of which
are made at Nottingham. Some use twisted, and
some plaited hemp, which latter I know you can
meet with in Liverpool, though I do not recom-
mend them, because they are generally too stout,
and, however nicely prepared (which they may
be by being boiled in linseed oil and other secrets,
such as Marshall's preparation), I do not consider
them so lasting, or capable of being thrown so
lightly, as the silk and hair. Economy is their
chief recommendation.

Salmon Reel Lines. — Now as to these, they

14 TROUT REEL LINES.

should be from sixty to eighty yards long — you
require this latter length especially, where a
salmon inclines to run much, and from your con-
tiguity to trees or bushes on the bank, you cannot
follow him or change your position. Another
advantage is, that as the end which is so much
on the water and so constantly passing through
the rings of the rod in shortening or lengthening
your throw can never be depended on for sound-
ness above one season at most, removing the
damaged part, sufficient length still remains for
ordinary rivers and places, while a joint or splice
in a line should always be avoided, if feasible.
The material, I repeat, should be silk and hair
twisted, and the end, for about twelve yards, may
taper slightly ; though, perhaps, it is as well to
have it of uniform substance throughout, of about
the thickness of the " D" in the third octave in
your sister's harp (to measure which, borrow her
string guage), or thinner than a new shilling,
which is strong enough for any salmon and any
where, provided it is used skilfully. Many old and
experienced salmon fishers adopt much stouter ;
yet / prefer fine fishing, and am ready, for a
wager, to kill any fish under 50 lbs. in a tolerable
situation with the substance I allude to. It will
bear at least 18 lbs. dead weight, and perhaps
more.

Trout Reel Lines should be of the same

REELS. 15

material, viz. twisted hair and silk, but necessa-
rily much thinner, and from thirty to fifty yards
in length ; or even longer for lake-fishing, where
heavy trout are expected. However, thirty
yards is quite enough for a light trout rod. They
must taper gradually for the last eight or ten
yards to the end, where, in substance, they should
not exceed the first " D" on the aforesaid harp
guage, or very thick netting silk, while the
stouter end should be about equal to the second
"D."

Reels. — Be particular in the choice of winches
or reels ; they should be proportionate to the size
of your rod and line, and should carry the latter
easily, without being guided on in winding up ;
else there is fear of entanglement. Reels require
very good and delicate workmanship, great
strength, and little weight of metal ; all the parts
should be closely fitted to each other, and, in
particular, the inner revolving plate should be
well applied upon the exterior fixed one. They
should run freely, otherwise you cannot wind up
steadily ; and the larger the diameter of the
circular plates, and the narrower in proportion
the pillars or bars between them, the greater will
be the length of line taken up at each turn of the
handle. Your trout reel should be a multiplier;
but as the increase of the speed by means of the
cog-wheels diminishes the power, so for large fish,

16 REELS.

such as salmon, you should have no multiplying
movement. Both kinds, however, should have
check or click machinery, which prevents slight
catches from pulling the line off. Mind, I don't
mean the old fashioned stop, that being quite passS,
although recommended by a modern publication
on the subject. The usual kind of winches have
an axis on which the line is wound, of from about
a quarter to a half inch in diameter ; but the
most improved have, instead, barrels of about one
inch diameter, so that the very first foot wound
on is taken up at the rate of three inches to every
turn of the handle, whereby the speed is greatly
increased. Mr. Eaton, of Crooked Lane, has
the pattern of this kind of winch, which was
devised by the eminent sculptor, and devoted fly-
fisher, Sir Francis Chantrey. For salmon the
plates are about five inches diameter ; and for
trout, of about three and a half inches, and they
are very narrow between the plates. They are
tremendously strong, but certainly rather too
heavy, in my humble judgment, and necessarily
very expensive ; yet the advantage of speed in
winding up is great, and more than counter-
balances these objections. If the line you apply
to a reel be anywise too short to fill it, you may
always add to the thickness of the axis any mate-
rial, such as a split cork, or strong twine, and
thus gain the advantage in speed of winding up.

GAFF. 17

For the convenience of carriage, and to avoid
breaking or bending, you should have what are
termed, " return handles ;" that is, handles
screwed on with a large headed screw, which,
when the reel is out of actual use, you can, with
your fingers, readily take off, and reversing it,
put the ivory handle over the plate and screw it
down in that position. If, from economy, you
prefer one for salmon with a plain axis, a reel of
three inches and a quarter diameter across the
plates, and one inch and three-eighths between
them, will very well carry a sixty yard line,
the substance I mention ; and another half
inch in diameter will afford ample room for
twenty yards more.

Gaff.- -Your gaff hook should be without a
barb, and of tough-tempered, well-pointed steel,
but not too large ; try its temper before buying
it. Some have on the back a kind of sharp
curved blade or scythe lying flat with a lateral
hinge, used for cutting branches whereto your
line or hook may have taken a liking. The whole
should be attached by a strong screw into a brass
socket, on the head of a stick, about two feet
six inches long. This you may sling over your
shoulder upon a leather strap and swivel hook,
and can fish with it in that position without
inconvenience. In lieu of this stick, however,
many have a brass telescope handle, not unlike

c

18 LANDING NET.

that of a drawing-room hearth broom, which folds
up into so short a length as to lie conveniently
in the coat pocket. Others again adopt the plan
of having the gaff stick in two or three pieces,
each of about eighteen inches, to screw together,
very similar to a gun cleaning-stick. These
pieces are carried, detached, in pockets made for
the purpose, inside the left front of the fishing-
jacket. You have always plenty of time between
hooking and landing a fish to put it together,
and have the convenience of four and a half feet in
length, which in some places is almost absolutely
requisite. Let me here caution you, unless the
hook also revolves on a hinge so as to shut up, to
carry a cork on its point, or you may, perchance,
gaff an odd fish — yourself to wit !

Landing Net. — For trout fishing, to screw
into the same handle, a landing net is requisite
about fifteen to eighteen inches diameter; and it
is very convenient to have its hoop hinged so as
to fold for the pocket. Or, I have found it
extremely handy, and far preferable for trout
streams, the banks of which are low, to make one
thus ; take a stout cane, of about six feet in length,
and along the middle of its length lap tightly a split
piece of the same, thinned off at its ends ; then
bend and bind together the two ends of the whole
length, so that it assumes the form of a pear or
balloon; these ends form a short handle, which

CLEARING RING, AND ROD SCYTHE, 19

is to be bound over with leather like a whip-
handle. Thus you have the hoop and handle of
your landing net, to which your own ingenuity
must tell you to attach a net of sufficient size ;
and the whole machine is so light, that by a loop
of string of the upper broad part you may carry
it handle downwards at the river side, suspended
to a hind button on your coat, and moreover if
you are careless, drop it behind you and never
miss its weight !

Clearing Ring. — You must also have a
brass -jointed clearing ring and strong line of
considerable length attached to it. This often
proves serviceable in breaking off any improper
attachment which your fly may form for sticks or
stumps at a distance in the water ; and you should
never fish in any way without it.

Rod Scythe. — The rod scythe is a machine
for the like use as regards trees on land, and is
similar in shape to a reaper's hook, somewhat
like a note of interrogation (?) It is made very
small and light, of good rough steel, with the
inner edge very sharp. That part which answers
to the handle in the reaper's hook, is hollowed so
as to receive the point of a rod ; and to use it,
you attach it to the cord of your clearing ring by
a loop or hole with which it must be provided.
Its use is this, that when your fly gets hung up
in a tree in a place where the length of the rod

c 2

20 THE ANGLER'S D It ESS.

will reach, (and it seldom attaches itself higher,)
placing the scythe on the top of the rod, you
hook it on to the branch to which your fly
hangs ; then removing your rod and pulling by
the string, you can either cut away the branch,
if slight enough ; or at least, if the worst comes,
cut the gut close to your fly, and thereby save
straining your tackle. This I met with at Cole-
man's, the cutler, in the Haymarket, who de-
nominates it " the angler's friend." A small
garden saw, knife, or hatchet, is not a bad thing
to carry about you for these purposes.

A Twisting Machine and weight are abso-
lutely necessary for a salmon fisher who manu-
factures his own lines, &c and I can only say
buy it at a good shop and see that it turns
smoothly and evenly.

The Angler's Dress. — Perhaps I shall be
thought hypercritical in saying that some con-
sideration is necessary as to piscatory costume.
Need I prove that one colour is more perceptible
than another? Need I point out the fact in
natural history, that fishes have eyes ! — that they
are shy, timid creatures ? White or black are not,
I think, much better than scarlet, and you should
avoid any marked colours, whether light or dark.
As far as my observation upon this point extends,
I have remarked that the colour least discernible
in the distance, is something of a light shade,

THE ANGLER'S DUESS. 21

between a green-olive, and a slate-colour ; and
presuming that it partakes of the same invisi-
ble quality when near, I should recommend it.
Moreover not knowing that fish have any predic-
tion for a black hat, let me recommend alight drab.
Though, perhaps after all, the fisherman's truly
invisible garb is woven of care and caution !

John Dennys, on this subject, says in his poem
published A. D. 1613—

" And let your garments russet be or grey
Of colour darke, and hardest to discry,
That with the raine and weather will away,
And least offend the fearful fishes eye."

Though, by the bye, I by no means agree with
his annotator, W. Lauson, that " white" is good
because it is likest the sky ? Is white linen
drying on a hedge hard to detect in the distance ?
or is a white cloud soothing to the sight?

You may as well furnish yourself with a pair
of wading boots, unless you are bent on rheumatism.
There is no sort which I can at present recom-
mend. Those of Mackintosh material are very
good as long as they last, but that is not long.
I was unfortunate lately in missing an oppor-
tunity of buying a most excellent pair, owing to
a little hesitation ; they were gone when I had
made up my mind to adopt them, and by the
way, who do you think had purchased them?

The Marchioness of H ! Bravo feminine

Piscator ! I glory in your taste for the art ; but

22 WADING THE TROUT STREAM.

wherefore should you wade ? They were made
of solid India rubber ; but there is not another
pair like them to be bought in the kingdom. In
the Strand they make them also of solid sheet
Indian rubber, but the price, alas ! is five guineas,
which is the only thing against them, for they
would last, I believe, for ever ; besides being so
perfectly impervious to the wet, as to keep the
angler in comfort and health ; although his only
success may oftentimes be sought and found as
here depicted, — by c< wading the trout stream,"

I if

23

«tJ)aptet *»♦

OF FLY-RODS AND HOOKS.

Now as to fly rods in general let me pre-
mise, that in them particularly, the strength of
every inch is put to the test more or less on each
cast of the line, and therefore will they require
the best workmanship and most careful selection.
In choice of them, it will be necessary very
minutely to examine the grain of the wood of which
each piece is formed, observing that it should
run, as nearly as possible, straight from end to
end up each joint ; if it crosses, or if you find any
knots, or the slightest appearance of crack, or
other blemish, it should be at once condemned.
Moreover never be beguiled into trying a rod
inside a confined shop ; rather carry it into the
open air, where you can freely prove its elasticity,
and other qualities. In Liverpool and elsewhere,
they make salmon rods of East India bamboo, of
which I cannot approve, though they are certainly
lighter and very strong ; yet they are mostly too
stiff, and can never be made to play and work so

24 FLY RODS.

pleasantly or equably as those made of the materials
I shall mention. The wood of which a rod is to
be composed, should be first well seasoned for four
or five years, at least, in the log ; and should then
be cut into slips for joints, which should remain at
least two or three years more, before they are
finally worked up into form. This will at once
show you the importance of dealing at an old and
well established shop, as no small dealer or
manufacturer can sink his capital so long; and it
should also convince you of the wisdom of not
grudging a good price for so important an article.
It will, perhaps, also soon be found advisable to
resort to one of the patent modes of preparing
wood against dry rot. Not that such a disease often
troubles rods, because when cut into slips, the air
has sufficient action to prevent it. But by the
method used in those patents, (Sir William
Burney's at all events,) the wood is much
strengthened.

The colour of the rod is not in general much
regarded, and may not materially signify; al-
though, I for one, am inclined to think even this
worthy of consideration; for as one colour is
doubtless more discernible to the human eye
than another, so, if we can judge from analogy,
it will be to that of fishes. At one time, I
preferred black stained, but, upon observation^
unstained is less visible. I also much question

FLY RODS. 25

whether it is not a disadvantage to have rods
highly varnished; since in the sunshine this
reflects the rays of light, and is consequently
liable to excite the attention of the keen eye of
the fish as he is about to rise to the lure, or
perhaps prevent his rising altogether. Often
have I detected the presence of a brother sports-
man at a pool half a mile off, on a bright day,
simply by the flash of his rod, his person being
altogether hidden by intervening substances.
And I am convinced some advantage would be
gained by giving to those points more attention.
We yield great credit to fish for acuteness in
their visional organs in connection with the colour
of the flies we use, but are utterly careless in
concealing that which ought to be hidden. And
it may be, that to the rough unvarnished dullness
in the rods of the lower order of fishermen, their
frequent advantage over those more curious in
their tackle is to be attributed ; " since," as
Dennys says,

" the fishes are affrighted with the least

Aspect of any glittering thing or white."

Varnish, or something in the nature of it, is
absolutely essential to the preservation of rods,
as well as to prevent their being temporarily
affected by rain, or damp air ; but it would be
an improvement if some less glittering coat were
substituted.

26 FLY RODS.

It is essential to have at least three spare
top-joints to every fly-rod ; especially when
we stretch far away from the maker : for even if
an accident do not occur, a month's daily wear
must loosen the splicing.

As some diversity of opinion prevails as to the
make of a top joint, some prefering it spliced, and
others of one entire piece, I must trouble you
with a few observations upon the subject. Let
me premise that I advocate the former, as, in my
personal experience, none can play better or are
stronger, (as long as the splicing holds together),
than such as are made according to the London
fashion. The stoutest piece next to the upper
" joint" in these, is lance-wood; then, come two
or three pieces of East Indian bamboo split out
of a thick stock : and lastly, a splice of whale-
bone, forms the point or tip of the rod. The
advocates for solid tops imagine that the
different kinds of wood cause a varied and im-
proper degree of pliancy to the whole rod ; and
they especially object that the whalebone tip
gives too much weight to that part. Now the
only objection that I have ever found to spliced
tops, is that they occasionally get out of order by
the glue at the joints giving way. A trifling
annual expence, however, (if we are not ourselves
clever enough to perform the reparation), in
addition to the yearly coat of varnish, which

FLY HODS. 27

every rod ought to have in order to its general
preservation, will remedy that inconvenience.
The advantages of spliced rods I conceive to
exist, in the spring being more true, and better
capable of graduation; while the woods which
compose it are lighter, and quite as strong as any
entire piece can be.

In proof, it is very certain that in making a
top of an entire piece, it would be madness to
use a young shoot of any kind of wood ; as it
would contain pith down its centre, and could
not be so tough or strong as that of older growth.
It must therefore be cut out of a solid of more
seasoned stuff. Yet when it is planed clown,
tapering to a fine point, the grain is cut through
obliquely and so rendered liable to split or peel ;
and the more it is reduced, it becomes limp and
worthless, instead of more elastic. I think the tops
made of entire pieces at Liverpool, of wood
coming from the Essiquibo River, are too stiff,
from the impossibility of reducing them sufficiently,
and are therefore objectionable for fly-rods, how-
ever desirable in other respects. If, on the other
hand, you take several pieces of wood, each
lessening in thickness as well as in fineness
of grain, and splice them together, inasmuch as
you are not required to cut through the grain to
taper them, (rubbing down with sand-paper being
sufficient to adapt the ends uniformly to each

28 WHALEBOXE TIPS.

other,) there is no diminution in their several
strength. Moreover this affords an opportunity
of introducing, as I said before, the best sort of
wood for elasticity as well as lightness ; viz.
Bamboo cane, which could not be procured of
sufficient length for a top without splicing, owing
to the intervention of the natural joints or knots ;
and lancewood, though too heavy, and perhaps
too brittle when so much reduced in substance,
for the point of the rod, is yet elastic ; and,
forming the thickest splice in the top, constitutes
a medium weight and pliancy of wood between
the hiccory of the "joints" and the bamboo of
which the second and other splices of the " top"
are composed. There is another advantage in
spliced tops, namely, that if a breakage should
happen, the damaged part can be replaced with-
out the expence of an entire new top.

Whalebone Tips. — No was to the "weighty"
objection to whalebone tips, what an exquisite
sense of feeling must a man have to detect it !
But supposing it to be perceptible, look at the
immense advantage whalebone affords. Elastic
toughness is introduced in the thinnest part of
the rod, — the part which is almost solely engaged
in receiving the first shock of striking a fish;
and as the fault of fishermen is mostly to strike
too forcibly, it is as well that they should
have something not liable to break. Notwith-

ASH OR WILLOW BUTS. 29

standing that a top maybe very well, in good hands,
without whalebone, I can at the same time see
no disadvantage in having it : and it is, assuredly,
less liable to fracture, (if fracture be possible),
than any wood of the same thickness could be.
Besides, as has been observed elsewhere, if, in
carrying a rod, you happened to poke it, point
foremost, against the ground, or a tree, it is ten
to one a wooden tip would fly. A recent work
on Fly-fishing, — Shipley and Fitzgibbon, at page
35, quotes Bambridge as an authority, and re-
commends that " whatever number of pieces the
rod is to be composed of, between the but and
the top-piece, they must all be cut from the same
log." This mode of advice I cannot understand,
for, in the following page, they recommend as
many various woods to be used in a rod as I do.

Ash or Willow Buts. — According to the
work before alluded to, the but of a rod should
be of willow, on account of its lightness, rejecting
ash as too heavy. This merely alludes to trout-
rods, however, whilst my remarks equally apply
to those for trout or salmon. Willow is much
lighter than hiccory, and if you put an hiccory
joint above a willow but, how can you, unless
the but be very thick and clumsy, obtain an
equally graduated weight throughout the rod ?
Besides which, you will find that weight in the
hand is advantageous, and surely a trout rod of

30 HOLLOW BUTS.

fourteen ounces is not likely to fatigue, (by the
difference of weight in ash and willow), in the
few hours of fishing.

As to the comparative strength of ash and
willow, the former bears the palm beyond a
doubt ; and if you attempt to throw thirty yards
of line against wind with a willow wand, all I
can say is, were I in your place, I should like to
have a spare ash staff at hand ! What muscular
strength is requisite to wield a trout rod ? No
muscular exertion ought to be called forth, in
trout fishing at least, otherwise something else is
surely defective. For myself, I can say, that I
have fished from five in the morning till nine
o'clock in the evening, the greater part of the
day against a strong wind, with my single handed
trout-rod, —measuring fourteen feet, three inches,
and a half, and weighing one pound two
ounces, and generally throwing from twenty to
thirty yards of line, and never experienced any
trouble from its weight, or the exertion required
for its free use.

Hollow Buts. — I do not advise any one to
have a hollow but. To be sure it is often re-
commended as being less heavy ; yet, as I have
already stated, weight in that portion of the rod
is no disadvantage, but rather assists in the
facility of recovering a rod to its perpendicular,
when fishing. Nor can a hollow, by possibility,

SPLICED RODS* 31

be so strong ; and as the only other object of
having it so hollowed out, is the convenience of
carrying a spare top, in case of accidents, in my
opinion, it is worse than useless ; because the
tops are thereby inevitably injured at the ends.
If the carriage of a spare top be the only recom-
mendation to hollow buts, have a gaff, or land-
ing-net-pole made hollow, of sufficient length.
I would rather even strap the spare top to a
piece of common straight wood, and sling it in
some way at my back, if I went to the river un-
attended, than forego solidity in this part. But
I am always inclined to leave such incumbrances
at my nightly resting-place, carrying with me a
sharp knife, and plenty of well-waxed twine in
lieu, to repair damages to the single top that
accompanies me.

The Groove and Ring for attaching the
winch should be about a foot from the end of
the but of a salmon rod, or less, according to
the size of it ; and above all things it is neces-
sary to take care that the winch fits with sufficient
tightness. " Experience makes one wise." By
disregarding this caution, I once, when snap-
fishing, lost a monster of a pike, the winch coming
off whilst I was in the very act of winding up to
land him.

Spliced Rods. — With regard to spliced rods
(I mean those of which all the pieces or joints

32 SPLICED RODS.

are so made, that instead of being fitted together
with socket and ferrule, the joints are tied by the
owner when required for use, and separated
again when laid by, and these are sometimes
called " scared"), there is much trouble attending
them ; yet the advantages are infinite if some
little pains-taking, such as I shall here point out,
is bestowed, it is only the trouble that keeps
them out of fashion. The advantages are, they
are lighter by the weight of the brass ferrules ;
nor is there that stiffness about the joints which
ferrules inevitably cause ; and they are decidedly
stronger, inasmuch as the letting in and on of the
brass work tends to weaken the wood. Besides,
there is always a sudden resistance in the spring
close to the ferrule, which is the part where
experience tells us anglers, rods generally break.
However, as the only objection to splicing is a
very formidable one, I do not like a rod joined
entirely by this means. On the contrary, let the
but and "joints" be made with ferrules and
sockets in the usual way, the joints being pro-
vided with corresponding hitchers to secure them
together by tying, while throwing. But of all
things, avoid any except plain ferrules ; the Irish
socket, peg and groove, or the socket and screw,
being very seldom perfectly made to begin with;
and never continuing long in order; besides
adding much in point of weight. I recommend

SPLICED RODS. 33

the "top" and the thinner joint next it to be
spliced together. The trouble of whipping and
unwhipping this, need not be often incurred, as
the two pieces, when once whipped, can easily
be laid on a ledge, or on the floor of a room,
during the evenings of a "fishing bout," and
need seldom be taken to pieces, excepting for the
purpose of travelling. Be particular, however,
to have the splices left quite plain, without the
least notch or groove in them. I have seen
attempts, by means of small brass pegs and holes
to receive them, to hold the spliced joint more
firmly together when whipped ; but you must
bear in mind, that the smallest perforation of the
wood tends to weaken it, and I have witnessed
the breaking of two or three rods exactly at the
holes formed by, and corresponding with, the
pegs in question. My own rod was made in this
style, and it broke in that particular spot. So I
removed all the pegs and plugged up the holes
with oak, hammered and glued in. I have a
secret, which I think worth knowing, appertain-
ing to splices. With very fine well-waxed silk,
whip over the two splices separately ; it not only
strengthens them, but when bound together, they
are more tenacious than the bare wood could be,
and will not shift with ever so hard a month's
throwing. The material with which you bind

34 ELASTICITY OF RODS.

the splices together should be strong plaited silk
trolling-line, well waxed, one end of it should be
whipped on to the " joint;" and on the " top joint"
should be a hitcher, which is a doubled piece of
wire,. whipped flat, half-way up it, to the rod, to
secure the other end when the binding is com-
pleted. The binding silk should be long enough
to bind the whole splice closely, and a little more.
Although the longer the splice is cut, the less
liable it is to shift ; yet it is less strong than a
shorter one, which, by the whipping of silk as I
have before recommended, may hold quite as firm.
However, when the two splices are bound together,
if, on holding the whole of it in the grasp of my
hand, and shaking the rod, I feel more play in
the splice, and, consequently, more weakness
than in the upper portions of the top, I make it a
rule to unbind the whole, and insert a split quill
well-soaked in water, previous to the operation,
under the entire length of the binding, which
secures strength and elasticity at the same time,
just as it does in a coach whip.

The Elasticity or Degree of Pliancy
in A Rod. — Now comes a part of the subject
which is most difficult to treat ; namely, the de-
gree or quantity of elasticity a rod should possess.
Observe that whatever is the quantity, the quality
must be uniform and gradual from one end to

ELASTICITY OF RODS. 35

the other. If in waving it, one part feels weaker
or more stiff than another, at once reject it as
bad. Some judgment, which words can scarcely
convey, is required to detect this ; but if you
take in your hand a long green withy stick, and
wave that about, you will readily perceive what
is the nature of the objection I am endeavouring
to point out; though I fear long experience in
choosing, alone will enable any one to become a
complete judge in such matters. I, myself, from
being perpetually, I may say two or three times
every year, for some years past, required by
friends, to choose for them, — can detect flaws
in a rod by the feel which would be invisible to
the eye ; but this is only to be done by practice,
as my words, I fear, must fail to explain it. You
will feel that the upper part is too heavy for the
lower, and that there is a sensation as though it
would break in the middle. In a good rod, on
waving it about with moderate force, you will
never experience this sensation — but feel satis-
fied that the lower part is fully strong enough
to support every succeeding superior inch.

As to the quantity of Elasticity, or its curvature,
tastes vary. For myself, I prefer a rod that has
the middle degree — being neither too stiff, nor too
elastic; and, in choosing such, you can't go far
wrong; but you had better have a rod too stiff

d 2

36 BALANCE OF RODS.

(provided it is otherwise well graduated and
apportioned), than the other way ; as the latter is
particularly objectionable in fighting a heavy fish,
especially in dangerous water or from off a rooted
bank • as it is also during windy weather. Neither
is it possible to throw a large and consequently
heavy fly with a very pliable rod. And whatever
other doctors of fishing may say, I know from
experience that it is as easy to cast a fly lightly
with a stiff as with a pliant rod. I must leave
this entirely to the fly-fisher's choice and judg-
ment; not omitting, however, to mention that
Mr. Eaton, of Crooked-lane, tells me, that of late
years he finds stiff fly-rods of every description
preferred, and from the quantity he sells weekly
he is some authority upon the subject. Too great
a degree of elasticity is now generally looked upon
as the fault of Irish rods, and I do not certainly
recommend them for that reason, I do not go so
far as the authors of the work I have before
referred to, who condemn rods, " pliable almost
down to the hand," because I consider the term
altogether indefinite. Every rod ought to play,
in fact, " quite down to the hand," or else it cannot
be well proportioned ; but, mark the distinction, it
should not, " seem" to "bend down to the hand,"
and then the advice is good.

Mr. Ronalds says, that a rod held horizontally

ELASTICITY OF RODS. 37

should droop very little from the straight line.
To render this somewhat less indefinite, I subjoin
two figures.

Fig. 2. Fig. 1.

Scale 1-1 Oth of an inch to the foot.

A to B (salmon rod) 18 0 E to F (trout rod) ..14 3£

BtoC 1 5 FtoG 1 6

B to D 5 10J F to H 5 4

In Figure 1, ab is supposed to be my eighteen
foot four-jointed salmon-rod, straight ; when held
at the but horizontally, as Mr. Ronalds says, it
will, of its own weight assume the line a c, the
point c diverging seventeen inches from the
straight line, or the height at which a is held.
And I find on attaching to the point b a half
pound weight, it will bring it down, as a d, to d,
which is five feet ten inches and a half out of the
straight line.

In Figure 2, ef is my fourteen feet three
inches and a half three-jointed trout-rod, straight.
It droops eighteen inches, as to g, of its own
weight ; and to h, equal to five feet four inches,
by a quarter of a pound weight attached at the
point, having, therefore, little more than half the
elastic strength of the salmon-rod. These two
facts may be perhaps some guide as to a

38 BALANCE OF RODS.

choice in the matter of quantity of elasticity. For
instance, with half a pound weight, if eighteen
feet .droops five feet ten inches, what will a sixteen
feet rod droop ? answer, five feet two inches and
a half near. And if with a quarter of a pound,
one of fifteen feet three inches droops five feet four
inches, what will a twelve feet rod droop? answer,
four feet eight inches and three quarters near.

A bent rod describes in geometry more the
shape of a quarter of a very elongated ellipsis
than any other — the but end almost approaching
to a straight line.

The Balance of a Rod. — Another thing I
must not forget to mention, is the balance of a fly
rod, when put together and placed horizontally
on the finger, for instance, as the fulcrum. In a
rod that is to be wielded by two hands, the
fulcrum, you must remember, should be rather
nearer the centre of it, than in one that is single
handed. In order to have experience on this
part of the subject, I examined my rods already
mentioned (trout and salmon), which are, I ven-
ture to say, as good in their kinds as can by pos-
sibility be made. I put them together, and affixed
the reels. The salmon-rod being exactly eighteen
feet long, I found the centre of balance at
three feet five and a half inches from the end
of the but. The trout-rod, which is fourteen
feet three inches and a half, has its balance

HOLMES S RODS. 39

at two feet seven and a half from the same part.
By these, as a standard, it will be easy to
calculate the proper balance of any fly-rod.
Thus, for a salmon-rod, if eighteen feet give three
feet five inches and a half, what will .ST (the length
of the rod proposed) produce ? and for trout, if
fourteen feet three inches and a half give two feet
seven inches and a half, what will Zgive you ? Do
not forget the weight and size of the reel which
the use you put your rod to, will require. If you
wish to change it for a heavier one, you may still
keep the fulcrum in the same place by having the
lower part of the but hollowed out; and if for a
lighter one, it can be regulated by having it
plugged with lead.

Holmes's Rods. — There is one kind of rod of
rather recent introduction, with the winch fitted
into the but, which I ought particularly to men-
tion, and of which I believe Holmes, a London
tackle-maker, is the inventor. I have not tried
them myself, though I have seen and heard of
them in the hands of others; yet the objections
which the bare sight of them presents, and which
prevail in practice, are, first, that the rod is not
kept in its proper position while fishing, namely
rings downwards; as it naturally is by the weight
of the ordinary winch, put on in the usual fashion ;
and again, if the lower end of the but is ever used
as a fulcrum against the body in killing a fish, as

40 SALMON RODS.

in salmon-fishing it must always be, or if it
be applied to a doubled handed rod, — in using
which, one hand is kept below, the other above,
— the sockets above and below the winch will
inevitably become loose and infirm after a little
wear. Besides, in packing, if the winch is left on,
it is in the way, and inconvenient.

The Salmon Rod should consist of four parts
or pieces : — First, the but of solid ash ; the second
and third, which are called "joints," of hiccory;
and the fourth, the top, made as I have already
intimated. Each part should be at least four feet
six inches ; forming, in its whole length, eighteen
feet or upwards. Some persons use rods two or
three feet longer, which enables them to command
a greater breadth of water; though for general
fishing I consider eighteen feet quite sufficient,
especially as the greater length increases the
labour materially. As the separate parts of a rod
are those which mostly break, you cannot err
if you have, in addition, three or more 6pare tops,
and one extra joint next to the top. For a
salmon-rod by all means have the top, and the
joint next it, made so as to splice or " scare "
together in the fashion I mentioned.

The rings of a salmon-rod should be large,
very well soldered, and firmly secured to it, rather
decreasing in size upwards. That at the point
should be of double stout wire, rather larger in

TROUT RODS. — HOOKS. 41

circumference than the rest. I do not recommend
the use of a spear at the but of a salmon-rod ;
because, being weighty and double handed, the
but often resting against the body, the spear may
not only be in the way, but even dangerous;
while at the same time it is useless, as the upper
part is too heavy to be supported by a short spear
stuck into the ground, especially in windy weather.

Trout Rods, must be selected by the rules
which I have already laid down. The length, and
consequently the weight, may vary from eleven,
or twelve, to fourteen, or sixteen feet ; some re-
quiring the use of one, and others of two hands.
Those of from eleven to thirteen feet long should
never exceed three joints, although four joints may
be more convenient to carry ; otherwise the top
joint becomes necessarily so very fine and thin at
the ferrule or splice, that it is likely to break
if you attempt to throw a long line. Rods of from
fourteen or sixteen feet may, however, be in four
joints ; and if this particular be attended to, I do
not think it absolutely necessary, (although safer,)
to have the top and thinnest joint spliced or
" scared " together. Trout-rods should always be
adapted for spears at the but end; and the rings
may be much smaller than those on the salmon-
rod.

Hooks. — The last thing, and by no means the
least important, is, the hook ; of these the angler

42 HOOKS.

should procure all sorts, trout and salmon, large
and small, of O'Shaughnessy's, or Sell's Limerick,
manufacture. But of whatever make, first
test their strength by sticking the points in a soft
piece of mahogany and tugging away by the
shank ; or holding the shank with pincers, pulling
the bend by a loop of string. But as in either of
these methods you may pull harder than is requi-
site, and so condemn unfairly, test your hooks
by " Siebe's Weighing Machine." If the smallest
for grilse will draw down fifteen pounds, and the
midge-trout one pound and a half, they will do.
They should be tough : if they break too easily,
or at these respective weights, they are too brittle;
if they bend and lose their shape, they are too
soft ; so choose the happy medium, if you can hit
upon it. About a quarter of a hundred of each
size will be about the quantum suff.

I have met with nothing for temper equal
to O'Shaughnessy's, or Sell's. It is the fashion
to praise the former, and I think the latter,
perhaps, still better and more uniform in their
several sizes and shapes.

Here are drawings: — No. 1, the Common Li-
merick, and — No. 2, O'Shaughnessy's or Sell's
bend, which are alike.

No. 2. No. 1.

C

r>

HOOKS. 43

In the former, and in most others, the point,
in my opinion, lies too close to the shank. Al-
though that is no objection for other fishing, yet
for salmon, whose mouths (especially towards the
end of the autumn), are very large, and rather
open at the sides, and at all times too denuded
of tough flesh for the angler's security, there is
a better chance of fixing the hook, the greater in
moderation the width is between the shank and
the point. This width must not be produced by
merely bending out the point, for thereby too
much stress is thrown upon that part, or the bend
itself; but by giving a greater curvature in the
shank, especially towards the turn, O'Shaughnessy
and Sell have avoided the fault; and the part
of their shape between the turn and the point,
is nearly parallel with the upper end of the
shank, to which the wing feathers are tied. There
being nothing angular in any part of the bend,
which is otherwise in the common Limerick, the
strain comes on the shank a little lower down
towards the turn, than immediately opposite the
point itself, which part is made thicker and more
substantial than the rest of the hook, in order
to meet it ; while that portion on which you dress
the fly (because there is there less strain, and, if
broken, it is all held together by the gut which
is whipped below) is thinner than in other hooks,
and they are consequently no heavier altogether.

44 HOOKS.

In them there are also these advantages ; — the point
is much more beautifully sharpened than in any
hook I have yet met with ; in fact, it is perfect,
the barb being filed out of the solid, and not
cut and raised, as in others; ana\ they are so
tough as never to straighten, even with a fifty
pounder ! In these two respects, O'Shaughnessy's
and Sell's hooks have at all events something
more than a fancied superiority.

The original O'Shaughnessy is long since
gathered to his ancestors; his present repre-
sentative is Robert O'Shaughnessy, of 18, George-
street, Limerick ; Sell lives in Quay-lane, Lime-
rick. There are many who think Phillips's hooks,
of O'Shaughnessy's shape, equally good, but in
this I cannot acquiesce.

I cannot do less than participate in the regret
of Sir H. Davy, that more attention is not gene-
rally bestowed upon the manufacture of hooks ;
much of the fisherman's hopes depend on them ;
and how mortifying is it to lose a good fish from
a hook snapping ! Who, at the moment of such
a misfortune, would not have given twenty shil-
lings for the hook rather than it should have so
happened.

Formerly, the old O'Shaughnessy's salmon
hooks were sold at sixpence each. But now the
nineteen sizes, trout, grilse, and salmon, of Sell's,
vary, according to their magnitude, from three

HOOKS. 45

shillings to ninepence per dozen ; and the same
of the present O'Shaughnessy, from four shillings
to one shilling • and I would never object to
double the money for good hooks. Never would
I use those made out of wire ! By the way, I
by no means approve of Kirby's hooks for flies —
even his Carlisle bend ; they are, perhaps, the
best for bait fishing, and, indeed, are more sure
to hook a fish than any other kind, because that
portion of them between the bend and the point
does not lie in the same plane with the shank,
and they therefore will not draw between two
soft surfaces, without the point penetrating one
of them. Yet that very form prevents flies
dressed on them from swimming so straight
as they would do on a hook that lies flat ;
nor is the shank end tapered, so as to allow of
the fly being neatly finished at the head. Taylor
says, they are more likely to break the hold than
flat-hooks ; nor is their temper (for they are of
mere blue-steel wire) equal to many others, —
still less to O'Shaughnessy 's or Sell's.

Perhaps the best hooks for very small trout
flies are Adlington and Hutchinson's Kendal
Sneck Bend, Nos. 2.L0. and 00, which latter, for
their size, the very smallest, are the strongest of
the kind (w re) I ever met with. But, not being-
tapered at the shank end, I should only use them
for hackled flies and for Palmers, the natures of
which I shall explain hereafter.

46

Ctfiapter FiJ.

THE AUTHOR MERGETH INTO A DRAMATIC READING; AND TRANSPORTING
HIMSELF INTO A PLEASANT SPOT, THERE MEETETH HIS FRIEND HERHERT,
WHOM .HE INSTRUCTETH IN SUNDRiT MATTERS.

Scene. — The Road at Trefriew, between Conway and
Llanrwst, North Wales.

Personages. — Theophilus and Herbert.

Theoph.-^An ! well met ! We are at last to-
gether. Welcome, most welcome, Herbert, to
Wales and all its rich sources of the fisherman's
delight.

Herb. — Thanks, my most worthy Piscator !
How pleased I am to see you once again : so long
e'er I expected the light of your countenance to
shine upon me ! Were you determined in this meet-
ing to bring back the reminiscence of our colloquy
two years since, as we journeyed together through
this very country ? Be it so ; you have succeeded.
Here it was, I remember, that for the first time
you implanted in my " untutored" mind, the
seeds of that taste which neither success nor dis-
appointment in the attempt you promise to assist

THE MILLS OF TREFRIEW. 47

me in, can now eradicate. This, if I mistake
not, is the identical stone on which we rested, and
this, the very mountain rivulet by which the poet of
old might have refreshed himself, when he said —

" The wearie traveller, wandering this way,
Herein doth often quench his thirsty heat !
And then by it his wearie limbes display,

Whiles creeping slomber makes him to forget

His former payne, and wipes away, his toilsome sweat."

That " wearie traveller" is your humble servant,
I confess ; so, to oblige me, and with the aid of
this pure stream

" To cool the malt's intemperate glow,"

let us take a cup of welcome, and drink pros-
perity to our coming occupation.

Theoph. — Agreed. Success to us both ; " and
may the east wind never blow when we go a-
fishing," as Walton says. But come, no more of
you propitiatory libations, or I shall never get
you to our " roosting" place.

Herb. — Stay a bit, and let me admire once
again this specimen of lovely Wales, where every
footstep treads on some fresh burst of beauty, —
ever varying, always new ! This — the mills of
Trefriew clambering over each other, like thirsty
hounds to catch the purest gush of water — is as
picturesque a " bit" as can well be imagined.
How it lies, lulled in the lap of these wood-
crowned hills, from whose feet the Conway's

48 SALMON RISING.

glistening stream " spirits away" — the pretty-
laughing rivulet they nourish. Do you mark
yon mountain " booming" in the distance up the
valley — yet a mere hillock, I suppose, compared
with Snowdon or Moel Shabod ?

Theoph. — Aye ! On either side lie two famous
trout lakes ; to the right Lyn Crafnant ; and to
the left, one with as many " aliases" as a New-
gate prisoner — Tal y Llyn, "otherwise *Tal y Esyn
(after a famous bard, to whose memory a cross
has been there erected), or Gerionedd.. Now
turn we to the fair Conway, our field of budding
honour !

Herb. — Well, I declare, there is a large fish
leaping in the river at the moment. It is a
tempting sight ! Could you not catch him ?

Theoph. — Oh, that he would afford me the
chance ? But he will not. 'Twas a fine salmon,
and by his brightness not long since from the sea.
He rose in very wantonness : and when they do
so, however lovely to behold, it is anything but
an encouraging sight, whatever " Salmonia#"
may say or imply. It is no indication that they
are on the feed, or willing to accept the fly ;
because it is next to certain, that flies on the
surface are at no time their food : and I con-
ceive that, though we call our bunches of steel,
tinsel, and feathers, " flies," the salmon views

* P. 103.

■Ji

am

^/m

THE HABITS OF FISH. 49

them in a very different light. Trout, and such
like entomological destroyers, rise at flies as food ;
but there are many times when they also throw
themselves high out of the water, in mere wanton-
ness ; and this may be particularly remarked in
the cool of an evening following a very hot day,
at which time whipping for them is next to use-
less. I am at a loss to account for these feats.
My conjectures are, that on such days fish have
lain, as it were, dormant for some time, and
mostly low in the water, to effect which their air
bladders have been continuously much com-
pressed by low respiration, and have become
comparatively empty ; and there is something in
their sudden rise to the surface analogous to the
elevation of body, and accompanying deep sigh,
wherewith we bipeds relieve our lungs after a
long, serious, careful thought. Then again, the
water, from the heat of the day, has emitted
more than its due proportion of air wholesome to
fish ; and that which they pass through their gills
has become unpleasant to them, and they are glad
for a moment to imbibe a portion of cooler inspi-
ration, in another element, to supply artificially
their natural wants. The water, too, as Captain
Williamson, in his " Vade Mecum," says, is at
such times of higher temperature than the air ;
whence the latter becomes to them a refreshing
bath. Roach, barbel, carp, and other fish, often

E

50 THE HABITS OF FISH.

play these pranks : yet, inasmuch as these are
" anti-fly- takers," and feed at bottom, no one can
suppose they seek to feed at such moments. It is
a beautiful sight, but by no means an encou-
raging one, except as saying, "Here we are,
come, catch us — if you can !" I like to see trout
come to the surface quietly, scarce breaking it,
but merely " sucking in" the floating prey : then
is the time ! This habit of fish, of which I am
speaking, is one of the subjects I have often
wished to point out to the attention of some sci-
entific body, from a persuasion that the research
might lead to important results in the advance of
science ; — another subject for their investigation
being, why it is that fish will often rise, for a
certain half hour only, during the day, in search
of flies at the surface, or in search of prey. Al-
though fishermen must frequently have noticed
this peculiarity, yet it has never, to my mind,
been even attempted to be satisfactorily explained.
Salmonia treats it lightly, attributing it to a very
insufficient cause ; namely, a certain fly coming
in abundance on the water. But if we compare
notes, we shall find that this has little or nothing
to do with it. We all know that in different
parts of a stream, miles distant, fish often rise
freely during the same half hour in the day only ;
and, although the same flies have preceded and
followed that half hour in as great abundance,

THE HABITS OF FISH. 51

the fish, extra that period, have remained mo-
tionless. Often, too, I have been fishing for trout
in one river, say the Colne, near Uxbridge, and
my friends for chub in another, say the Lea, per-
haps twenty miles off, and the same thing has
occurred. Here, then, it is not likely that a simi-
larity of movement among flies could have pro-
duced the effect, nor could it have been any acci-
dental state of, or change in the water. And, in
the case of salmon, observing often the same
habit, I am more particularly impressed ; because
it is perfectly absurd to suppose they ever take
our flies for natural flies (they are surely idiots if
they do !), even assuming they take them as food
of any kind ; yet many a day have I been out on
a river pretty thickly studded with rods, and, up
to a given hour, it has been, to us all, for miles
up or down, in rapids and in deeps, a perfect
blank ; and then, on a sudden, salmon in all parts
of the river have simultaneously taken our flies. I
am satisfied it is something in the atmosphere af-
fecting the water which causes this, and only wish
that I had sufficient practice in, and time for, me-
teorological observation, that I might investigate
the subject by comparing the temperature and
weight of the two different elements together, and
noting the state of wind, and cloud, and weather,
by thermometer, barometer, and hydrometer, when
these things happen. Oh! that I could meet

e2

52 TOM AND THE SALMON.

with some scientific piscatory friend, who would
devote his attention to the matter. By the way,
the tide leaves its highest mark just above this
spot; and our fishing commences here, extending
upwards far beyond Llanrwst. The largest fish
I ever heard of being hooked in this river (for, as
the sequel of the story shows, that was all), was
about this very place. The glorious yet sad tale
was told me by the principal actor, a great ally
of mine, who is a most excellent fisherman, and
an honest labourer, on whose word I have perfect
reliance. As well as I can remember, it was
about five years ago, that just round the first point
of the land on this side the river, Tom was fish-
ing one afternoon, and his reel getting loose,
owing to the dryness of the string by which it
was bound to the rod (for he was poor and needy),
he dipped it, rod and all, into the water, to
increase its tension by moisture ; and during the
operation, a little below him, up came at his fly
a monster of a salmon ! A complete leviathan !
and to his (not the salmon's) great joy, Tom
found his hook fast in him. Away flew the fish,
out whirred the line, and off started Tom after
them. Both fought with desperation ; one for
life and liberty, the other for death and glory.
Long, too, they wrestled. At last, " Sir Salmo"
needed breath, and turned to sulking — such
sulking as Tom had never before, in all his expe-

TOM AND THE SALMON. 53

rience, met with ! The fish lay, not like a mere
log, but a rock ! and for such a length of time,
that Tom really feared the fish was gone, leaving
his hook fast in a stump at the bottom of the
river, until a slight motion told him " all was
right." Again he pulled and tugged with all
the force his tackle would bear ; and at last, off
started old Silver-sides again. Again was the
battle renewed, sometimes in water, sometimes
high in air ; sometimes he took to the profundity ;
anon he was awakened from his awful slumber, and
off he started again; then was he " bitted" under
the very tip of the rod ; and at last Tom " wore"
him round the point, near to yon small boat.
The shades of evening were then spreading their
hazy mantles over the valley. Eighteen yards of
line whizzed out, and were il paid" back. The
gaff was brought out and screwed together ;
fourteen yards more were wanted, but were lent
grudgingly; another turn or two — and the fish
floated on his huge sides as Tom wound him back
- -wound him back to within a single yard of the
gaff ! Oh ! what an awful moment ! The mon-
ster gave one languid struggle — and then the line
hung loose to the rod ; the hook had slipped its
hold, owing to the immense pressure ; and Tom
sank exhausted and spiritless on the ground !
Thus terminated a struggle of two hours and
forty minutes ! and the fish Tom estimated at

54 LARGE SALMON.

about 451bs. ! his depth (through) appeared about
thirteen inches, and his length about four feet* ;
but he has never seen its like before or since.
The worst luck I wish you is a similar chance, —
the best, a more successful issue.

Herb. — It does not often happen, I imagine,
that fish of such enormous size are taken by the

%•

Theoph. — These monsters are by no means
numerous, at all events in Great Britain ; the
netters take care of that ; although in Norway and
in the Rhine, they are more common. The largest
fish I ever saw in London, was about the same
size (451bs.) ; and that was the admiration of
crowds of gazers ; there was one of 49lbs. in
Leadenhall Market, in the autumn of 1838,
Yarrell refers to one of 55lbs. from the Tay, and
another of 831bs. ! ! and some others between 40
and 55lbs. Such sizes are indeed rarities, and
to have hold of one once in a fisher's life, is to be
in luck. Three or four, upwards of 20lbs. are
usually taken by the fly every season in this
river ; and I think I remember having heard of
one about 30lbs. ; — large enough to satisfy any
moderate piscator. My notion is, that smaller
fish only rise more readily at the fly, because they

* Since this anecdote was related to me, I have, by calculation upon a
general scale, proved that such would be about the weight of the fish here
alluded to.

SIZE OF FISH. 55

are more numerous ! and that in fact a laro-e fish

in

is quite as willing to do so as a smaller one of
10 or 121bs. There is a marked difference
between salmon and trout in this respect ; for
very large trout will (it might be said) never rise
at the fly ; and middling-sized, i. e. of 2 to 4lbs.,
seldom, in proportion with those of about three-
quarters of a pound. As to rod-fishing in Nor-
way, I learn from a source beyond doubt, that a
most noted angler from these realms, and two
friends, were out three successive days, last year,
and during that period took no less, between them,
than one hundred and eleven salmon, averaging
12 or 14lbs. ; some of 35lbs., and one of 40lbs. ;
but I do not remember whether all were caught
with the fly, or some by spinning. The same
eminent " artist" has also taken twenty in a day
in that part of the world, and assured me that
while playing and killing one fish, ten others
miofht have been hooked — so numerous and raven-
ous were they. Tom once hooked another fine
fish, near this very spot, by a similar chance.
His line got round one of the piles, so numerous
along the banks here; at the moment he was
stooping to clear it with his hands, up came a
salmon at his fly, which floated below him ; he
struck with the line in his hand ; — slackened ; —
seized his rod, and at length fortunately killed
him — 23lbs. This, as the first resting-place

56 SIZE OF FISH.

above the tide, I conceive to be an excellent
spot ; but it is dangerous ground for tackle, as
you will see another day.

Herb. — Your recitals half incline me to unpack
and make my first essay upon the instant. But
I suppose I must refrain — so let us march.

57

adapter V.

THEOrHlLUS DISCUSSETH MANY WAYS OF COLOURING, AND MAKING LINES
WITH OTHER KNOTTY POINTS.

Scene. — Llanrwst. Time. — Evening.
Personages. — Theopiiilus and Herbert.

Theoph. — Now, Herbert, let us draw in our
chairs, and think of to-morrow's work. What
shall we do ? for, as we crossed Llanrwst Bridge,
you remarked the low and bright state of the
river. In its streams we have very little chance
for salmon ; though, " should a storm arise and
awake the Deeps' — if we were favoured by a
good stiff breeze, " a southerly wind and a cloudy
sky," — we might meet with success on some of
them. I should advise resorting to one of the
neighbouring lakes for trout, were it not that
there also we require a heavy wind.

Herb. — I am your pupil ; do with me as you
list. Hill or dale, lake or river, are all alike to
me, provided you be with me.

58 HABITS OF SALMON.

Theoph. — I thank you for the compliment. To
initiate you, then, and that you may have a more
accurate knowledge of its depths, holes, and
shallows, than you can acquire when it becomes
high and coloured with its occasional beautiful
coffee-brown tinge, I propose, that we make an
attempt on the river ; and you shall make your
debut thereon for a noble salmon.

Herb. — I quite agree with you, seeing that
I shall thereby also learn before-hand where
the stumps, and roots, the Scylla, and Charyb-
dis, of fishermen, lie hidden, and know how
to ^avoid them, " if I have luck" in hooking
a fish. But is the particular knowledge of
a river more important in salmon than trout
fishing ?

Theoph. — Certainly ; although there is scarce
an inch in a trout stream where you may not
expect to find sport, more or less ; in a salmon
river you may traverse many a half-mile, with
the dead certainty of not passing by one salmon
in all that distance ; they are, in fact, only to be
found in certain localities, and a novice will waste
many an hour in vain, if he knows them not.
Besides, in any given favourite spot, of fifty
yards, for instance, salmon will shift their posi-
tion with every alteration in the height of the
water, and we must fish for them accordingly.
All this I must undertake to teach you when the

CASTING -LINE. 59

river rolls at our feet. But as it is agreed we
try to-morrow for salmon, we have plenty to do
between this and " roosting " time in the prepara-
tion of tackle. By the bye, we must make a
gut bottom, casting, or foot-line, as that article
is denominated, which we use at the end of the
reel-line, and to the other extremity of which the
fly is to be attached. Yonder is my fishing case ;
open it, and in that portfolio you will find every
thing labelled in orderly parchment packets.
Give out of it the requisites for a salmon casting-
line, twelve lengths of treble-twisted gut (which
I should tell you, are composed of three strands
of trout-gut) of different degrees of stoutness,
and three lengths of the thickest and longest
single pieces marked " salmon." Put these all
in warm water, and leave them to soak awhile,
so as to take off its brittleness, and liability to
crack or snap in bending or knotting.

Herb. — But wait. Have I given you the right
kind ? for I see that there are various colours.
What advantage can that afford ?

Th eoph — Look you : among my collection are
various shades, dyed long since, under the advice
of works on fishing ; light brown and dark, some
almost black, some approaching to yellow, some
of an olive tint. I never use other than one
colour, which I call azure or neutral tint, be the
water " clear as crystal/' or " brown as a berry ;"

60 COLOURS OF GUT.

and I do so on principle. Our aim, of
in colouring the gut at all, is to render it less
visible to the fish's eye. Of all others, plain gut
cannot be said to be the least so, for when soaked
it becomes opaque and white. If the water be
deep coffee-brown, and you fancy gut similar,
use the very lightest tint of brown ; for, take a
glass tumbler of the water, and holding it up to
the light, you will see how little is required ! So
with all other colours which fancy may lead you
to try. But treating the optics of fish as analo-
gous to man's, and considering that the least
attractive of notice, is the tint I allude to, I have
adopted it for every water, upon the same prin-
ciple that oculists and opticians prefer the appa-
rently blue-glass in spectacles to the old-fashioned
green-goggles. This azure, or neutral shade in
spectacles is that which I imitate. If it be the
least glaring to the eye, in the air, — so is it when
"thro' purest chrystal gleaming;" and is it less
visible in water, thickened or coloured ? I am
well aware that many fishers have great success
with plain gut, or with such as is deeply stained
of other colours ; but might they not have
greater with the tint I recommend ? That we
should hide from the fish their danger as much
as possible, or I should rather say, conceal that
which may distract their attention from the hook
(for I cannot believe they feel the same dread of

DIRECTIONS FOR DYEING GUT. 61

the line, per se, that a culprit does of a rope),
is universally admitted ; and why we should not
follow out that rule in the smallest minutise, I am
at a loss to understand.

Herb. — But tell me now how do you procure
this colour? I've heard something about the
capability of common ink to produce it.

Theoph. — It is generally used, and when mixed
with one part of cold vinegar and a little water,
if the gut be soaked for two hours or less, it will
be found a handy process ; but as there is much
copperas in ink, which has a rotting tendency, I
prefer a recipe, the ingredients of which I can
trust. Some persons stain their gut by simply
rubbing blotting paper steeped in ink over it. I
will now put you in possession of my secrets in
dyeing gut. But let me start with general direc-
tions applicable to all the recipes I give you,
unless otherwise expressed.

General Directions for Dyeing Gut.

In an earthen pipkin boil about one pint and
a half of cold water with the dyeing ingredients I
shall mention presently. When these have boiled
about ten minutes, take the pipkin off the fire, and
after a minute or so, immerse the gut, tied, if at
all, very loosely, and leave it in the still bub-
bling liquid, so long only by the watch, as I direct,
and it is dyed enough ; for observe, that these

62 RECIPES FOR DYEING GUT.

are all tried means. On taking the gut from the
pipkin, cast it into a basin of clean cold water,
and rinse it well ; wipe it, and let it dry awhile :
then take each length separately, and holding
it by the end between the fore-teeth, rub it
with Indian-rubber, which not onl}4 cleans and
straightens it, but also tests its strength, avoiding
the necessity of doing so again when about to be
called into use. After this, clip off the bad ends
and tie all up neatly together, and keep it, at full
length, in a paper or parchment case, with an
inner one of thin paper rubbed with olive-oil,
which, in moderation, preserves gut.

Particular Recipes.

The ingredients are as follows ; and first in my
esteem is,

No. 1. — An Azure or Neutral Tint (similar to
ink dye) : —

1 Drachm Logwood,
6 Grains Copperas,

Immersed 2| or 3 minutes.

No. 2. — An Azure Tint, more pink than the
last : —

1 Drachm Logwood,
1 Scruple Alum,

Immersed 3 minutes.

Or, five grains alum, added to No. 1, will
change it to this colour; — but the less we use
copperas the better, and, therefore, No. 2 is best
for this colour.

RECIPES FOR DYEING GUT. 63

No. 3. — A Dingy or Dirty Olive (a very good
colour) : —

To Ingredients of No. 2, add,
3 Scruples, Quercitron Bark,

Immersed 2 minutes, or perhaps 3 minutes.

No. 4. — A Light Brown : —

1 Drachm Madder,
1 Scruple Alum,

Immersed 5, or perhaps 6 minutes.

No. 6. — A Light Yellow or Amber : —

1^ Scruple Quercitron Bark,

1 Scruple Alum,

6 Grains Madder,

4 Drops Muriate of Tin,

1 Scruple Cream of Tartar,

Immersed 2 J minutes.

As they may serve for want of better, the fol-
lowing may likewise be added; — the faint dirty
olive may be obtained by steeping the gut for
two hours in two parts of cold vinegar and one of
common ink and a little water. About half-a-dozen
of green walnut husks, simmered without alum,
will produce, and that most firmly, the coffee
brown; but you must watch that the colour
becomes not too deep, for you can never extract
it; and turmeric or onion-peelings, with a like
small portion of alum, will give the yellow tinge.
All these dyes are harmless. I have only to add,
that should you give your gut too deep a stain of
any colour (and, I repeat, you can hardly give one
too lightly), you must have about a pint and a half
of clean water in a pipkin, and, when boiling, add

64 THE CASTING-LINE.

to it about three or four drops of sulphuric
acid (no more, or you will destroy the gut), and
while boiling, or nearly so, dip the gut in and out
of it, say every two minutes, till the colour is
sufficiently extracted.

Herb. — I must confess to you that I do not feel
satisfied in favour of dyeing at all. Plain glass,
which plain gut resembles, being colourless, is
always less visible than stained ; and so must
gut be.

Theoph. — The advocates for plain gut would be
quite right, if they could get over the fact that by
soaking, it loses its transparency, and becomes
white, and thus, of all things, most glaring. Gut,
neutrally tinted, may likewise become opaque, but
then it is less observable and more soft to the vision.
I have paid some attention to dyeing feathers and
dubbings, the benefit of which you shall have
some other time, for we must "rig out" the
casting-line aforesaid.

Now for the silk; 'tis "fine glovers' silk," the
best you can use for all purposes of whipping
flies, &c. &c. Give me fawn or straw colour.
The next best sort is white "wig-makers'," — very
fine and strong, but more harsh, and not so easily
waxed. I buy all that I use at Pearsall's, in Cheap-
side, the general resort for fishermen " Amateurs,"
and " professional" fly or tackle-makers. There
is some nicety required in the procuration even of

RECIPE FOR TRANSPARENT WAX. 65

your coblers wax. Some .is too hard and brittle ;
some too soft. The former must be put into a
small pipkin and heated, mixing with it a very
small portion of tallow, or pomatum ; the relative
quantity of which must of course depend on cir-
cumstances, and be learnt by the experience of an
hour's experiment. If it be too soft, simmer it in
a pipkin, adding a little powdered resin, till it
becomes sufficiently tenacious. When you have
the convenience (and weather of moderate tempe-
rature) you may make wax which is perfectly
transparent by the following method, borrowed,
with a slight variation, from Mr. Shipley's book,
p. 127—8.

Recipe for Transparent Wax.

Put two ounces of the best and lightest co-
loured yellow resin, and one drachm of bees' wax,
into a pipkin over a slow fire ; when dissolved,
simmer them for ten minutes longer; then add
two and a half (Mr. S. says only two) drachms of
white pomatum, and allow the whole to simmer a
quarter of an hour longer, constantly stirring it ;
pour the liquid into a basin of clean cold water,
and it will assume a thick, transparent con-
sistency; while yet warm, knead it by pulling
it very much through the fingers till cold; the
last operation giving it toughness, and that

66 ANOTHER RECIPE.

silvery opacity which it assumes when properly
compounded.

I made some after Mr, S.'s receipt, but found
it rather too brittle ; I therefore added the extra
half drachm of pomatum.

Another recipe for the same is eight ounces
of white resin and one table spoonful of linseed-
oil. This I have not tried. Both the above are
colourless upon the silk, which may sometimes, in
fly-making, be an advantage. Another species of
wax (and which is peculiarly well adapted to the
fine glovers' silk) is prepared by dissolving a
lump of the coolers' wax in a sufficient quantity
of spirits of wine, # or (perhaps the best, as most
evaporating) eau de Cologne: about half an
ounce of the spirit to the size of a small
walnut of the former. This is kept in a corked
bottle, and applied in a honey -like liquid
state, soon becoming hard enough from evapora-
tion. I consider it to be the very best mode
with very fine silk : enabling you to wax an
entire skein of the finest without a break, winding
it from one card, in its clean state, on to another
as you wax it, and thus having it always ready
for use. Never hesitate dirtying your fingers
during the operation (a little sweet oil or spirits
of wine will clean them), but, holding a drop

* I used to adopt spirits of turpentine, but have found that from its oily
nature it changes the colour of the silk bodies of flies.

COLEMAN S INSTRUMENT CASE. 67

between the fore-finger and thumb, rub it well
into the silk ; or you may wear a pair of kid
gloves for the purpose. I also afterwards take a
morsel of the dry wax, the size of a pea, and rub
that over, which gives additional tenacity. It is
by far the best plan of waxing that I know of.

Before I show you the use of the bit of stick in
waxing, let me direct your attention to the tools
so useful for that and very many other purposes.
Give me that folded leather case, fitted up by
Coleman of the Haymarket, one of which I advise
you to purchase when you go to London : as you
will perceive, that it contains various implements of
immense use to us who have " a finger" in making
our tackle. Hand-vices to hold hooks in fly-
dressing, or hook-tyeing, more properly called,
anti-finger crampers ; forceps, for hackling on
feathers ; needles, for all fishing uses ; fine scis-
sors ; looping hooks, and table screw to fix them
to ; files, for re-pointing ^blunted hooks ; and a
brush, for ordering feathers on flies ; things, the
use of which I have often heard people ridicule ;
but as surely seen them very glad to adopt, after
fear of the charge of versatility of mind had
passed ! I remember showing them to a very
excellent fly-dresser in this neighbourhood, one
year, but he despised them ; he could not even use
the scissors — a large pocket knife being his best
friend. However, when next I paid him a visit

f 2

68 loops.

I laughed to find him using, not only scissors,
but hand-vices and all — thoroughly convinced !
Pull out that looping-wire, bent at right angles,
the remnant of an old baiting-needle.

Fig. 1.

pi ■ "■ii ■ ■»■■ ■"-""■ ""■-"■■"■"■■■■ ™—

The short leg is fixed in a hole in the table, or
a table-screw made on purpose, and I use it
in waxing silk, for looping, and many like
purposes; which, as it has a natural spring,
lessens the chances of breaking silk while
waxing. And, for fear of injuring gut while
looping it, I have whipped the hooped end over
with fine silk. To repair loops and breakages of
that sort at the water side, here is another steel
looping machine,

Fig. 2.

which, when sitting on the grass, you can, by its
sharp-pointed recurved end a, hook on to the
knee of your trousers, or the rings of the rod, or
the reel, and loop away as pleasantly as in your
" sanctum" at home. Now for the operation of
waxing with the stick ; fix one well-waxed end
of the silk by a turn, thus

Fig. 3.

.-— ' "yVgfrj, 1 .!.., - «:

WAXING. 69

to the hook of the wi e; and, holding the other
end with your left hand, rub it over with the wax
adhering round the stick, handling it lightly, and
twisting or twirling it between your fingers to
prevent the silk becoming embedded in the wax,
and thereby breaking. Whenever your fingers
get sticky, apply a little sweet oil and afterwards
wash them clean.

Herb. — I should, methinks, soon become an
adept under your instruction. I have seen the
operation of waxing performed by others ; some
have the wax between leather, the smooth side
being inwards ; but a great length of fine silk is
sure to break. Others use, between their fingers,
a piece of wax for this purpose no larger than a
small pea, which is sure to soil their fingers.
I vote for your wax dissolved in spirits ! But
talking of spirits, where's the whiskey ? My
throat partakes of this adhesive subject, as though
its essence had gone downwards instead of enter-
ing my brain !

Theoph. — Before we can run we must submit
to the chains of leading-strings ; and before we
can write, must scratch pot-hooks and hangers.
I would not weary you, did I not think you were
willing to add to your pleasure in catching fish,
by the art of deceiving them through your own
devices and handiwork. Nor would I weary
myself, I assure you, if I could refer you to any

70 WAXING AND LOOPING.

book on angling where you would find these
matters fully and sufficiently detailed. But now
let me overhaul your tackle. First and foremost
I observe that the loop on your reel line is too
long, so cut it off, and let us make another. If it
is sufficient to squeeze the fly through, head fore-
most, it will be all you want ; and why have the
line doubled, which at the loop it is, for a greater
length than absolutely necessary? An opening
of five-eighths of an inch is quite enough for a
salmon-line, and a smaller one for trout-fishing.
Also bear this in mind when making gut-lines, or
looping the gut of flies ; which last, if large enough
to admit the former through, requires no more.
Loops are in general made ridiculously long.
Now to make the loop, observe, that having bent
the line into the length of loop you wish it, over
the looping hook, 1 hold the line thus doubled,
between the fore- finger and thumb of my left
hand, having twisted the loose part of it round
my little finger of the same, in order to have a
more firm hold. I now, together with the line,
hold one end of the waxed silk so that the loose
end lies towards the looping-hook, and wind three
or four wide turns tightly over the double part of
the line, proceeding from my fingers towards the
hook, as far as that which I design to be the
opening of the loop ; then whip the silk back
again over that part already laid down, and

THE INVISIBLE KNOT.

71

the doubled part of the line, binding it close
and tight at each turn till I have hidden and
covered the whole of the doubled line, excepting,
of course, the open loop itself. Hand me that
long darning needle, that I may finish off with an
invisible knot.

Herb. How is that? Let me see you do it.

Theoph. — I am now working from the looping-
wire towards my fingers, you see; and having
whipped below the loose end of the line, I put
the needle with its eye towards my fingers
alongside it. I then whip the silk downwards
towards my hand, over needle and line toge-
ther, loosely for four or five turns. Now I put
the loose end of the silk through the eye of
the needle, and draw the needle and silk

Fig. 4.

through the turns, point foremost. Now taking
away the needle, and laying the loose end of the
silk close to the whipping already completed,

Fig. 5.

72 , THE INVISIBLE KNOT.

pointing towards the looping-hook, I draw the
loose turn of the silk furthest from my left hand,
and nearest to the looping-wire, tight; then the
second ; then the third, and so on to the last,
laying each down close to the whipping com-
pleted, and to each other. I then gradually draw
tight the end of the silk which is lapped under
the turns, holding it the while near my breath to
soften the wax, thereby avoiding its sticking and
breaking midway under the folds, till all lies
close. I cut off the end of the silk ; rub the
whipping over with my fingers, first dry, and then
wet, to give a smoothness ; apply a coat of var-
nish, and all is complete. But another most
excellent and more handy plan of making an
invisible knot is this ; all but the finishing off, or
the knot itself being accomplished, you give the
silk another turn in the same direction very loosely
over the line, a long way from the close whipping,
and then, within this loose turn, wind the end of
the silk over the lines four or five times in the
same direction, working up towards the loop, and
lay its end down by the close part of the whip-
ping, thus : —

Fig. 6.

FOOT-LINES. 73

then wind the first loose turn, a, over the end of
the silk close to the whipping already accom-
plished, carrying it round and round, till all the
inner windings are unwound ; and pull tight the
loose end of the silk, (as in the needle plan) to
finish with. I would caution you. against a bad
trick, but too common, that is, breaking off the loose
silk after completing the knot; by so doing, you
are as likely to break it under the last fold made
as the first, and so to render the whole of your
trouble abortive. In preference take the trouble
of cutting \t close off with scissors.

Herb. — You have whipped down only about
three -eighths of an inch of the line to form the
security of the loop ; is that enough for strength ?

Theoph. — Certainly ; the knot or joint which
the two loops of your reel and gut-line, when
put together make, (see post, fig. 9), is of itself
a knot, properly so called, and strong without
whipping, there being only the slightest possible
pull on the ends, nothing is required but to keep
them straight. Before I show you how to make
foot or casting lines, let me give you a few hints
about them.

Herb. — First tell me what is the use of these
foot-lines ?

Theoph.— Everything. First, the finer your
tackle is near to the fly, the less visible is it to the
fish.

74 WEIGHT OF FISH IN WATER.

Herb. — Then why not have the reel-line equally
thin?

Theoph. — Because if that be less than of a
certain thickness, according to the strength and
power of the rod, it would be impossible to throw
it well ; and, secondly, because it is absolutely
necessary that the whole should taper, to a cer-
tain degree, like a coach whip. It is not strength
alone that requires a red-lint to be of the usual
substance ; because, in reality, a good single
salmon gut-line will bear three-fifths of the weight,
which is much more than requisite. I estimate
that a stout reel-line will bear about twenty-five
pounds, and a stout piece of salmon-gut about
fifteen pounds. I say a great deal more than is
requisite — now let me surprise you ; what weight
do you think a salmon of eighteen or twenty
pounds will pull in the water at the end of a line ?
You'll hardly credit that he pulls less than one
pound and a half; except in his rushes, which I
have no means of estimating.

Herb, — You astonish me.

Theoph. — I assure you that such is the fact.
One of course knows pretty well the force he
applies to the rod in holding a fish. Once,
after killing such a one as I have mentioned,
I tried that force by the " Sportsman's weighing
machine," and the result was as I mention.
Reflection upon it has taught me a great deal.

SIZE OF LINES. 75

It shows how much we owe to the elasticity of
the rod, aided by the temperate yielding to all
the fish's movements, which, if properly applied,
prevents a dead pull ; and it should satisfy us
that we may safely use much finer tackle than
is the custom, and methinks it justifies me in pro-
nouncing that which is said in " Salmonia" about
triple gut, to be questionable instruction ;* en
passant, let me give you a hint, that, in general,
it does not turn so much on what weight the
line will bear, as on what the hold which the
hook has in the fish's mouth, will retain. If the
hold in the mouth of the fish will not bear two
or three pounds, there is no use in having tackle
above calculated for fifteen or twenty pounds
weight.

Herb. — No one will dispute that.

Theoph. — Rather say, few have ever thought
about it; but to return to gut-lines, — if it were
not for the purpose of casting, for a foot-line,
single gut would be always strong enough ; triple
or twisted, in very thick water, and very rocky
situations, may be excuseable, but not elsewhere.
For all ordinary occasions, therefore, use as much

* Salmonia, p. 107, " But I see there is a large fish which has just
risen at the tail of the pool." " My fly and tackle are almost too fine for
so large a fish, and 1 will put on my first fly" (i. e. the dropper), " with a
very strong single gut link, and a stretcher of triple gut !" " a powerful
fish ; he must be between ten and fifteen pounds !" (p. 109.) " I dare
say his weight is not less than fourteen pounds."

76 FOOT-LINES.

single gut as you can throw well, and as little
triple. Fine throwing very much depends on
the exact adaptation of the foot-line to that on
the reel, the manner of tapering it, and its length.
In this last respect it should never exceed three
feet short of your rod, exclusive of the gut to
which your fly is tied, because the junction of it
with the reel-line will not readily pass the rings of
the rod, you may not be able to wind up suffi-
cient to reach your fish for the purpose of gaffing
or landing him when unattended. The term
" tapering," must sufficiently explain my mean-
ing, for it is impossible to lay down more than a
general rule, namely, that it must graduate from
the thickness and weight of the reel-line to as
fine a point as is consistent with strength. For
your eighteen-foot rod you will find about eleven
or twelve lengths of twisted gut, and three of
single, sufficient ; and, if for any of the thinner
triple pieces, you can substitute single ones as
thick, so much the better. In all it will be about
fifteen feet. Trout casting lines need be of none
but single gut, and much finer, and in length
should bear a similar proportion to the rod. As
to making up casting-lines, the mode of joining
the lengths of gut together is of the utmost im-
portance. Gut is generally brittle, unless well
soaked, and the knots usually made by fishermen
are very much to be condemned ; nineteen out of

KNOTS IN LINES. 77

twenty fish that escape by breaking tackle owe
their lives to these knots, not by their slipping,
but by their cutting the gut. It is the joints and
ferrules in rods, and knots in lines, which per-
plex us. Being fond of neatness, I very much
rely on the security of my whippings over for
strength of my joints, endeavouring to avoid
abrupt angles in the bends or knots which
I make in gut ; but in joining them I draw
a distinction between twisted and single gut,
and thereby, in the former, avoid the bulk
of any ordinary knot, by a plan of my own.
My plan, perhaps, may be tedious ; but remember
the motto, " Finis coronal opus." Having soaked
the gut for half an hour, in warm water, or much
longer in cold, with very fine silk I first whip over
separately each end of the lengths of twisted gut,
beginning about three-eighths dindjinishing about
one-sixteenth of an inch from the end, thus : —

Fig. 7.

s=ssr«s^:rrnssr=z3SS2=

which is performed, after fixing the silk, with
three or four turns, by holding its end between
the little finger and palm of the left hand at right
angles with the twisted gut, and holding each end
of the latter in either hand, and " twirling" it
round by means of the thumbs and fore-fingers.
Having done so with two lengths, while they are
yet moist, I bend the ends I wish to join, straight

78 KNOTS IN LINES.

back, about one eighth of an inch from where I
commenced the whipping, so that the eighth nearest
to the end, when thus bent back, lies against the
bare gut above the whipping, thus : —

Fig. 8.

I then merely hook the two lengths together, and
inserting a stoutish bit of gut, about three eighths
of an inch long, to keep the joint stiff, whip down
the whole tightly and closely with stronger silk.
Here then is no knot, but a bend, which,
from being first whipped over with the fine silk,
does not close in a sufficiently sharp angle to
cause the gut to crack, while the whipping above
prevents the short ends from slipping, when the
joint is complete and once dry after the previous
soaking. As to single gut, I adopt a different
plan again, because, being less in substance, the
simple bend just described is more likely to crack
it. In all my experience I do not remember a
break at the junction of the loops of the foot line
and gut to which the fly is attached ; and why ?
because the bend of the one is round the doubled
gut of the other, and an acute angle is avoided ;
therefore, for single gut, I adopt precisely that
knot, except that the junction of the two loops
is altogether permanently whipped over. This is

KNOTS IN LINES. 79

the knot previous to being drawn tight — and let

Fig. 9.

me recommend it before all others for joining the
gut to the loop which is usually made at the head
of salmon files. Other knots in general use, on
an emergency, when whipping cannot be con-
veniently performed, may be resorted to ; but as
" the longer way round is often the shorter way
home," in the long run, you will find those
I have described to be at once the least
troublesome and the most secure ; for, soak gut
as much as you will, the knots I am about to
mention will break twice out of thrice in the
mere trial with the hands, before you can get one
to stand ; and, as you must again soak the gut
after such a mishap, it will take a long time to
complete a line, independent of the waste of
material it entails. However, to make the best
of these knots as soon as they are formed, and
before drawing them tight, resoak the gut, and
failures will be less frequent; nor should you
draw the knots very tight together ; and if you
whip over the whole at all, do so between them,
while in the loose state, three or four turns of
the silk. There are double and single water
knots ; the former not absolutely requiring whip-

80 WATER KNOTS.

ping : but I by no means recommend the latter
for any purpose whatever, and merely mention it
that you may not be ignorant of its structure.
Taking the two pieces of gut or other material
required to be joined, the double water knot is
thus made —

Fig. 10.

Z.i

J .z

Now pushing the bends, 1 1, respectively, over
the others, 2 2, and pulling by the ends each
piece of gut tight, the knot of each is complete ;
and, traversing on the other, you have two knots,
which, being pulled close together by the long
ends, complete the entire joint. The single water
knot is the same, only making one bend instead
of two at each knotted end of the gut ; thus —

Fig. n.

Another knot is sometimes used for attaching gut
to the loop on a salmon fly head ; and occasionally
for joining the gut of the fly to the loop of the
casting-line, or for attaching the casting-line itself
to the reel line loose, — thus —

Fig. 12.

WATER KNOTS. 81

as a homely poet has said,

*' Once on a time, —

I'd stag could I rhyme,
How I hooked a fine fish, — twenty pounder ;

Alack, for strength I relied,

On a knot I thus tied ;
And I lost fish and fly, with one flounder]"

Therefore I never recommend its use for joints of
any kind, unless " small fry " be the only prey
sought for. A tied loop, even, being better.

The last knot I have to, mention is a better sub-
stitute for, though not unlike to the knot Fig. 7.
That knot being effected on the fly-head-loop, the
short end of the gut, instead of being whipped
down, is tied in a plain knot round the long end
of the gut ; thus, when loose : —

Fig. 13.

This, where whipping cannot be performed, is the
best for looped fly heads — but once for all, re-
member, that my knot Fig. 9, is of all others the
neatest and safest.

As to flies, for my own use, I have enough to
answer my purpose for to-morrow, and plenty to
supply your wants, and so I shall not trouble
your cranium about them at present. But do not
flatter yourself that I will trust you with any I
consider worth the value of a "dump," at your
first throw. No, no ! flick ! away goes the fly ; —

G

82 WHIPPING OFF FLIES.

try another; — flick! — that gone too; another!
another ! ! and another ! ! ! This, every beginner
must expect, and even proficients are liable to
it occasionally. I shall therefore provide you
suitably, and when you can throw without throw-
ing away, you may expect to catch fish.

Herb. — Why is it that flies are thus easily lost ?
I have often heard mention of it.

Theoph. — Gut when dry is always more or less
brittle, and my belief is, that if that to which the
fly is attached were well soaked (especially close to
the fly's head), for about two hours in cold water,
or held in the mouth for ten or fifteen minutes
before it is thrown, even the veriest tyro would
not be so liable to this common accident. What
I always do, before arriving at the water-side, is
to hold in my mouth five or six of the different
flies I think most likely to suit, — I am speaking
of trout-flies — changing them, till I find one
which proves " the thing/' By this simple u pro-
tective," I might almost say I never whip off a fly,
whatever difficulties adverse winds may impose
upon my throwing. I have often thought it
would be well, for this purpose, to have a kind of
of tin pocket-book, the sides of which should be
covered with thick flannel ; which being wetted,
might keep gut-line and flies sufficiently moistened
for use while in the fields ; and thus save much
time, as well as many fractures. To understand

WHIPPING OFF FLIES. 83

the reason why a fly is thus snapped off, you must
be informed of the summary of the art of throw-
ing; and pray understand that it is the merest
outline of what I have to teach you about it. It
is this — in preparing to throw forward, you first
jerk the line behind, and then cast it forward
again. Now, in the throw backwards, unless the
point of your rod describes the half of the figure
of an elongated ellipsis, or, what is better for
a beginner, nearly a semicircle round the head ; or
unless time is allowed for the fly end to reach
behind you to its furthest stretch, when you make
the effort to throw the line forward — which you
effect by giving a sudden spring to the rod, —
it becomes doubled up behind in too acute a
bend ; and thus, when the head of the fly gets
to the point of the bend, from the sudden re-
sistance the stiff hook affords, and the brittle
nature of the gut, away the fly goes, having, as
you will learn hereafter, acquired a motion, or
force, contrary to the course you give to the line
at the moment of its being broken off. In the
" Angler s Souvenir," is an amusing specimen of
a conceited beginner, — a " would-be" self-taught,
making his first essay, and in order to avoid
breakages of this kind, he is pictured as laying
his line straight out on the ground in the con-
trary direction to that he wished to make his cast,
and then with one straight forward over-head

g 2

84 THROWING THE FLY.

throw of the rod, he brings the fly to the point
desired (?) and, as is there observed, a capital
plan this is, if you wish to take fish by first
" knocking them on the head."

It will help your notion as to whipping off
flies to understand the force they acquire in the
operation of throwing. It is by no means an
uncommon occurrence to break a rod, if a fish
happen to rise and be hooked while the impetus
necessary to raise the fly off the water and cast it
behind is in the act of being given, and that re-
quired to return it to the water is as great. The
force a fly acquires in passing through the air is
surprising. Strange as it may be thought, I have
even seen a rod broken by the fly striking it in a
certain position, cutting it, as though with a knife ;
and I remember once, while salmon-fishing, and
wearing a Mackintosh cap, being struck such a
blow on the forehead by the fly (in a bad throw
backwards), that I felt it tender for three or four
days. My fly was only dressed on about a third
size grill hook, and yet it struck me, through the
cap, like a small stone. If such, then, be the
force, and, while it is still going backwards having
one impetus, you oppose to that, another still
greater, by giving the spring to send it forward,
too soon, how can you wonder that so brittle and
so thin a thing as gut should snap ? I shall, how-
ever, tell you more of this hereafter.

THROWING THE FLY. 85

Herb. — Very many thanks for driving me into
so much reflection ; but just wait while I stir the
fire and look after a cigar, if you will allow me.

Theoph. — Do so ; it will, perhaps, brighten
your intellects and nourish the thought I have
instilled into you. Moreover although it is not
my general habit, but " for this occasion only, I
will join you in a whin0."

[Theophilus and Herbert having lighted their cigars
sink into silent reveries; and finally disappear in
an exhilirating cloud.

86

<&t)avttv Vt,

THE AUTHOR, AWAKING FROM HIS PLEASANT SLUMBER, 1NSTII LETH INTO TYRO
THE ART OP THROWING THE TLY, AND AFTERWARDS NAflRATETH A
PLEASANT STORY.

Scene. — The Preceding. The cloud of smoke gradually
dispersing, reveals Theophilus and Herbert in a gentle
slumber.

Theoph. [awaking], — My lessons seem to have
had a soothing effect, good pupil mine.

Herb. — In good truth I was fulfilling all your
precepts in my dreams, with far more excellence
than, I fear, I shall ever in reality attain.

Theoph. — Practise, my worthy disciple, prac-
tise, and you will, in proportion to your industry,
sooner or later be able to answer " Anche io son
pescatore." Be not disheartened at the sight
of the mountain in your path. Ascend it but
half-way, and the prospect over what is passed
will recompense all your former vexatious
failures.

THROWING THE FLY. 87

Hope is the angler's staff : — walk hence with that,
And manage it against despairing thoughts."

The first difficulty is to throw the line at all ; the
next, so to throw, that it descends lightly, and,
fully extended ; then to throw a long line to any
given spot ; and lastly, to throw, in almost any
situation among trees, avoiding entanglement. All
these are to be acquired by care and practice ;
but the last two can only be achieved by extreme
diligence ; and there are, consequently, few who
can accomplish them. I knew a gentleman, many
years since, a poor curate, who, fifteen times out
of twenty, with a single handed rod, could throw
a trout-fly into a hat at twenty-five yards' distance.
In fact, I never saw his equal ; for so sure a
fisher was he, that the owners of trout streams in
the neighbourhood, were as shy of allowing him
a day's fishing, as though he had been an otter.
The rod, in the hands of a practised fly-fisher,
may become like the foil in that of the celebrated
Roland ; he may do anything with it. But how
few are there, who have either the talent or the
time, requisite to render them such adepts !
And I think I may safely say, that there are
hundreds, who, from not knowing the science of
fly-fishing, would never improve, if their whole lives
were devoted to the practice of that art alone !
But the best way to ascend the hill is to begin !

88

THROWING THE FLY.

So give me pencil and paper, and I will describe
to you the art of throwing.

Figs. 14, 15, and 16.

^\^j

S T) >,f c

JV, WVf ^i

TV

There behold three diagrams (figs. 14, 15, and
16). Conceive fig. 14 to be a bird's-eye view of
the course the point of the rod takes in throwing,
and fig 15, a horizontal view, taken on the right
side of the fisherman, showing the angles at
which the rod is held at certain stages; fig. 16,
we shall come at presently. Now, in both figures,
14 and 16, c represents the angler, b the bank

THROWING THE FLY. 89

on which he stands, a, the opposite bank, d,
the starting post of the top, or point of the rod,
when beginning to raise the fly from the water,
and h, the finishing or winning post, where it is
brought at rest when the throw is complete.
Place yourself, c, immediately facing the spot
you wish the fly to fall on, remembering this
throughout my instructions. Imprimis, observe
that it is one of the secrets of good throwing
to have a fixed centre on which the rod shall
revolve. If you are about to throw with a very
light single-handed trout-rod, all the motion
should proceed from the bend of your wrist only,
which is to be the pivot on which the rod turns,
as though the rest of your arm were perfectly
fixed. Or if you are fishing with a heavier single-
handed one, you may move the fore-arm, or joint
from the hand to the elbow, and aid the motion
by the bend of your wrist, while the elbow must
be the pivot ; the upper part of your arm, from
the elbow to the shoulder, being fixed. If, again,
you are using a double-handed rod, the lower
end of the but, below the winch, is held facing
the right shoulder, by the one (generally the left)
hand, which is to be kept stationary, and act as
the pivot; while all the motion of the rod is
communicated by the other, placed immediately
above the winch, so as to give a firm command,
and yet not take away at all from the elasticity of

90 THROWING THE FLY.

the rod. Now, the motion of the top, or point
of your rod is this : Having your right arm half-
extended, and your hand elevated to about the
level of your shoulder, hold the rod before your
right-side, upright, as you behold it, but having
the point d, depressed over the bank b, at about
the angle w c d, fig. 15. Then by a gentle
sweep before you, from your right over to your
left side, and thence through the points l and
m, fig. 14 (m being at the angle w c m. fig. 15.)
behind you, giving to it a light spring — (perhaps
"a whisk," or "jerk," would express it better),
from the wrist, backwards, when it arrives at
l, fig. 14, and decreasing the force of the sweep
as it reaches m, and increasing it again till it
arrives at about e (the angle w c e., fig. 15),
then by a similar spring at l, arising likewise
wholly from the wrist, throw the point of the rod
straight before you, towards the spot where you
wish your fly to fall, but decreasing the force
after the spring is made, till it reaches, and
becomes at rest at h, fig 14, or makes the angle
w c h, fig. 15, or even becomes parallel to the
water, in case a greater elevation seems likely to
check the fly. This, then, is the circuit the
point of the rod takes. You will understand me
to intend, while using a double-handed rod, to
give the springs with the whole fore-arm of the
upper hand.

THROWING THE FLY. 91

Now, if you attach a line to the rod, and,
placing it straight out before you, (which you
must, however, understand is not exactly the
scientific way of proceeding when you have once
learnt the art), apply the motion I have described,
making the sweep only as far as m (fig. 14) : the
line would fly over your left shoulder in a semi-
elliptical course, and the end of it, by reason of
the spring given to the rod at l (fig. 14), would
fall on a spot behind you, corresponding with the
one opposite from whence it started, as in the
dotted line n l t (fig. 14). But if, instead of
stopping at ■ (fig 14), a continuous motion is
kept up, and the spring from the wrist given to
the rod at e, the end of the line will first follow,
and then, by reason of the decrease of force, after
passing e, and because the end of the line at-
tached to the point of the rod is held back, and
the impetus given to the whole is still retained in
the loose or fly end, that will double over the
other part of the line, and fall beyond h (fig 14),
in the straight line t e s, making, in its entire
course, the circuit nltes.

Herb. — But tell me in what position the fly
is to be when you commence the motion of your
rod ; for I should feel little inclination to walk
into the water to stretch it out in preparation for
the throw. That is like the direction for catching
birds by putting salt on their tails.

92 THROWING THE FLY.

Tkeoph. — I implied as much when I began the
subject, so no quizzing. "When you have made
one fair throw on to the water, you have no further
difficulty, and when you acquire to moderate skill,
you may pick up your fly from any spot by the
motion of your rod, as well as with your fingers,
preparatory to delivering it again on the water.
But to begin with the beginning. Hold your fly
at the bend lightly between the forefinger and
thumb of your left hand, then make a sweep,
with the point of your rod backwards, then
towards the water : then letting go the hook, pro-
ceed to make your cast as I have already directed ;
and, in making your future casts, always prepare
to do so before the rod comes near the perpen-
dicular, or you will not be able to get the line
off the water. I should also tell you that it is
advisable, as some situations may require it, and
especially to relieve your arms by a change,
while using a double-handed rod, to reverse
this mode of throwing, commencing with the
rod facing your left shoulder, bring it round
in front towards your right shoulder, and then
over it and behind you from right to left, and
over your left again, as in this (fig. 16 ante!)
In this mode a double-handed rod must be held
left hand uppermost. Look at the diagrams
(figs. 14 and 16), and in a word, the utility of
this change becomes obvious. Suppose you

THROWING THE FLY.

93

stand close by a tree on your right hand — then,
as the course of the line forward (t e s) is
almost straight : by making the~curvilinear cast
backwards, (n l t) over the left shoulder, (as in
fig. 14), you incur no risk (if you have confidence,
which is an important quality in this game) of
hanging fast in the tree when the fly passes for-
ward over your right side. So if the tree be on
your left you must adopt the change of throwing
shown in fig. 16. Attention to this rule will
enable you to throw between two bushes, where
there would not be sufficient space to do so, if
you stood midway between them.

Whatever you do (in the words of Capt. Wil-
liamson, who has written with greater perspicuity
upon this subject than any author I have met
with) " Avoid, above all things, imitating the
motion of a whip ; for though the art is called
'whipping,' it diners widely from it, in regard to
the manner in which it is done. He who throws
his line back as a coachman does his whip, will,
like him, make it crack when it reaches its full
extent behind his back, losing many a good fly,
and coming forward again with such violence, as,
instead of alluring, will scare the fishes."

To elucidate further the art of throwing the
fly, here is a diagram of the course it takes
through the air when properly thrown.

94

THROWING THE FLY.
Fig. 7.

A is supposed to be the hand, and a o — a b
— A i — a H the rod in its various positions, c
m the river, c the spot whence the fly is raised
preparatory to the throw, and c g f e its course
backwards from the water, and e j k l m for-
wards towards it, m being the spot whereon it
finally alights.

When the proper springs or jerks are given,
the hand follows the course of the line, but has
no controul so as to impede it after the springs
are given. Now let us understand the laws of
motion in the fly. Having, in order to neutralize
the effect of its inertia on the subsequent spring,
drawn it by a gentle motion from the interme-
diate space between m and c, the rod being
raised towards b, when the fly is at c and the
rod point at b (b c being the length of line to
be thrown) we communicate the spring ; leaving
the fly and line afterwards to pursue their own
course, and bringing the rod gently through the

THROWING THE FLY. 95

.arc b i h to h. The fly is thus converted into
a simple projectile, and, if it were not for gravi-
tation, would traverse in a straight line from c
to d ; because, the moment the spring is given
at b, the rod is, or rather ought to be, at right
angles with the lines c b d. But, in obedience
with the laws of every projectile, being unre-
strained by the rod or line, it describes the para-
bola c g f e (e h being the extended line).
The force of the backward throw being expended,
it falls below e of its own gravity : the motion of
the rod being renewed, forwards at h, and, since
the rod is raised in passing towards i, the fly
also must again rise in following its course, and,
when the spring forward is communicated at i,
should be found at J, in the parallel eih, and
the rod, i a, at right angles with j i n (i j being
the length of the line). Here again, but for
gravitation, the fly would proceed towards n ;
instead of which, it describes the parabola j k l
m, falling- on the water at M.

Secondly, after the spring at b is given, the
force being great enough to send the fly to e,
suppose, instead of moving the rod backwards
to h, it were retained at b; as the line, from its
insufficient length, would stop it at f, while
much force is still operating in the fly, it would
rebound, and so slacken the line and prevent it
falling fully extended. Then, in attempting to

96

THROWING THE FLY.

cast it forward, it is equally evident that as the
spring could not be re-applied until the rod were
lower down in the arc b o, so that the right
angle to the rod would fall within a c, the fly
also would fall there ; that is to say, the reel line
would come down first, and its end and the fly
would gather " all of a heap" upon it. In like
manner, if the rod were not gradually brought
forward after the spring at i, the fly would
rebound over the water and could not fall lightly ;
— but of this I shall say a word by and bye.

Thirdly, it would be next to impossible to con-
troul the fly, after the spring is given, towards the
same direction ; for the only consequence of such
a power, could it exist, would be the rebounding
of the fly. But it is as common a fault as I know
of, after giving the spring to the fly towards the
water, to counteract the spring by the subse-
quent swing of the rod. A beginner in fly-fishing,
if he is fortunate enough to hit upon the proper
spring, in ninety-nine times out of a hundred,
mars it by the force by which he subsequently
throws his rod forward, almost frightening the fish
to death under it by the Ci swish" of his top into
the water ! and there are many who have fished for
years, much addicted to this fault ; and who, as I
shall show you presently, never throw a line pro-
perly extended. You will hear their rods cutting
the air with a sharp noise, u with a swish," and

THROWING THE FLY. 97

may at once mark them as at least faulty fisher-
men— men who thrash the water, fatiguing them-
selves most unnecessarily. I have often hinted
that it does not require any violent exertion to
cast a line far and well ; and it is the gentle knack
by which it is performed — the science supersed-
ing the necessity for force — which I am now
endeavouring to instil into your mind. Even
in salmon-fishing with an eighteen or twenty foot
rod, much less force is requisite than is generally
supposed. I remember being particularly struck
with this observation in practice, many years ago,
I think the second season of my attempt against
salmon. A few days before I was obliged to give
up the delightful occupation, and having previ-
ously caught comparatively small fish, I one day,
while in the act of throwing, had the misfor-
tune to strain the muscles or ligaments between
my shoulders, to so violent a degree, that I could
scarcely move my arms for several hours, and
Prudence would have said, " Pack up, be off, and
lay yourself, and rods, up for the winter/' But
next day, although I still continued in excessive
pain, the river and weather were both in such
beautiful order, that sending " the wise dame"
to " Jericho," I sallied out rod in hand as usual.
I found that to throw, as I had heretofore done,
with the same degree of force, was physically
impossible : but you may guess my astonishment
on finding that with the mitigated muscular effort

H

98 THROWING THE FLY.

necessity obliged me to adopt, I could not only
throw a lighter line, but also further by two or
three yards. A new light burst upon me. The
following day, I killed a salmon of eighteen
pounds, by excessive light throwing, and the
next one of sixteen pounds, by throwing to a
spot I had never before been able to reach. This
experience, so dearly bought, you may rest as-
sured, I scratched very deep on the tablet of my
memory, and I never afterwards lost sight of it.

Herb. — But explain to me the actual effect of
this extra force, or " swish," upon the fly.

Theoph. — After the spring is given, for a time,
the impulse in the fly is unalterable. The line is
operated on in the same manner; but being
retained, at one end, by the !top of the rod, as
each succeeding portion passes it, it is bent or
doubled upon itself, thus, c b a (see fig. 18) :

Fig. 18.

and if the rod were retained in the position d a,
and not gradually lowered 60 as to "ease it off,
the impetus left in the part of the line from a to
B would be stopped, and that of the fly at c
accelerated, to a degree sufficient to carry it fur-
ther than the length of the line would allow it
to reach ; the fly itself would then be checked,

THROWING THE FLY. 99

and would rebound as I have already shown you.
If, on the contrary, the rod were brought suddenly
and violently, with the " swish" I allude to, from
B to x, the line x b c would receive a contrary
impetus, which would finally operate on the fly
end, and would bring it " all of a heap," almost
under the point of the rod upon the water, and
far short of the spot intended.

Again, if no actual spring, nothing except
a uniform pull, were given, no superior impetus
could be imparted to the fly. The rod would
then simply draw the line, and the line the fly after
it, as great a distance as the length of rod would
admit of, only.

Again, I need hardly tell you, that at the
moment the spring is felt in the fly, the impetus
is greater than during any period of its passage,
diminishing as it gets towards its destination, and
of course retaining some portion of it till it reaches
the full stretch of the line, and becomes at rest.
If then, while thus occupied in one course, as
towards our back, we, with a sudden spring, give
it a different course, forwards, there is a strain
on the line, not only increased by having to pull
the fly as an inert weight, but equal to the force
of the spring forwards, plus the dead weight, plus
the contrary impetus still in the fly passing back-
wards ; thereby incurring a great risk of breaking
the gut at e f.

h 2

100 THROWING THE FLY.

Once more, and lastly. Attend, and we shall
see why it is likely to break close to its junction
with the fly. At starting, the line being stretched,
the point of its junction would take the lead, and
so continue till it had finished its course. The
fly would pass through the air, head foremost,
from its very form and nature ; so that when it
had passed the centre of power, the line would
be doubled or bent back, and the bend would, of
course, be close to the fly at the moment the
premature spring was felt in it. Then, as the
gut is somewhat thicker than that which geome-
tricians call " a line ;" having two surfaces,
both of which are necessary to its strength,
the assistance of the fibres on the concave side
would, by the bend, be rendered nugatory, and
the whole force of the jerk would be thrown on
the convex side, which would also undergo a
more than natural tension, from the mere fact
of its being bent. Thus are the probabilities of
a fracture reduced almost to a certainty ; and the
fly is whipped off! ! But I fear I tire you with
so much detail.

Herb. — By no means : I am devoting my best
attention, in the hopes of following your expla-
nation. I am all ears.

Theoph. — The nature of the springs and posi-
tion where they are to be given still remain for
your consideration. Of the first, observe that you

THROWING THE FLY. 101

must endeavour to impart the requisite force to
the top of the rod ; and that only as though in
fact the top were held back, and the rod bent,
and then suddenly released. With a single-
handled rod it is performed by a twist, as it were,
of the wrist, raising suddenly the uppermost part
of the fist grasping the rod, when the spring
backwards is given ; and, with a similar impulse,
depressing it in the throw forwards. With a
double rod the lower hand being the pivot on
which it acts, the upper hand moving with the
forearm on the elbow, as the pivot is thrown
backwards or forwards about a foot only, the rest
of the arm remaining still. You should also aid
and increase, if necessary, the spring, by moving
the fist inwards or outwards as the throws back-
wards or forwards are given : t. e. letting your
clenched fingers approach or recede nearer to, or
further from your ear than the wrist joint does.
Both in single and double rod throwing that
which entitles the motion to the name of a spring
or jerk, is a sudden momentary restraint ; when
in the one the fist is raised or depressed, or in the
other when the upper hand is thrown backwards
or forwards, for a second after, all motion is
checked ; and as the whole rod acquires a motion,
and the check is felt later in its top than its
centre, the former darts forward from its original
impetus; just as a man's head would were he in

102 THROWING THE FLY.

the act of running and his legs were caught
unawares by a noose thrown round them. Do
not forget that the check is but momentary ; for
the instant after, the rod must gently continue
its course in the same direction, else the top of
the rod will also rebound, and for that and the
other reasons I have already mentioned, the
line and fly will be improperly checked. As
to the positions of the rod when the springs
are given, they will vary according to the length
of line engaged. Look again at the diagram I gave
you of the fly's course (Fig. 17.), r a is the perpen-
dicular to the level x c m, on which the thrower
stands. I have told you that the springs should
be made when the rod is at right angles with the
fishing-line, as in a b c in the cast backwards, and
j i a in that forwards, and that is because the
spring, given in that position, has greater influence
over the line. If the backward spring were given
with the rod, as a o, and the line were stretched
from o to m, independent of the attraction of the
water on the m end, the direction of the spring
would be at right angles with a o, namely towards
r, and if the fly ever got there (which it never
could because the line o m is so diametrically
opposite to o r), the next difficulty would be how
to get the line stretched so as to give the fly a
sudden impulse necessary for the throw forwards
— a difficulty not to be surmounted. The same

THROWING THE FLY, 103

laws would necessarily operate more or less if the
spring were made in any part of the arc o b,
except at b itself, and becoming less and less
objectionable as the spot of the spring approached
to b. Again, if the spring backwards were made any
where between b and h, the nearer it approached
h the greater would be the impossibility of even
raising the fly from the water, and the possibility
of throwing the line back to the water would only
be superinduced as the point of spring approached
nearer to b. The reason why the forward spring
is made nearer the perpendicular than the back-
ward one, is that the fly is then allowed to ap-
proach less near to the ground in passing from e
to j, and there is consequently less danger of its
catching. It is also thrown forward nearer to
a parallel with the earth, and then its descent on
the water will be so much the lighter than if
it were thrown more up towards n, and thence
fell to m, or if thrown more in a straight line with
m, and so struck the water instead of gradually
alighting upon it: while, by making the backward
spring further from the perpendicular, the fly is
raised higher in the air, and traces a parabola, at
the termination of which the fly is caught by
the forward spring before it approaches within
a "catching" distance of the ground behind. So
much for the science of plain throwing, in which

104 fancy's difficulties and

I have included throws far and near, light and
heavy, and lines stretched and slack.

Herb. — I never imagined so much could be
said about it, I assure you.

Theoph. — After all, then, you perceive that this
art, when once understood, and after a little prac-
tice, is not so very difficult to achieve; you may
now laugh at the spectral giants in your path, as
a friend of mine did once. One day he went out
to bathe in the sea, and being more provident
than "Mr. Bubb, of the von hoss chay" celebrity,
engaged me to take charge of his garments ; we
were both ignorant of the coast, or set of the
tide; however, being a good swimmer, in he went,
though the tide was ebbing fast. I lay reading
on the beach, ever and anon casting a furtive
glance at the exhibitor. He ventured a long way
out methought, but as he appeared vigorous, I
imagined nothing wrong and went on reading,
and when my volume was finished I was surprised
to see what a dance I should have to reach where
I then found he must come ashore; for the tide
had evidently carried him unwittingly far away
He was, when I got opposite him, "stemming"
— almost "steaming" it, — most lustily; and ap-
peared distressed. A fisherman passed me and I
enquired as to danger, &c. He assured me there
was none; for though near half-a-mile off, it was

fancy's dangers. 105

not out of his depth, — so gradual was the slope of
the sand. Presently, notwithstanding this as-
surance, my blood curdled in every vein, as I
heard my friend's scream and saw his up-lifted
hands. But judge my delight — I saw him next
moment standing immersed only to his arm-pits, —
and all of a sudden heard his loud out-bursting up-
roarious laugh ; and wading along, he soon joined
me. " What in the name of wonderment," asked
I, "were you laughing at?" "You may well en-
quire," said he ; " little did I know how near my
legs were to the bottom at that instant ! The tide
carried me out before I was aware of it, and I had
much to buffet with when I turned — my strength,
with my heart, failed, when I saw the work and
distance before me, and I was for the last twenty
minutes swimming for my life at the top of my
power. At last, perfectly exhausted, I really re-
signed myself to death, for I could swim no fur-
ther; I made up my mind to die; I 'screamt' my
scream and down I went. Not less to my delight
than surprise, I then, for the first time, became
aware that for the last quarter of an hour I must
have been swimming in shoal water, within my
depth, and without the least danger. And I
could not, after the first burst of thanks to Provi-
dence had passed, refrain from the outbreak of
laughter you noticed, to think how much time,
labour, anxiety, and despair I had expended in

106 SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION,

ignorance of my safety." Many a time have we
talked over this adventure, and as oft resolved not
to imagine difficulties; with the immortal Bard ex-
claiming :

"Oh, hateful Error, Melancholy's child

Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men
The things that are not?"

But here comes supper !

107

(ttfjaptec Vffl.

THE AUTHOR AFTER GIVING HIS RECIPE FOR POTTING FISH, CONTINUETH HIS
INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ART OF TROWING.

Scene. — As before. Time. Night. — Theophilus and
Herbert seated before a smoking dish.

Herb. — I must say, these little " speckled
beauties" of yours, are delicious.

Theoph. — Are they not ? And well worth the
trouble of learning to catch too. Here is enough
to whet your appetite in search of them.

Herb.- -Never fear : but pray what are they ?

Theoph, — They are called par; but what they
are has puzzled most of the wise heads that have
ever been " a-fishing," and a few more in the
shape of pure ichthyologists and naturalists to
boot. As I have to teach you how to " first
catch your hare," I cannot stop, just now, to
give you my opinion; but, for the present, shall
merely tell you, in order to excite your observa-

108 RECIPE FOR POTTING FISH.

tion and increase your thirst after knowledge,
that many persons appear to have taken very
great pains to arrive at a true knowledge of their
u birth, parentage, and education," while all that
has been promulgated amounts to "an opining"
only, that they are "this" or " that." I am
sorry to say the secrets of the deep waters are
but little known to us ; and therein lies an open
field for honours yet unplucked ; — for experiment
and investigation, laborious, curious, and most
interesting : — for wonderment, perplexity, and
delight ; which, I fear to add, can but the more
and more convince us that we are only " lords
in the creation," and not " of" it. When you
have learnt to catch a few, we will talk more
about them. But come, — taste my potted fish, —
the produce of yesterday's catch.

Herb. — Most excellent and palatable. Of
what does it consist, and how is it made/

Theoph. — I have the recipe here in my pocket-
book, and, as I hardly carry these things in my
memory, I will read it to you.

Recipe for Potting Trout, Par, Char, and all
kinds of small fish.

Open your fish, and without washing, rub them
clean with dry cloths ; cut off heads, tails, and
fins; lay them in a small baking-dish, having

4.

V

RECIPE FOR POTTING FISH. 109

first seasoned them highly with a portion of the
mixture I will mention presently, and bake them
in a H cool" oven, with as much fresh butter as,
when melted, will cover them ; allowing them
to remain in the oven till all the bones are dis-
solved. The time this part of the operation takes
depends on the heat of the oven. The butter
is then to be drained off, and the fish carefully
removed into proper potting-pots, and well
pressed down, so as to leave no spaces of air
between them. Fresh butter, melted and clari-
fied, is then poured over the top, as we usually
see potted meats, shrimps, &c. done ; and when
cold, it is fit for table. Should the fish be large,
say above a quarter or half-pound, it is better to
scale them and take out the back bones. The
following is the mixture, which will suffice for
thirty or forty pounds of fish, and if kept corked
in a glass bottle, may be used as occasion
requires : —

Six Tea spoonfuls of ground black Pepper
Six ditto ditto Allspice

Four ditto ditto Mace

Two ditto ditto Cloves

Two ditto ditto Nutmeg

One ditto ditto Cayenne.

And to every spoonful of this mixture used, add,
at the time of using, but not before, one spoonful of
salt. But to resume the subject of my discourse,
namely " throwing the fly !"

110 THROWING THE FLY.

I shall now canvass some of the doctrines of
authors who have professed to teach "the young
idea how to fish," which I think questionable,
and which appear calculated to mislead, if they
be not decidedly erroneous. For instance, Messrs.
Shipley and Fitzgibbon, whose work is rather
recent, and in some respects not devoid of merit,
say,* " The beginner should commence learning
to cast the fly, having the wind on his back."
This, I must tell you depends on the force of the
wind. If it be great, it is then easy enough to
cast the fly forward, — but one is never more likely
to whip off flies; because its force prevents the
line becoming fully extended behind ; nor will
it alight softly, unless he contrive to let it blow
full out, and then, by lowering the point of the
rod, allow the fly to fall of its own weight;
which requires some experience. To a beginner
my advice is, to throw rather across the wind,
than directly with it, whereby he is more likely
to avoid both these misadventures. Again,! they
tell the beginner to practise with his reel-line ;
but such a course is sure to wear out the loop,
by constant whipping, and at the same time
teaches nothing — throwing the reel-line alone
being very different to having the gut attached,
— something akin to learning to swim before ven-

• p. 75. t id

THROWING THE FLY. 1 1 1

turing into the water. I had rather that he
should commence with a short reel and gut, or
foot-line, and a hook broken off at the bend, if
his stock of patience is in a state of insolvency —
unable to meet all due demands : whereby he sees
at once what he is about, and avoids at the same
time the provoking misfortunes which a perfect
hook would entail upon him by its adhesive pro-
pensities, during his pupilage. It is quite right
that he should practise upon the water, so as to
witness the effct of not throwing lightly ; and Mr.
Ronalds, in his Fly-Fisher's Entomology, is only
correct in recommending practice " ashore,"
when the object is to achieve throwing among
trees, an art quite distinct from throwing on the
water ; though even this should ultimately be
practised (with a broken hook in the first instance),
at the river-side. The first named authors,^
seem, too, to think it an advantage to have the
line dry for throwing, and advise that the water
should be " whisked out of it and the fly," by
quick repetition of casting. If in the sunshine
you like to " whisk" your line about for five
minutes, you may achieve what they think so
desirable ; and which, to tell you the truth, I
regard as useless. My own practice, and that of
many most skilful anglers, is, occasionally to wet

* Sbipley and Fitzgibbon p. 78.

112 THROWING THE FLY.

every part of the reel-line beyond the point of
the rod, so as to equalize the weight of each
part, and thence render it capable of being
thrown with greater facility and precision ; yet
it will drop " light as fairy foot can fall." These
are trivial errors I admit, even if they be more
than differences of opinion; but when I find
authors professing to teach, and laying it down
as a rule for beginners, "that the motion in
throwing, of the wrist and elbow, is not oblique,
but fairly straight backwards and forwards ,"# I
must quarrel with them downright. They had
better have left it alone altogether, and have
directed the tyro, as some have done, " to
manage as he best can,f' than have laid down
such thoughtless rules ; being about as wide of
the mark as Mr. Ronalds, who says, " you should
endeavour to impart to the line a good uniform
sweep or curve round the head !*• Now a uniform
curve with the rod will produce a uniform curve in
the line, and unless that uniformity be broken by
the two springs, backward and forward, into some-
thing of an elliptic figure, the fly will fall shorty.

* Shipley and Fitzgibbon, 77.

t Should the fish (Salmon) on being hooked, spring out of the water,
the angler must be extremely cool ! and manage, as he best can, to prevent
him from breaking the tackle, or getting rid of the hook \"—Vide Northern
Angler, p. 65.

t See ante, p. 99, last chapter.

THROWING THE FLY. 113

As to the motion, " not oblique, but fairly straight
backwards and forwards," if it be adopted, the
fly will pursue exactly the track of the rod
through the air, and should one chance out of a
hundred save it from being whipped off behind
(for the reason 1 have already given you),# and
the fly be missing in the position it was intended
to occupy on the water, you may as well look for
it in the firm embraces of the rod itself; and
there you will find it perhaps a mutilated corpse !
Professor Rennie's advice is capital; he tells us,
forsooth, to " observe some good fly-fisher" as
the means of learning ! as though good fly-fishers
grew as thick as blackberries by the side of every
river.

Herb. — " First catch your hare," again I sup-
pose.

Theoph. — You are right ; and, moreover, if
you meet with twenty good fly-fishers, not one
out of them perhaps can describe the principles
of his actions. Again, we are taught thusf,
" just as the line comes about a yard above it"
(the spot aimed at), we should " suddenly check
the impulse given by the wrist to the rod ;" and
to this is ascribed the advantage of the fly falling
of its own weight, ' ' gossamer-like on the water."
As Mr. Shipley is evidently, from his book, a

* See ante p. 99. t Shipley and Fitzgibbon, p. 76.

1

114 THROWING THE FLY.

good practical angler, and able to act, though not
to teach perfectly, his firm must have failed pro-
perly to describe what they intended ; for as sure
as trout take flies, if the line be checked l ' sud-
denly" at such a moment, the fly, instead of fall-
ing on the water, will hit it, and that violently,
and like anything rather than a " gossamer "-
winged insect. The motion, as I have already
told you, must gradually die away, and no
" sudden check" be suffered : so that you per-
ceive I am not merely quarrelling with words.
" Much ado about nothing," has been made by
several writers, in directing you " never to let
your reel line be on the water, except in a heavy
wind." Now, though I think it well to obey
that direction, if convenient and possible, which
it could only be while fishing with a very short
line, I am far from considering it necessary, or
possible, or proper (were it so), with even twelve
yards of line out; and as I give my reasons
(which you will do well to remember for more
purposes than the refutation of this fallacy), I
will be judged by you who is right. In so doing,
I must necessarily, in some slight degree, touch
upon the art of " throwing" on a stream ; and
therefore be prepared for an occasional digression.
To dispose of the question of propriety, under-
stand that the endeavour to lift your reel line
clear of the water (for of course if you have any

THROWING THE FLY. 115

length out, it must fall on it in the first instance),
you must drag the fly from the place where it
first falls suddenly, and in a manner unnatural to
a living insect, or else the line cannot fall suffi-
ciently stretched. By this you lose an advan-
tage, for it is generally observed that the fall first
engages the attention of the fish ; and it is for the
most part in the moment after that he rises to it,
unless he be a salmon, which will give chase, in
order to whet his appetite. This unnatural drag
on the fly is too common, without any endeavour
to clear the reel line ; for you will remark, unless
you cautiously guard against it, in regaining the
grasp of the rod after it has become relaxed by
the delivery of the fly, an almost imperceptible
check is conveyed to the course which the cur-
rent has already given to it ; whereas, from the
moment it touches the water it should be under
the sole controul of the stream, almost precisely
as a natural fly would ; the hand at most only
carrying it across the stream, as a struggling fly
might swim, except in occasionally communicating
those gentle tremulous jerks, which we sometimes
impart in order to give it the semblance of life,
and subject to those other exceptions which I
will explain to you by and bye : — it is, there-
fore, improper to attempt to raise the line off the
water. But, putting aside all speculative ques-
tions as to the likelihood of a fish being scared by

i 2

116

THROWING THE FLY.

the line merely passing over it (which I am not
willing at once to admit as likely, for why should
a line rather than a straw frighten him ?) let us,
as a third test to this necessity, cursorily consider
how to throw on a stream, and whether the mode
of doing so does not render it immaterial whether
the reel-line be kept clear or not. Understand,
that I am now excluding salmon-fishing from my
remarks. The river, nearest your position, should
be fished before you throw to the more distant
parts. Let us suppose that there is plenty of stream,
or current, running from left to right. If you throw
up against the stream, you then, of course, com-
mence at the lower end of it ; and if you cast
down with the stream, the contrary. By this
means your fly, of necessity, passes over the
ground previously to the line. But, to be still
more minute, and dealing first with up-stream
throws, observe this diagram (Fig. 1 9). z and
o represent the opposite banks ; and, standing at

Fig. 19.

■m - /L /• ^"b

/■'-■/ /

J3 +E +A

"3

2

. #

z, the river, you are to suppose, runs from left

THROWING THE FLY 117

to right. Now, in order that the fly may tra-
verse every inch before the line, remaining sta-
tionary at z, you will at first throw a short line
to a then to b, and so on through the segment of
the first circle, remembering always to work your
rod towards your left, or towards your right if
the river runs the contrary way, and you are still
fishing up stream ; as it causes the fly to cross
the stream and be more shown. Remaining at z,
and lengthening your line, you will throw to E,
in the second segment, then to r, and so forth ;
and, thirdly, you will throw to J, in the third seg-
ment, then to k, and finish at o ; which I assume
as the utmost distance your rod (or your skill)
will enable you, or the width of the river require
you, to reach. Daring all these throws you per-
ceive, I have kept you stationary at z, and as you
are perchance growing tired of standing still, you
may now proceed upwards, a yard nearer to a,
throwing the same length of line as in your last
cast, and advancing up the river step by step,
throwing first to J, then k, and so on to o, in
another segment. To fish down-stream, observe

N X Ify 20

, „ H x \

D ^. \ x m >

DN' A *\

V e\. J

118 THROWING THE FLY.

this other diagram (Fig. 20), and you perceive
you have precisely the same plan to pursue, still
commencing at z, and taking the smallest seg-
ment 1, first throwing to a, and ending at o,
with segment 3. Pursuing this plan, which
speaks for its own correctness, let me ask, what
danger is there that the reel-line shall scare the
fish, so as to deprive you of sport ? None ; be-
cause your fly has always given it the lead and
been before it, the space within the first segment
being the only inch of water that will not have
been traversed by it in the first instance, and
before other parts of the line have shown them-
selves to the fish. Almost all authors on angling
content themselves with telling you, " to let
your line fall lightly as possible on the water ;"
but they evade describing how you are to manage
it. Captain Williamson certainly, in this parti-
cular, bears out the character for honest endea-
vours, which I have already ascribed to him. He
says, " as you feel the line getting into its proper
direction, carry forward your arm with an easy
movement, until your hand is on a level with your
shoulder. By this means, the little inclination
the fly might have to tug, and consequently to
be checked short (remember Mr. Shipley's "sud-
den check !") when the line acquires the full
extent will be totally prevented ; especially if
you yield a trifle more by lowering your hand

THROWING THE FLY. 119

and arm a little, keeping them in a straight line
up to the shoulder. Thus you will cause your
fly to 'light so very gently on the water, as often
to leave you in doubt as to the precise spot where
it fell ; but which is frequently pointed out by the
rising of a fish, deceived equally with yourself,
by the sleight you have attained. " This, though
clothed in other language, is exactly what I
described, as to letting the motion of the hand
and rod die away and discontinue by degrees,
after the spring in casting the line forwards :
and it is this gradual cessation in the movement,
which causes the desired fairy-like lightness.

Herb. — But you have not enlightened me
about the length of line to be thrown ; which,
from the mode in which I have heard it spoken
of, seems to measure the skill of the fisherman.

Theopk. — It measures the skill in casting the
line, but no more ; for much is requisite, besides
good throwing, to fill a fishing pannier. If a
man can throw a long line, he must necessarily
be able to throw well, and, most probably, will
catch fish ; and, to the general observer, he is a
good fisherman. It ensures this also, that he
must have fished a long time, for practice alone
can, in the ordinary run of hands, accomplish it
— though many may fish for years without
acquiring this advantage.

Herb. — And yet it is very common to hear men

120 THROWING THE FLY.

boast of being able to throw thirty yards or more
of line.

Theoph. — The next man you hear thus boasting,
ask him, did he ever measure it ! and you'll
surely find him " reckoning without his host."
There are some who can do it, certainly; but
they are as one in a thousand. I know but one
man, and that is my ally down here, Tom P. ;
whom I have before mentioned to you. Exclu-
sive of him (pray do not think I name it for
boasting sake, for I know, " self-praise is boasting,
and begets the envy of them that hear it") — I
yield in this respect to no man, whom I have had
the pleasure of meeting any where ; by a yard or
two I can out-reach them, Tom P. excepted ; and
although I speak of my long salmon-rod, eighteen
feet, I doubt whether I can exceed twenty-seven
or twenty-eight yards, measured from the reel,
under the most favourable circumstances. Tom
P. has thrown twenty-seven measured yards from
the top of his rod, which being twenty feet long,
according to my plan of reckoning, namely, from
the reel, gives thirty-three yards two feet. Twenty-
two yard may, therefore, be regarded as a long
throw, even for an eighteen foot rod, and all above
that, " is extra superfine."

Herb.— But, I recollect that Tom P. has a
longer rod; which, I suppose, gives him some
advantage.

THROWING THE FLY. 121

Theoph. — Certainly : — yet, with the same
length of rod, I doubt if I could match him : —
assuredly not, with his twenty foot wand! It
requires more strength than I, or many men,
possess to wield it. This brings me back to your
enquiry about the length of line to be thrown.
According to the length and strength of spring
in a rod, there is a certain distance of line,
which comes most natural to it, and an excess or
decrease is equally troublesome. If you will
refer to my former diagram (fig. 17), you may
readily perceive how this is, and, I calculate,
that about three times the length of the rod, pro-
vided it be stiffish, is the right measure of line to
throw easily ; thus, twelve feet of rod give twelve
yards of line ; sixteen feet, sixteen yards ; eigh-
teen feet, eighteen yards ; twenty feet, twenty
yards, and so forth.

A pliant rod will not throw so far as a moder-
ately stiff one (I mean by this, a rod that plays
well, yet is stiff about the top) ; and for this
reason, that the grass, hedges, weeds, and stones
behind, will either catch the fly, or ruin the
thrower in breakage of hooks. Turn again
to the diagram (fig. 17). If the rod be pliant,
though the spring be given when the rod is as
a b, yet, owing to its elasticity, it will not raise
the fly from the water, until it (the rod) is much
curved (though the tip may remain at b), and

122 THROWING THE FLY.

thence, the tip much lowered in point of eleva-
tion; consequently, if the line exceed the measure
I have assigned to it, the fly, passing considerably
below the parabola c g f e, will come in con
tact with the earth below e, as at x, and catch.
If the bank rises behind, even a shorter line is
very apt to do this. The stiffer, in moderation,
the rod is, the better it lifts the line off the water
at the moment of the spring, and the higher is
it carried backward above the earth. The longest
line may be thrown when the ground is level
behind, and the bank is high above the water, or
where the bank, being on a level with the water,
rises above the ground behind. If the bank be
high above the water, say eight or ten feet,
then it is almost necessary to increase the length
of line, else (again referring to the diagram), the
point of spring, the rod being at a right angle
with the line at the moment of it, will be much
nearer to o, in the arc b o, and, but for gravita-
tion, would incline the fly much higher in the
air than d, and nearer a, so as to prejudice the
cast forward. A beginner's line should therefore,
in my judgment, be in triplicate ratio to his rod,
and if he practise with that, he will soonest
acquire perfection in longer or shorter throws.
If he must needs throw to a spot nearer to his
temporary position, he had better shift his ground,
and retire for the purpose, as he will then, not

THROWING THE FLY. 123

only throw with his natural length of line, but
also be more removed from the fish's sight. The
secret in throwing a longer line than that which
I term the rod's natural capacity, lies in the
increase of spring given by the wrist or fore-
arm ; and as it is merely a spring, it is only
practice which can strengthen the muscles of the
wrist, or fore-arm, sufficiently to empower them
to apply the requisite force, and instantaneously
succeeding check upon that force, — the propul-
sive and retractive exertion — commonly termed
"knack," which constitutes it, and prevents the
mischief which mere force alone would inevitably
tend to, as I think I have already made you com-
prehend (see fig. 18). Oh ! 'tis a glorious thing
to strengthen the arms, is salmon-fishing ! In
salmon-fishing, standing on a gravel bed rising
behind, and with a long line, it is a most ruin-
ously provoking thing, every now and then, to dis-
co ver your fly cut to pieces, or your hook broken.
This is done, by its hitting the gravel behind;
and I can prescribe no remedy, but a shorter line,
or a stiffer rod ! The secret also of throwing a
short line lies in very much diminishing the force
of the spring ; no greater force must be applied
than is just sufficient to throw the fly to the spot
desired, else the fly will be checked, and rebound as
before described. Before I quit the subject of plain

124 THROWING THE FLY.

throwing*, I must not forget some allusion to our
friend, " Old Boreas, blustering railer 1" who in
his waking hours so often assists, and more often
teazes us. If the wind blows straight down your
throat — the stream I mean — from your left to
right, and you wish to throw at a right-angle to
it, or, in other words, across the river, you must
throw according to fig. 14 ; if the contrary, ac-
cording to fig. 16 ; for reasons too obvious,
both theoretically, and practically, to require
explanation.

Herb. — Is it possible to throw against the
wind ; that is, " in its teeth ?"

Theoph Not directly, unless the line be very

heavy ; but by observing my last direction, you
may "sail very close to it." Let me also call
your attention to the fact, that to throw nicely,
it is of very great importance to fix your eyes
well on the spot where you desire the fly to fall.
The wonderful connexion between the eye and
hand, the servile obedience the latter will show
towards the former, are subjects of which I will
attempt no explanation. A ball thrown up, finds
the hands, though unseen by the eye, ready to
receive it ; and the gun, held by a good shot, and
if suited to the sportsman in length of stock and
shape, is pointed directly at the bird, in obedi-
ence to the eyes, when they are fixed on the bird

THROWING AMONG TREES. 125

alone. Another instance I might mention, which
must have struck the commonest observer who
" switches his cane" as he walks. If he, in
walking along, direct the point of his stick at
an object level with his shoulder, and looks to
the. stick, he misses it ; but if he fixes his eyes
on the object, hard, ten to one he hits it. There-
fore bear this hint in your mind.

Throwing in very difficult Places as among Trees.

But come, let me carry you in fancy to some
cool river, 'midst pendant trees, where willow,
alder, sycamore, and oak, seem wrestling with
each other for the shade, courting the first
embraces of the refreshing stream, — where big
trouts revel in treacherous security, and where the
fisher's thermometric mercury, hope, rises too
often far above the " temperate !" If you find the
instructions I shall now give worth listening to, I
should recommend /our commiting them to your
" Log Book," since I fear it will be so long before
you have acquired dexterity in plain-sailing
throws, that your memory of them will not last till
you are sufficiently advanced to try throws under
circumstances of difficulty, which only tip-top
masters of the art can surmount : I mean in places
encompassed by trees and bushes. By-the-bye
a man who fishes among wooded banks should

126 THROWING AMONGST TREES.

know something about climbing with fearlessness.
And it is to those that Coleman's " Angler's
Friend," as well as the portable bill-hook, prove
"friends in need and indeed." Some very,
few there are who could almost throw amidst a
thick forest without risk ! and if you can, by ex-
treme practice, achieve a victory over difficulties
such as I shall now point out, you will gain the
advantage of fishing places unwhipped before, or
little flogged over, however numerous the body of
anglers on the river ; and also catch the best fish ;
for such usually lurk in the most sequested, shel-
tered spots, trout especially. Now, for instance,
first drawing my bird's eye plan, the arrow show-
ing the course of the stream; (and by the way, this

Fisr. 2L.

^^^ACrv.

^•L^n

is the identical representation of a spot we shall,
perhaps, get at to-morrow) ; suppose you wish to
throw to a, while standing on the projecting point

THROWING AMONGST TREES, 127 ,

b, which is backed on all sides by high trees :
to throw up or down the river, to your left or
right, is easy enough; but how will you throw
straight before you ? .You cannot effect it in the
ordinary method; because the trees behind will
surely entangle your fly. It is done thus : first
throw down the river towards d ; and, while your
line is well stretched, bringing it thence with a
spring round in front, towards and then over your
left, and behind your back to the right, and at
the same time turning your body to face a, throw
forwards towards that spot. You must, of course,
form but a very close small circle with the point of
your rod, as e f b, otherwise the sweep of the
line backwards will be too great, and you will get
" hung up." The spring of the rod in both in-
stances should be given at about the same point,
e; and, provided you can avoid touching the
trees at k, with a moderate length of line you will
effect your object without doubt. If the stream
runs the other way, you have but to reverse the
rule. To give you confidence, try this without
a hook under a tree in a field, some day; but
it requires great command of muscle. Here
is another difficulty and perhaps the greatest
you can have to encounter. It requires most
perfect power over the rod, and consequently the
extreme of practice. The bushes are here (Fig.
22) supposed to be thick behind you, and at inter-

128 THROWING AMONG TREES.

Fig. 22.

A

%22

vals to overhang the bank : though you cannot
throw at all if they project further than half the
length of your rod, and though I cannot suggest
any plan that would enable you to throw to a , be-
cause they do project that much, and because of
the trees behind ; if, instead of throwing with the
rod held perpendicularly, as in the , ordinary
manner, you can go through the motions I first
prescribed, holding your rod horizontally over
the river, and directly pointing to the opposite
bank, you will be enabled to throw a short line
anywhere up or down the stream.

Herb. — But would not the surface of the water
prevent the circle of the point of the rod you
described ?

Theoph. — I must not forget to mention that
long before you ought to attempt these difficulties,
you will be able to avoid whipping off fties, though
instead of a semi-circle and straight line, you
form an entire but much elongated ellipsis with
the point of your rod ; and thus it is, you are

THROWING UNDER TREES. 129

enabled to throw, as I have just related, with so
limited a space between it and the surface of the
water.

Throwing wider Trees, and how to Disentangle the
Tackle.
Occasions will also frequently require a throw
under branches hanging within two yards, or
even one, of the water,

u Would you lure
From his dark haunt beneath the tangled roots
Of pendant trees, the monarch of the brook."

This, well performed, is an admirable sight, and
often excites the praise of less practised fishers.
Yet it is after all not so very difficult, with a little
bold practice ; nor when the first dread of entan-
glement is conquered. To this latter end, I have
often pointed out to you the necessity of being
accompanied, at the river's side, by Colman's
" angler's friend," to disengage the fly from trees
on the angler's side — while the common folding
brass clearing ring, and a long strong hempen
line, come into use on the opposite bank. But
should entanglement take place, in eight times
out of ten, neither is required — nothing but
O'Connell's delight, agitation ! agitation ! In
other words, when this mishap happens to myself,
the first thing I do is to lay down my rod, and
taking hold of the line, gently to tug and shake
it, till (if success attends me) the fly drops off.

K

130 THROWING UNDER TREES.

If this fail, I use one or other of my instruments.
Remember you should never attempt to disengage
the fly by "striking" with the rod. Having
digressed thus far and " hung you up," I had
better give you all the advice I can to release
your line from the tree, and yourself from the
subject. It frequently happens that in raising
the fly and line off the waters, or casting towards
them, some spiteful detestable gale carries the
one into the lower and the other into the upper
part of a large bush ; so that a double entangle-
ment takes place. " Agitation" becomes impos-
sible, and cutting away the branch where the
hook attaches alone, comparatively useless, from
the difficulty of releasing the other parts of the
line. Here, either by the " angler's friend," or
by the pocket hatchet, you must first cut the
branch where the hook is ; and if the fly continue
still attached thereto, then get hold of the branch
somehow or other, either by the " angler's friend,"
by your gaff hook, or by cutting another, — a
hooked sticked. If the fly detaches itself from
its first lodgment and floats afar off in the air,
before you proceed to anything else, cut a long
stick, leaving a few twigs about its upper end;
with this reach the fly, and, twisting it about,
entangle the fly in the stick, so as to be able to
draw the fly towards you, meanwhile leaving the
line sufficiently loose from the end of the rod for

THROWING UNDER TREES. 131

the purpose. Having once hold of the fly, take
it off the loop of the line, and you may then
quietly draw the line by the rod from out the
bush. Should you have, in trout fishing, many
flies on, I pity you ; for your hopes of escape are
few indeed, except by the sharp edge of the
hatchet ; though even then the foregoing hints
may assist you. As to entanglement on the oppo-
site side of the river ; — in throwing under bushes,
provided the throw be proper, that is, with much
skill and no unnecessary force, even should it touch
the bush, it is ten to one but that it will shake
or fall from it again without catching ; whereas,
if the fly be cast with violence, so that, except for
the bush, it would " hit" the water, it will, the
moment the line touches the branch, double itself
upon it, and there to a certainty remain, and the
clearing ring is the only remedy. But to return
to the subject we were upon, viz. throwing under
bushes, should you be standing at the water's
level throwing a long line, and the bush be a yard
or more above the water, the fly will seldom
touch, even in the ordinary mode of throwing :
but if you stand on a high bank, fishing short,
and the bushes close, you must adopt another
course. I must first explain to you that if the
branch, under which you desire to throw, lie to
the left, you must then throw on the principle
of fig. 14 (ante), and if it lie on your right,

k 2

] 32 THROWING UNDER BUSHES.

you must reverse your throw as in fig. 16 (id).
Whichever way it be, the backward motion of the
rod is the same as in common throwing, and
instead of causing the point to describe the
straight line m e h (tig. 14 and 16), in its pro-
gress forwards, it must be depressed outwards
almost horizontally ; and as the line unfolds itself
towards the spot aimed at, it must be watched
well, and if it seem likely to catch the branches,
the rod, by being gently drawn back about a foot
still nearer the surface of the water, will probably
guide the fly to its destination, and at all events
avoid the danger. I may tell you, that, provided
you have plenty of clear space behind, you may
reach under bushes by throwing horizontally, as
though you wanted to " touch up" the off fore-
leg of the off leader in the four-in-hand ; and it is
then the best plan, especially where the bush lies
on your own side of the stream and at your left.
I observe that Col. Hawker recommends the use
of the left hand when the wind blows very strong
directly across from the right;' but I do not con-
ceive it to be of the least advantage, because, by
throwing backwards over the right and forwards
over the left shoulder, as in fig. 16 (ante) the
same effect is produced, as 1 have just told you.
However, it would be no inconvenience to prac-
tise with the left hand, if it were merely as a
temporary relief to the right. And it is abso-

THROWING UNDER BUSHES. 133

lutely essential, when you attempt some of the
difficult throws 1 have just mentioned ; thus, for
instance, if you require the horizontal throw be-
tween bushes (as in fig. 22), to be made from
left to right, your right hand being inapt at
throwing backwards, or back-handed, your left
must be called into service. So, if you desire
to throw under bushes which lie at the right
on the same side as that on which you are fish-
ing, you may be sometimes better able to effect
the object by using the left in lieu of the right
hand ; and especially when the throw under
the bush is to be horizontally performed. There
is a hint which may be serviceable to you
upon this branch of the art, not to be omitted.
It is of a plan very troublesome, it must be
admitted, as it entails the necessity of " gathering
up" your fly at every throw : yet if you do not mind
that, you may find it of universal use in difficult
wooded stations, provided a short line will content
you, and your rod be capable of being wielded
by one hand. The plan is, preparatory to each
throw, to hold the hook between the forefinger
and thumb of the left hand ; then, by waving the
rod about backwards or forwards, from right to
left, or however will best suit the object (a thing
I leave to your practice and discretion), to get
the line well on the swing, and the moment you
feel you can thereby communicate a sufficient

134 THROWING UNDER BUSHES.

impetus to the fly, release it from your fingers,
and cast forwards to the spot intended. Very
much, with industry, is to be achieved by this
manoeuvre. Understanding, then, these principles,
practice and industry in the art, must do the
remainder. I can say no more upon this subject,
save that you should never forget to calculate
upon the effect the wind may have, in trying
these experiments among trees, and if it be ad-
verse, the attempt had better be abandoned. I
shall conclude my observations on throwing the
fly among trees, with the advice, always to be
bold, bearing in mind, that

" Preferment seldom graceth bashfulness."

But " the lights of the chamber burn low."

" The silent hours steal on,
And flaky darkness breaks within the East."

As we must be up with the lark — and as I have
troubled you already enough with this dry subject,
— and have still too much to teach, to crowd it into
this night's colloquy ; let us now say good night,
and go to dream of the morrow's hopes and fears,

" Pack night, peep day ; good day, of night now borrow,
Short night, to-night ; and length thyself to-morrow."

Remember six.

135

Ctwpter VWk,

THE AUTHOR, TAKING TYRO TO HIS FIRST ESSAY, DETAILETH TO HIM, BY THE
WAY, HIS RECIPE FOR PRESERVINO TROLLING LINES. AND OTHERWISE
ENTERTAINETH HIM.

Scene. — At first, the Path leading to the River. — After-
wards—The Rector's Pool, Llanrwst. Time, — Early
Morning.

Personages. — Theophilus and Herbert.

Theoph. — I am furnished for the fight.

Herb. — And so am I. — Eod together — reel on
— line through rings, and gut-line affixed — Im-
patiently I wait for you.

Theoph. — Let me examine your " artillery/' as
Frank says. All right : — I see you have prac-
tised splicing your top and joint together according
to my directions. Bravo, closely, and neatly
done ! but you must tie your other joints together
by the hitchers, else one part may chance to
reach the sea before the other ! Here are pieces
of silk braid, as fine as netting silk, which I keep

] 36 THEOPHTLUS AND TYRO SET OUT.

for the purpose. Make a knot at one end of
each, and catch it under one hitcher on each
joint ; if you wind these round the joints when
you come home at night, they will last you
through the season. As I can hardly admit it to
be a matter of little moment, let me tell you I am
glad to find you happen to have put the reel on
the right way ; namely, with the handle towards
the right, when the reel lies under the rod. I
allude to it because I observe that the two joint
authors of Derbyshire, have differed, upon the
subject, and, like those who quarrelled about the
chameleon, it happens,

" They both are right, tho' both are wrong ;"

the one, because the winding up should be per-
formed with the right hand ; while in his plan
it must be performed with the left : and the other
because his, of holding the rod keeping reel
uppermost, is an unnatural position for it; the
line is more chaffed, and also has, in case of wet,
an inclination to cling : or else he would imply
that, to wind up, it is requisite to turn the rod so
as to bring the reel upwards, which is not the
manner in which it is retained while throwing.
What have you done with your spare tops.

Herb. — One is in-doors, the other in the hollow
but.

Thcoph. — Leave both at home; you are not

RECIPE FOR PRESERVING TROLLING LINES. I 37

going very far ; and let us hope for no breakages
to start with. Besides, carrying it in the but
not only spoils it, but gives an unpleasant rattle,
and feeling of " all-not-rightishness" to the rod
in throwing.

Herb. — First let me look at your line ; — pre-
pared, I see; — the very thing I wished to ask
you about. What is the process?

Theopk. — This, you will note, is properly a
trolling-line of the best description ; eight-strand
platted silk, of its natural yellow colour. I have
promised to try it for a friend, as a salmon fly-
line, but having done so, cannot approve of it so
highly for that purpose, as of the unprepared silk
and hair twisted ; it throws rather too heavy.
The preparation of it is certainly most excellent
— the best I know, not excepting that which the
tackle-makers adopt, who, by the bye, I believe,
charge but a penny a-yard for preparing them.

Recipe for Preserving mid Stiffening Trolling
Lines.
To a quarter of a pint of " double-boiled cold-
drawn" linseed oil, add about one ounce of gold
size. Gently warm and mix them well, being
first careful to have the line quite dry. While
the mixture is warm, soak it therein till it is
fully saturated to its very centre, say for twenty-
four hours. Then pass it through a piece of

138 RECIPE FOR PRESERVING TROLLING LINES.

flannel, pressing it sufficiently to take off the
superficial coat, which enables that which is in
the interior to dry well, and in time to get stiff.
The line must then be hung up in the air,
wind, or sun, out of the reach of moisture, for
about a fortnight, till pretty well dry. It must
then be re-dipped, to give an outer coat, for
which less soaking is necessary : after this, wipe
it again but lightly ; wind it on a chair-back or
towel-horse before a hot fire, and there let it
remain for two or three hours, which will cause
the mixture on it to "flow" (as japanners term
it), and give an even gloss over the whole. It
must then be left to dry as before ; the length
of time, as it depends on the weather and place,
observation must determine upon. By this means
it becomes impervious to wet, and sufficiently
stiff never to clog or entangle, — the oil producing
the former quality, and the gold size (which is
insoluble in water), the latter ; while the com-
mixture prevents the size becoming too hard and
stiff. A trolling-line should be thus dressed
every season at least.

Herb. — How exhilirating is this scene, so
varied, so ever-varying with each hour. Big
Galtyvoel, which, as I came here yesterday,
blushed with the roseate gaze of the declining
western sun, now seems. wrapt in shady sleep;
while on our right, the towering wood-crowned

THE RECTORS POOL, LLANRWST. 139

Gwydyr cliff, then looking awfully majestic in its
gloom, is smiling and gay as a blushing bride.

Theoph. — We shall fish at its base for at least
a mile up the river. The vapours of night still
hang like gauzy veils about it. " Bright shines
the sun," just now, of a truth; yet there'll be
rain before long to a certainty. Look to those
towering mountainous clouds to windward, and
that thin black horizontal streak across them,
threatening a storm,— rain to a certainty !

" Hurrah for the sou'- west wind
To the angler it ne'er comes unkind,

Though it pours and it hlows,
Still on fishing he goes,

Hurrah ! for the sou'-west wind !"

Already the morning begins to assume

" The uncertain glory of an April day,

Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
And by and bye a cloud takes all away."

Leap the gate on the right into the field, and
before us is the Rector's Pool. Here let us take
breath and admire the picturesque rectory, backed
by the town, and the far-famed Llanrwst Bridge,
built by Inigo Jones. Tis said, by the way, to
be his masterpiece ! and, strange as it may seem,
a stout thrust of the body against one side of the
parapet, causes the whole structure so to shake,
that its vibration is readily felt by a person leaning
against the opposite parapet ; hence it is some-
times denominated the " shaking bridge."

140 THE RECTORS POOL.

Herb. — And is its contiguity to the rector's
house the only reason for the name you assign to
this pool ; or are we indebted to the rector for
permission to fish here without danger of the
lock-up ?

Theoph. — Your first bolt was nearer the mark ;
and I know no other reason for its name, save,
that it is as bountiful and generous, in fit and
proper seasons, as the worthy rector himself. We
are free to fish it, the property around belonging to
my Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. It is a good pool
for fish, when there is plenty of wind " the blue
wave to curl ;" and this you may bear in mind,
with respect to all pools, that you may spare
yourself the labour of throwing on them, unless
there be a good ripple, or else a good fresh water.

Herb. — Let me understand your definition of
a pool.

Theoph. — I make this distinction of waters in
reference to salmon-fishing. A pool is a long,
deep, and broad part of the waters, with very
little rapidity of motion, — comparatively still : a
stream is moderately swift, yet deep ; a rapid is
still more swift or rushing, and sometimes not
above five or six feet deep ; and a shallow may
speak for itself, since it is of no use to us as
salmon-fishers. The breeze is with us this morn-
ing ; so I shall just try here before I do anything
with you, as you would only frighten the fish on

THE RECTORS POOL. 141

your first essay. So lay your gut-line in the
water to soak meanwhile. It is this little brook
on our left, and the rector's garden-wall on the
right, which constitute the boundaries of the
pool. There is capital fishing below, from the
garden; but leave that for the worthy rector's
private use, for the present. It is ground strictly
private, and not to be entered upon but by express
leave or invitation. Besides, I owe him especial
courtesy in this respect, for having run away with
a goodly fish which he might almost have reckoned
his own. 'Twas a memorable event, happening

in the year , the day before I packed off to

London, at the close of my season. I had been
out just above here, to the Quay Stream, " to
cast along and lingering look behind," or rather
" to cast a long and lingering line before." There
I rose and struck a glorious fellow ; but it was
with a broken hook ! and all I saw of my supposed
last fish of that year, was thirty-six inches length
of bright solid flesh arching a leap of some six
yards diameter as, in his joy, he escaped me. In
despair I wound up my reel-line, and deposited
gut and fly in my pocket, as I thought for the
season. In my way home I called on my worthy
friend the rector, to say " good-bye," and a good-
bye it proved, for, after much persuasion, he
induced me to throw down yon pool from his
garden-wall, where he had raised a fish twice the

142 THE RECTORS POOL.

day before. I thought it was of no use, for the
wind was lulled, the sun was bright, and the leaves
were thick in the river as autumnal gales could
make them. The river, however, was high and
full. Still he pressed ; and, at last out came gut-
line. Again, the salmon's knell, my whizzing-
reel, gladdened my ears, and straight fell my
aerial fly upon the pool : once, twice, I threw in
vain ; but

" Though twice in vain,
Thrice did gain."

A heavy swell was seen — my rod flew back — my
line was stretched ! yes, I had a monstrous sal-
mon! at least a monster here. Having hooked
him under such disadvantages, with so much luck,
and so unexpectedly, I determined to lose nothing
which good fortune had given me, and to maintain
my advantage, if cool skill and patience could
avail me. To describe his manoeuvres, his rustl-
ings, tuggings, sulkings, shakes, and leaps; my
slackings, stonings, lowerings, easings, with all
my final deadly strain, would occupy us the time
the battle lasted, full forty-five minutes; so let
them pass. As you perceive, the height of the
wall and the tree at the end of it would neither
permit me to reach him with the gaff, nor pass
my line and rod and self down to the watering-
place below. So seeing my friend Llewellyn
crossing the bridge for his evening's cast, I hailed

the rector's pool. 143

him to my assistance. He came and stood in the
watering-place below ; and I above. He, deceived
in his low position as to the weight and size of the
fish, kept teazing me, " Press him in, sir ; press
him; he's not above eight or nine pounds; you'll
never land him ;" and I retorting, " I see the fish,
I hold the rod;" and 'twas well I did, he con-
fessed. 'Twas Llanrwst fair, and folks were in
plenty about the town, and a hundred or more
were now witnessing the sport, many for the first
time in their lives. At last, after trying his pa-
tience and exercising my own, round to Llewellyn
I brought my fish. True to its work went the
tempered insidious gaff, and out on shore, for the
first time since its birth, shone the silvery scales of
the glorious prize ; out came the weighing-ma-
chine ; down went the pointer to eighteen pounds !
" Eh ! what a saumon ! — hurrah !" sang the crowd.
"Thanks," thought I; and off I marched in
triumph at having caught so goodly a fish, and
at having gratified so many in the act.

144

diopter $X.

THE AUTHOR CONTINUETH HIS INSTRUCTIONS BY THE RIVER SIDE — THE HEAR-
ING OF FISHES — THE AUTHOR THROWETH HIS LINE AND CATCHETH A SALMON

ANTIQUARIUS COMMUNICATETH TO THE AUTHOR THE NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE PARR — THE AUTHOR DISCOURSETH ON SALMON-FISHING, AND THE
HABITS OF THE SALMON HOOKETH A FISH, AND LOSETH HIM.

Scene.— The Rector's Pool Llanrwst; — as before.

Theoph. — That you may not lose the slightest
hint which circumstances afford, I should mention
that a fish certainly does look much less in water,
than out, when viewed in an oblique direction.
While fishing on a level of the water, I have, on
two or three occasions, supposed fish of 131bs.
to 15lbs. not to weigh more than 61bs. to 71bs. ;
and I can thus easily account for Llewellyn's
being so easily deceived. At the same time I
advise you, when recounting losses of fish, rather
to under than over-rate their proportions ! The
honour of our craft demands this ! For there are
indeed too many who view with horror the out-
coming of that tale-teller, the Weighing Machine !
At the same time, bear in mind that if I had lost

HEARING OF FISHES. 145

that fish, it would have been only "8 or 91bs .,"
though catching him added lOlbs. to his weight ! !
Therefore don't be illiberal to your fellow sports-
man. Now hide yourself from the water behind
these alders,* while I fish it. I imagine you need
hardly be told, that the less the angler himself,
even, is visible, the greater his chance : and what
is of almost equal importance, the less noise or
movement, especially heavy treading, we make
about the ground, the more are the odds against
us reduced.

Herb.- -What, then, do you think that fishes
have ears?

Theoph. — My own observation assuredly leads
me to conclude that they have, to a certain ex-
tent, the sense of hearing, or something equiva-
lent to it ; although some anatomists class them
almost at " Zero," in the scale of animal perfection
in that respect. I was lately induced to ask the
opinion of my late esteemed friend, Sir Anthony
Carlisle, on this subject, and I will now give you his
observations in his own words, which, coming from
so eminent an anatomist, must be most valuable.

Hearing of Fishes.
" The organs of hearing in fishes," said he,

• These bushes have been much cut since this dialogue occurred, and
the fishing in this pool has been rendered easier, and the taking fish more
precarious in consequence, until time shall have restored them to their
pristine grandeur !

L

146 HEARING OF FISHES.

" have been known to anatomists for more than
two hundred years. They are especially con-
structed for receiving sounds in water, and for
repeating those limited vibrations which pass
through water ; while the organs of hearing in
animals, which live in air, are adapted to that
medium ; and those of amphibious creatures, are
fitted for both elements. Insects appear to feel
the vibratory motions termed sounds, with the
instruments called antennae or horns. Sounds are
only modifications of vibratory motions, but these
are liable to unlimited variations, as exemplified
by music.

" The organs of hearing are in all creatures
ordained to afford them information respecting
the movements of distant objects, but those per-
ceptions (as well as the sense of seeing) are with-
held from stationary beings, such as trees, be-
cause the evidences of hearing and seeing are
only serviceable to moving or roving creatures.

" The mechanical structure of the organs of
hearing in fishes is more simple than in aerial
animals. The sounds which especially affect the
welfare of fishes, are those which occur in their
own element, such as the rushings or concussions
of waters, the attrition of stones or sand, or the
movement of aquatic creatures, whether their
natural enemies, or their prey. For these essen-
tial purposes, the ears of fishes are repeaters of

HEARING OF FISHES. 147

aquatic vibrations, and a peculiar enamel-like
detached bone is placed in the middle of the
nervous expansion of their hearing organ, and
appointed to repeat those rattling noises which
prove equal warnings in the dark, as when it
is daylight. These auditory bones are readily
found in the middle cavity of a cod's or whiting's
skull : they are tooth-like in texture, with a
pearly whiteness, and so brittle as to break on
attempting to bend them. The construction of
these ossicles is perfectly adapted for their in-
tended uses, viz. that of responding to the vibra-
tions of similar substances.

" It is a vulgar error to suppose that sounds
are necessarily dependant on air, since they
are known to be better conducted through the
medium of metallic bodies, or even water : and
the human ears may be rendered aquatic instru-
ments by plunging the head under water in a
warm bath, when any conversation, or the airs
from musical instruments, may be heard distinctly,
although the outward ears had been filled with
water, and the nostrils closed for the occasion.
" Anthony Carlisle."

In the preface to Julius Wolff's Treatise on the
use of auscultation and percussion, &c. &c, Sir
Anthony has also in the following language fur-
ther instructed us. " This beautiful adaptation of

l 2

148 HEARING OF FISHES.

the exact portion of sonorous intelligence be-
stowed on fishes by the construction of their
organs of hearing, is, amongst endless other exam-
ples, a proof of the exact but yet sufficient pro-
vidence or protection afforded to inhabitants of
the waters. There is an especial sac of calcareous
pulp given to skates and some other cartilaginous
fishes, in the place of dense ossicle ; — apparently
intended to respond to the movements of sand and
muddy strata, on which they are doomed to exist.
And it is remarkable that the sturgeon has its
auditory ossicle, consisting partly of hard sub-
stances, and partly of calcareous pulp. In the
whale tribe, aerial thunder issues from their lungs,
and the booming of their voices is well adapted
to convey intelligence of distances to each other,
when parted by ice-islands ; while their organs
of hearing, adapted by filling the tympanum with
water, become hydrophonic organs, and tell the
distant collision of stones, of rocks, and icebergs."

Herb. — If fishes hear — if these philosophical
investigations of so eminent an anatomist are to
be regarded, what becomes of Mr. Ronalds' ex-
periment ?

Theoph. — In a work called "The Catalogue,
&c. of the Royal College of Surgeons, vol. 3, pt.
] , p. 135, et seq. (which also contains Sir A.
C.'s ideas, together with drawings of several
kinds of these ossicles), is to be found a paper

HEARING OF FISHES. 149

upon the same subject by John Hunter, in which,
after saying, " as it is evident that" fishes possess
the organ of hearing, it becomes unnecessary to
make or relate any experiment made with living
fishes which only tends to prove the fact," he
mentions the same experiment as that of Mr.
Ronalds, tried by himself with an equal degree of
caution in all the minutiae, and the result was
quite the reverse. The fish were much frightened
by the report of his gun ! Ronalds' trout might
have heard, though it remained stationary, and
although I may remark that in the one case the
fish was in running water, and probably not near
the bed of the river, and in the other in a still
pond and near the mud, I will not further attempt
to reconcile the conflicting parties, or say whose
opinion is entitled to more respect ! leaving you
to judge for yourself.

Herb. — But do you think the mere human
voice in conversation can reach fishes ?

Theoph. — Tisvery hard to say, and a very dif-
ficult subject for experiment ; for if a fish moves
he may have seen, and if he stays he may still
have heard. I have often seen a huge stone
thrown at, almost on, a fish, without his noticing
it, and witnessed other occasions on which a pin's
head would startle him. It has been implied by
anatomists that their hearing is limited to a few
tones, and that they have no interest in aerial affairs

150 HEARING OF FISHES.

beyond visible impression, and thence, because
fishes are destitute of voice, they could not hear
the human voice. However the conclusion may be
at all events I dispute the " because" from which
it is deduced. For many have the power, fre-
quently exercised, of uttering oral sound, call it
voice, or by any other name. Carp and other
fish we often hear " chewing the cud," as it were,
on a fine evening. Lobsters and crabs, when
immersed alive in boiling water, utter shrill and
piercing cries ; and the gurnet expires in the
boat amidst most melancholy and plaintive
groans. Remember also that the human voice is
only heard by us by means of the vibrations it
causes in the air. But there is this curious
anomaly brought against the doctrine of fishes
hearing, that Thames anglers in a punt are more
boisterous and noisy while enjoying good sport,
than while they sit dispirited and quiet through
bad. This, however, only proves that the fish are
not frightened or deterred from eating, not that
they are " hard of hearing." I am convinced
by my own observation, of one thing, namely,
that fish can hear, or feel, almost every footstep
which falls near them ; and, therefore, I would
have fishermen tread as lightly as possible about
the banks of a river ; and, above all things, never
jump, where they expect to find fish. One
opportunity, among fifty others, of making obser-

HEARING OF FISHES. 151

vations inducing this caution, I may as well men-
tion to you. One fine day passing by a noted
hole in this river, called "the well," or "steep
bank pool," where the bank is precipitous, and
then had an altitude of about eleven feet above
the surface of the river, while the water in the
hole might be about the same depth, I laid myself
flat down on my stomach at right angles with the
stream, my eyes only being extended over the
edge of the bank, in order to watch the salmon.
There were in the hole six or eight, varying from
eight to twenty pounds. They floated and swam
quietly about, sometimes far out, and sometimes
close under the bank where 1 lay. After a while,
when any came near it, and in order to see the
effect it would produce, I kicked with the toe of
my heavy shoe upon the ground ; and simulta-
neously those fish suddenly darted off, evidently
alarmed or disturbed. After a while they would
return, and I repeated the experiment with a
similar result, three or four times. Now, this
can hardly be supposed to have arisen from a
sense of hearing, in the ordinary acceptation of the
words, little or no sound being emitted by a blow
of such a nature upon a soft clayey soil as it was.
It was concussion, or vibration, and nothing else,
beyond doubt : and therefore, when beside a
river, my advice is, glide along as quietly as
possible ; and also, that you may the less attract

152 COURAGE OF FISHES.

their visual observation, let all the motions of
your body, as much as possible be of the same
" ghostly" order.*

Herb. — Your own experiment, backed as it is
by the authorities you mention, convinces me
upon this subject. Henceforth, depend on it, I will
be quiet as a cat watching a mouse. But tell
me : I suppose you esteem the salmon a shy fish.
Is it more so than the trout ?

Theoph. — Why, really, I cannot say ; there is
no great difference between them and other large
fish, in that particular. A pike is a bold fish if
he happen not to see you ; but let the shadow of
your little finger fail within his angle of vision,
which is much more extensive than ours, and
he's off like a shot. So, if a salmon happens to
catch a glimpse of you, he lies like a stone in the
deepest hole. If, therefore, any one be with you
as companion, or assistant, while fly-fishing, bid
him take it as no offence, if you desire him to
keep out of sight: for unthinking persons are too
apt to conclude that because they cannot see the
fish, there is no danger of the fish seeing them.
But it is a truism in optics, long since well-known
and very prettily exemplified by Mr. Ronalds, in

* See further on the hearing of fishes, " Nollet on the Hearing of
Fishes." Mem. Fr. Acad. vol. 1 (1743), p. 199. " Anderson on the
same subject," ib. (1748) p. 149. " Hunter on the same," Phil. Tran.
(1782) p. 39.

OPTICS OF FISHES. 153

the " Fly- Fisher's Entomology," that by the
refraction of the rays of light passing through
the water, a fish lying under a bank, which inter-
venes and almost prevents you seeing the surface
even of the water immediately over him, can per-
ceive you most distinctly. This is too well known
to require me to explain " the why and where-
fore ;" so if you are afraid of exposing your
ignorance by asking me more concerning it, look
at Mr. Ronalds' work, and there you will learn all
you need ; or else, any popular work on optics,
will tell you.

Herb. — Now, my friend, let one of us begin
fishing ; for I long to see a salmon ashore.

Theoph. — Patience, patience ! Don't you see
the " sun shines high and bright." It would be
most imprudent to make even one cast just now !
especially as there are clouds coming up, which
will, every now and then, screen his rays. As a
general rule, no " surface fish " will rise at a fly
during sunshine. Some suppose (and perhaps
very properly) that this is because they see the
angler, or his rod and line, too plainly, or are, by
the superior light, able to detect that the bait
offered is merely artificial. But I am not quite
satisfied that this is the true or sole reason, though
scarcely quite prepared to offer a better; since
these phenomena are still occupying my deepest
attention. The rays of the sun, or the absence

154 WEATHER FOR FISHING.

of them, seem to be more sensibly felt passing
through water than air; and I am thinking,
the inclination to motion in fishes, is immediately
affected by their presence. Every fly-fisher has
remarked how very rarely, by comparison, trout
rise, either in sport or at flies, while the sun
shines bright and scorching: and it is said to
have been observed by good swimmers, that if
their companion merely move the shadow of a
hat over their bodies, while they are under water
during the feat of diving, so as to intercept the
sun's rays, a most sudden and sensible chill on
their bodies ensues. The heat of the suns rays I
believe to be inimical to fishes' activity, and this
will at once account for their predilection for sha-
dowed banks and screening stones during bright
sunshine. I recollect taking, many years back,
one or two dozen fine roach and dace, on a hot
bright day, by thrusting a flat-ended landing-net
between the much-worn boarding which main-
tained the banks of the Thames near Kingston.
I first observed them to be regularly packed, side
by side, like horses at a fair, their heads in the
shade, and tails protruding into light. How fond
perch are of getting under barges, and trout,
under the boarding of weirs or mill-tails, evidently
avoiding the light and heat. We had best, there-
fore, only fish while

HAUNTS OF FISHES. 155

" Haply o'er the shaded sun
Passes a cloud ;"

and avail ourselves of sunshine for gossip and
instruction, or for eating our " snack," or repairing
damages.

Herb. — Well, then, here is a fine shady syca-
more, where the ground seems tolerably dry ; let
us sit down till the cloud comes ; and, tell me, is
it with salmon as with trout, that they take up
a certain station in the river, and there remain
during the season as in their castle?

Theoph. — Most assuredly not. A trout, as you
observe, always affects a given haunt. During
summer he will lie by a particular weed or stone,
and is always to be found there ; or, during
winter, he lies in a particular hole : and if driven
away, is almost sure to return after a while : you
may as well try to induce a minister to vacate
office, as attempt to rout him out. In February,
1839, I was trolling with a large gudgeon and
gorge -hook for pike, in the waters of an excellent
friend of mine, near Uxbridge, and having a
" run," gave full fifteen minutes' law for digestion;
then I struck ; and, after a vigorous tussle, found
I had a goodly trout, of about four or five pounds.
It being out of season, I determined to release
him : which, as he had not gorged the hook, I
could safely do. The keeper carried him down-
stream to below a considerable fall, (about a

156 HAUNTS OF FISHES.

quarter of a mile distant from the spot I took him
at), and turned him in it, having been first con-
spicuously marked by a cut in his back fin. About
three weeks after, another Philistine came across
him ; and this identical fish was caught by a gen-
tleman trolling with a similar bait, and in the very
same hole where I had before hooked him ! That
fish was fore-doomed to die of gluttony, — of over-
gorging! One would have imagined that the place
whereto it was carried, would have proved more
congenial; for there there was a good depth and flow
of water, and plenty of weed and shallow ; and it
seemed the very place for a trout to covet : but he
preferred his old haunt, and died in maintaining
his position!

Herb. — How is it, then, with salmon — are they
promiscuous rovers ?

Theoph. — Not exactly. It is assumed that they
come up rivers merely for the purpose of spawn-
ing ; but as they do not spawn till the months of
November and December, it is as yet inexplicable
why they came up so early as months previous, —
in the spring for instance: for, as I shall take
occasion to show you another time, they are sup-
posed not to leave a river they have once fairly
entered, until after the operation of spawning is
over; that is, in the early part of the following
year.

Herb. — I think you hinted yesterday, that sal-

HABITS OF SALMON. 157

mon did not feed in rivers; if so, can it be possible
they remain in such a state of abstinence for so
many months?

Tlieoph. — We must consider that some other
time ; else we shall digress too far from the sub-
ject we were upon. I was saying, they come up
from the sea for the purpose of spawning ; and the
early coiners seem to act upon the old maxim,
that " the early bird secures the corn ;" for they
take plenty of time to look about for the best
unoccupied spawning-ground. They come up
from the sea during a flood or fresh ; and if they
determine to advance beyond the tide-way, * they
rest themselves in the first still pool they meet
with above it. Below this, it is supposed, they
never return during the season; but lie there till
another flood. They will then advance to a pool
higher up the river (perhaps no higher than that
immediately above it), while fresh fish from the
sea will mount guard in their stead in the first
hole. Thus they advance by degrees with every
flood, till they get as high as the nature of the
river will permit. But those fish which come up
to spawn late, will content themselves with spawn-
ing ground nearer to the tide-way. This s their
supposed general habit, liable to exceptions of
course. However, while the river remains low, they

• As to this habit see post.

158 HABITS OF SALMON.

do not move from the immediate neighbourhood
of the pool the last flood has left them in, either
by night or day. And thus they are stationary to
that, and only that, extent; for the moment a
fresh of water comes down from the mountains,
we find them leaving the pool for the shallows
above, and can trace their journeys upwards.
Therefore before the river thickens, and as
soon as it begins to clear after a flood, the best
places to fish for them, are the fords and shallows
above these deep pools. It is singular, however,
that whenever you once hook a salmon, at a given
spot, you may almost with certainty expect to
find another supplying his place when he is dead
or gone ! So that there must be something in each
spot they choose peculiarly adapted to them.
Speaking, however, of the salmon not descending
a river they have once entered, and looking at it
in a very limited sense, there is one most import-
ant thing always at every throw, to be borne in
mind ; namely, that no fish seems to relish going
down-stream, in pursuit of prey ; a salmon, espe-
cially, will seldom if ever rise at the fly, if it
be allowed to be carried too straight down-stream,
and it requires the greatest attention so to manage
the rod as to cause the fly to swim obliquely, or
almost at a right angle across the river; and,
perhaps, there is nothing in salmon-fishing which
demands greater care and thought, and more close

HABITS OF SALMON.

159

attention to what one is about, than this little
matter, namely, the guidance of the fly. Success
in trout-fishing very much depends upon it, and
still more in salmon-fishing. But look at that
cloud ; it will surely " darken the sun !" So, pro-
mising to teach you more upon that subject at
another fitting opportunity, let me, while the
cloud is coming, explain this pool to you, and the
mode of fishing it, and then get to work, or I shall
not see a fish before breakfast. I may as well
inform you, that, in like manner, I intend to
describe every good spot on this river, not so
much with the view of teaching you how to
fish the Conway in particular, as that you
may grapple with other rivers, elsewhere, in
which you find the like characteristics. Here

Fig. 23.

VJC'V^

we stand on the convex bend of the river,
which, as you see, flows from left to right. Our

160 THE RECTOR S POOL.

•

chances on this pool lie from this rivulet A down
to the Rector's garden wall b, about one hun-
dred and fifty yards. The stream sets in to this
side a b all the way, — in fact, to the bridge
g, causing a considerable depth under us, and
an increasing shallowness till it leaves much
shingle dry on the other side c f when the
river is low. But about forty or fifty yards
down, near the opposite side, there is a gentle
eddy d, and, consequently, deeper water. In
high water it eddies much also all the way
down under this bank, causing many deep holes
of ten or twelve feet in its lowest state, especially
about half-way down the field, and about thirty
yards above the garden wall, which spots are
indicated by the indentations in the bank. Op-
posite this rivulet a it is rather shallow : in
fact, it is the head of the pool ; but below the
opposite eddy d the mid channel retains much
of a uniform depth of about seven or eight feet in
driest weather all the way till below the Rector's
garden e. It is towards this side, as being the
deepest, that the salmon lie ; close to and almost
under it in low water ; and during better seasons,
in the opposite eddy d, and below it, in the
mid channel at about twenty yards off this bank.
The plan of fishing this sort of stream will vary
very much, according to the height of water.
Opposite to this rivulet is an excellent spot, when

POOL FISHING. 161

the water is rising and before it thickens, and for
a short time after it becomes clear again, while
still high, for the reason that the salmon which had
been resting below, are then making an advance
towards quitting the pool altogether for a higher
station in the river. In such a state I should
commence throwing from the field above x l,
as high up as the bushes will allow, straight
across the stream, with about eighteen yards of
line, and should play the fly continually towards
my left side : — why, I will explain hereafter.
After repeating this once or twice (as indeed
every throw should be), I should cast with ano-
ther yard or two, in a direction slanting more
down-stream ; working the fly first towards the
right, till it came to within four or five yards of
this bank, and then, by gently carrying the point
of my rod back again before me, over to the
left, give the fly a curve in the water, and draw
it up-stream in eight or ten strokes. Thus I
should fish the whole stream, taking the nearest
range at the first time of going over it. Then I
should give out another yard or so, recommenc-
ing where I started, and work down the stream
in the same fashion as I have last described, till
my fly falls near the head of the opposite eddy d.
The line must then be lengthened to the utmost,
and thrown at about an angle of forty-five
degrees, letting the fly continue at its work till it

M

162 POOL FISHING.

reaches this side. In this fashion I should con-
tinue all the way down to the wall b. The
general place for them to rise, is near this bank,
as the fly is making its curve ; for although they
sometimes lie far off, they will generally, unless
very eager, follow and seize it at that moment. I
shall have but one or two pools to show you on
this river, where there is less rapidity of motion ;■
and you will content yourself for the present, in
noting that the most vigorous and lively play of
the fly which I shall permit you to adopt (all
which I must explain to you fully another time),
must be resorted to on this kind of water. In low
water, though the same direction of throwing is
required, yet, as the fish do not lie so far out,
sixteen or eighteen yards of line is the utmost
you need cast for them, unless you can command
much more, and throw at a more acute angle
with the bank ; which, as it keeps you further
from their sight, and also places your fly in a
better position on the water, will give you a
greater chance in proportion. Neither is it now
requisite to trouble the water much opposite this
rivulet a, as it is too shallow for fish to lie in :
and during low water, the most likely spots are
about the two holes- I mentioned, as half-way
down, and towards the lower end of the field.
They are also taken during a high water close
under the Rector's wall, for that again is the head

POOL FISHING. 163

of deep water under the wall, and shallower than
below. On the other side, which only affords
chance for salmon when the river is full, and is
generally best for morts, unless a very long line
can be thrown, the first thing is to look well
about you for the trees behind ! ! You may, in
full season, that is, during a fresh, fish it from as
high up as the trees will allow you c, where the
water is of a tolerable depth, down to opposite
the extremity of the garden e, and you must
throw all the time as long a line as you can com-
mand, or wade so as to reach near this, the then
opposite, bank. The line must slope also, the
more the better, in proportion to your skill in
throwing a long one, so as to near the bank.
But, except in the eddy d, and close up at the
top c, it were useless to bring the fly near to
your own side, as the water must always be
too shallow ; if it approaches at any time
(except as I have mentioned) to within fifteen
yards, that is quite near enough. Opposite the
Rector's garden wall is a most excellent part of
the pool ; but it is by far best fished from off the
wall itself — for it is requisite from the opposite
side f, to throw a line so long, that the trees
which hang close to the water, are sure to trouble
you, unless you can wade ; as to the safety of
which I am not quite certain, as I have never yet
awhile " charted" the depths and holes. I may

m 2

164 THEOPHILUS HOOKS A FISH.

as well tell you, that in low water, all along the
opposite side is a capital place for trout and par,
even to the very centre arch of the bridge, and
the upper end is rather preferred for morts than
salmon. During small freshes I have taken and
hooked several fish from the opposite side, out of
the lower hole towards the lower end of the field,
but then the wind was favourable, so as to allow
,one of my " extra superfine throws," almost reach-
ing across the river. How fortunate, the cloud
is up, just in time : good bye for a while to bright
Phoebus. Now for a throw. It goes well out ;
for I kept the gut bottom in my mouth on our
way here, and it has since lain in the water, and
is now well soaked. Note that in your log. Ko
luck — they are asleep, I fear. I must " try back."

Herb. — Try again ; do not give in, or you will
teach me to despair.

Theoph. — I do not intend ; for I think that at
my last cast I saw the motion of a fish. Be
patient ; for I must stay a few minutes before I
show him, my fly again. They very seldom rise
directly over the spot they lie in, but follow the
fly, awhile, first. After a few minutes, they
mostly return, and take up their old quarters and
are ready for a second attempt. Now, — look out,
— I have him ! Stand still and let me pass you
to the sand-bank a, where I must "conquer or
die." Watch his course, and should I call, take

HIS MANOEUVRES. 165

a clod or two of earth to throw between him and
the bank ; anything to drive him away ;* for all
along there are bad roots and stumps, especially
about fifteen yards from where I stand. Soho !
He has shown himself — not above eight or nine
pounds ; yet he plays well. How he cuts about !
Now up the river ! You see he must, and will go
for the present ! There's twenty yards of line
run out " at a dash !" but I'll bring him round
again.

Herb, — Heavens ! what a terrific plunge ! I
thought he must have gone then altogether. He
seemed determined to break all, or pull you in.
I had no notion what a salmon could do. He
seems to tug like an elephant, so steady and
determined. Bravo ! this is beginning well, and
I am all alive again. I have the gaff all ready :
shall I come down to you ?

Thtoph. — Mind you, he is not mine yet — " first
catch your hare." There's plenty of game in
him, for these five minutes, — as I never strain a
fish except he approaches a dangerous ground.
Now for a leap!

Herb. — Up he goes ! all's safe. How beauti-
fully exact to his motion you seemed to yield the
rod's point, and eased your line.

Theoph. — As my pupil, take example. Come

* As to fighting, and turning heavy fish, in a more scientific fashion
see post.

166 THEOPHILUS LANDS HIS PRIZE.

along, my beauty ! my reel works well, thank

goodness ; for now I am down here I am forced

to remain stationary, and cannot be dancing

attendance on you in all your " tacks and stays."

He goes down again and grows weak ! So, come

hither and see fair play ; for I have him " well in

hand," and he is too much exhausted to fight his

way into the bushes. Yet see ! he makes to the

bank, as they always will at their last moments.

Now then — look sharp — " down with the dust"

— heave in a clod ; but be sure it falls between

him and the bank, else it will startle him the

wrong way, and frighten him under the stumps,

to a certainty. What another leap ? That was

a danger well got over. A leap at such a moment,

when I was " butting* him furiously !" Another

turn or two and he's

Herb.— Shall I stick the gaff into him?

Theoph. — To be professional, say " gaff him."
No, this shelving sand-bank will save you that
pleasure — and I will show you a dangerous trick.
Now he is — mine. Hurrah !

Herb. — What a splendid fish ! but how you
tremble. Well done !

Theoph. — Tremble! Do you fight a salmon,
even of this size, and you will find yourself
" another." Talk of excitement, catching a

* As to " butting" a fish, see post.

HOW TO LAND A FISH. 167

salmon is the awv of it ! During its operation,
one's nerves, aye and muscles too, are continually
upon the greatest stretch ; and only imagine this
state kept up for an hour or more, which is some-
times the case with large fish. Nay, I have even
known three hours and a-half spent upon a twenty
pound fish, by a first-rate fisherman. As it is,
this has kept me at work, not less than twelve
or fifteen minutes. He is tolerably bright for the
low state of the river. But let me carry him on
to the grass ; and do you stun him to death with
the but end of the gaff over the head, while I
hold him, and then measure his length and girth.

Herb. — From the tip of his nose to the centre
of his tail, twenty-nine inches and a half; girth,
fourteen inches.

Theopk. — It would have been better at twenty-
eight and a half length, and fifteen girth. Now,
out with the weighing-machine — eight pounds
and a half standard weight, as I said.

Herb. — Tell me how did you manage to lay
hold of him so cleverly ? Why not have gaffed
him at once ?

Theoph. — In such a position as that in which I
stood, where one can get close to him, if you
have coolness sufficient, and have fairly killed
the fish, you may quietly grasp him with the right
hand just above the spread of his tail, and you
have him as firm as though he were already in a

J 68 STRENGTH OF FISH.

pickle-tub. Try it. But I do not think this can
be done with all fish, as their shapes are different.
Nor can you well manage a salmon smaller than
five or six pounds in such a way. Gaffing dis-
colours the flesh when dressed, and destroys the
beauty of a fish before-hand, into the bargain, and
may thus be avoided if you intend the dead prize
to travel far. At the same time, gaffing is by
far the more certain and safer plan ; for, at least,
the other mode is a dangerous experiment, and I
have known many good fish lost in the attempt.
But, my good pupil, how you stand staring and
gloating over the fallen victim ! Will you never
have done ?

Herb. — I was thinking how bravely he fought
for his life. Tell me, is any other fish so strong ?

Theoph. — The only two that in the least degree
approach to it are the carp and the barbel — cer-
tainly powerful fish ; but with any other, in com-
parison with salmon, the difference really is no
less than between hooking a straw, and drawing
up from the bottom of the river a large post. No
one who has not felt or seen a salmon in hand
can form the least conception of its comparative
power. Hook (even with snap-tackle and a spin-
ning-rod) a jack of eight or nine pounds, at first
he gives a shake or two, but still you may go on,
wind, wind, till he is on shore; but hook a six
pound salmon, and for ten or twenty minutes, at

THE CAPTAINS YARN. 169

least, it is doubtful who will be master ! It is this
renders salmon-fishing so gloriously superior —
spoiling us for all minor work, reducing other
fishing to mere child's-play, and leaving it to be
tolerated only because better is not within reach.
But talking of the strength of fish and hard fight-
ing— wait, — I do believe I have it in my pocket ;
yes, here it is— a copy of the Captain's own letter.
I'll read it to you: —

"An Account of the Capture of a Saw-fish by Cap-
tain Wilson of the Halifax Packet West India
man, off Trinidad, on the 1 5th of April, 1839.

" Being in the Gulf of Peru, in the ship's cutter,
I fell in with a Spanish canoe, manned by two
men, then in great distress, who requested me
to save their lives and canoe. Going along-side
for that purpose, I discovered that they had got a
large saw-fish entangled in their turtle-net, which
was towing them out to sea, and (but for my
assistance) they must either have lost their canoe
or their net — perhaps both — which were their only
means of subsistance. Having at the time, only
two boys with me in the boat, I desired the
Spaniards to cut the fish away, but which they
declined. I then took the bight of the net from
them, and by the joint endeavours of themselves
and my boat's crew, we succeeded in hauling up
the net, and to our astonishment, after great

170 THE CAPTAIN'S YARN.

exertions we raised the saw and head of the fish
about eight feet above the surface of the sea. It
was a fortunate circumstance that it came up with
its belly towards the boat, or it would certainly
have cut the boat in two. I had abandoned all
idea of taking the fish until by great good luck it
made towards the land, when I made another
attempt; and having about fifty fathom of two-
and-a-half-inch rope in the boat, we succeeded in
making a running bowline knot round the saw of
the fish; and this we fortunately made fast on
shore at Point-a-Pierre. When the fish found
itself secured, it plunged so violently that I could
not prevail on any one to go near it. The appear-
ance it presented was truly awful. I immediately
went alongside the Lima packet, Captain Sin-
gleton, and got the assistance of all his ship's crew,
mine being away for sugar. By the time they
arrived it was a little less violent. We hauled
upon the net again, in which it was still entangled,
and got another fifty fathoms of line made fast to
the saw, and attempted to haul it on towards the
shore ; but although mustering thirty hands, we
could not move it an inch. By this time the
negroes belonging to Mr. Danglade's estate came
flocking to our assistance, making, together with
the Spaniards, about one hundred in number.
We then hauled on both ropes for nearly the
whole day, before the fish became exhausted.

THE CAPTAIN'S YARN. 1 7 1

On landing it on the beach we found, to our great
surprise, that it was considerably larger than the
cutter, which measured seventeen feet. On en-
deavouring to raise the fish, it became most
desperate, sweeping with its saw from side to
side, so that we were compelled to get strong guy
ropes to prevent it from cutting us to pieces.
After that, one of the Spaniards got on his back,
and, with great risk, cut through the joint of the
tail, when animation was completely suspended.
It was then measured, and found to be twenty-
two feet long, and eight feet broad, and weighed
nearly five tons ! The liver filled a beef tierce,
and on opening the body we found several eggs,
the size of 18lb. carronade shot, which the
negroes craved as a great luxury. The only part
which I retained was the head, which I cut off
below the lower jaw. It is now in a fine state of
preservation, and the largest, I should say, in the
world."— 26th Dec, 1839.

And so should I. I was favoured by a sight
of its head and saw, in Mr. Eaton's shop, Crooked
Lane, who gave me this paper. The saw was five
feet long, ana* eleven inches broad in the widest
part of the bone merely, without reckoning the
teeth. It was purchased by Mr. Josiah Rumbell,
and presented by him to the Wisbeach Museum,
and a very fine specimen it is.

Herb. — What a monster ! but give me a sal-

1 72 THE CONWAY.

mon. I know that you consider this to be, generally
speaking, a tolerable fishing river ; — what do they
say of its present supply ?

Theoph. — There are, without doubt, many sal-
mon now in it, though the first good freshet will
greatly increase their numbers. It at all times
abounds with small common trout, and white
trout or morts, as they are called ; sea-trout
rather later in the season ; plenty of par and eels;
and many fine and delicious-flavoured flounders
are to be taken in the upper parts of it. The
worst of this, as a salmon river, is, as with many
others, the uncertainty of its supply of water ; a
little rain soon fills it, but as soon again it becomes
low, although it may be said to have five principal
sources,— the Llugwy from Carnedd David and
Llyn Capel Curig, the Lledar, from Moel Shabod,
the Machno from Penmachno, its proper source
from Llyn Conway, and the nameless streams
skirting the mail-coach road from the mountainous
plains between Cernioge Inn and Pentre Veolas,
besides many inferior contributors during wet
weather. One great recommendation to it at the
present time is, that, (with the exception of two
pools a long way up above Bettws, not other-
wise " fishable," owing to the quantity of timber
about them, namely, the " Beaver" and " Tyn y
Cai" pools, and where they do no more than
drag occasionally) no nets have desecrated its

THE CONWAY. 173

fastnesses above Llanrwst Bridge, for years past.
From the Bridge to Trefriew below, is let for
netting as well as angling. But in some of the
best angling spots in that part the nets cannot
venture. The ground being too much broken and
protected by sunken piles : nor do the renters of
it, who merely drag with a corracle-net, appear
very well to understand their business, and, there-
fore, they do not very much lessen the supply.
There is a stake net at Conway, its mouth, in
addition to two or three intermediate traps. True,
none of these engines work during the fence
months, from the 1st of October to the 1st of
March; yet, if a few more fish than can do so
at present, were allowed at all times to run up
this and every river for the next year or two, for
each fish the wholesale fishers lose during that
period, they would gain a hundred fold in the
third season. You are aware that salmon bred
in a river, as a general rule, are certain to return
to it at the proper seasons to deposit their spawn,
and it is much to be regretted that greater pains
are not taken for awhile, by all parties, to pre-
serve and improve the run and breed of sal-
mon ; they are now daily decreasing here, and
everywhere, and if once wholly deterred, good-
bye to them for ever — at least, it would be years
before they could be recovered.

Herb. — Is it so certain then that fry bred in a

174 MIGRATION OF SALMON.

river always return to it, and that none others
ever venture to do so ?

Theoph. — Perhaps not always ; for though
many have been marked and most have returned
to the same river ; yet some very few out of their
numbers have been taken in strange waters. Mr.
Yarrell mentions that fish marked in the Tweed
are taken in the Forth, and that a successful
season in the one is generally attended by a bad
one in the other. Here then is evidence of sal-
mon being found straying to a river, perhaps at
least one hundred miles from its original birth-
place. Whither salmon go, while out of the
fresh water, has never yet been determined ; it
is as yet a mystery. The probabilities are, that
they do not rove very far from the mouth of their
original river, though it was asserted by one wit-
ness examined before the House of Commons,
that they migrate to the North Seas : and the
fact of their never being taken at sea near our
salmon rivers, seems to favour this supposition.
The preponderance, however, of evidence taken
before the House of Commons since 1824, shows
that fry always return to rivers in which they
were spawned, those only which lose their
reckoning resorting to strange rivers, selecting the
nearest they can hit upon to suit their taste.

Htrb. — But as to the growth of salmon, tell
me what you think ? because I remember having

—

GROWTH OF SALMON. 175

0

read that fry marked in April or May, will return
in July from the sea, and would then weigh two
or three pounds and upwards. If that be so,
provided a few stock fish were left, it could
hardly require so great a length of time to
" re-animate" an over-draughted or over-poached
river.

Theoph. — Yes, indeed; for, supposing them to
increase in weight in the same or even a greater
proportion every year, still it would require three
or four years at least to produce a quantity,
which is what we most require — all accidents
considered, of which anon. As to size, there
exists little doubt that fry which go down to the
sea in May, little longer than your finger, will
return, in July and the following months, young
salmon or grilse of from four to seven or eight
pounds, increasing in size with each successive
month, — it being generally estimated that from
June till September or October, they grow at
about the rate of half a pound per week while at
sea; and therefore, perhaps, if we could only be
assured that no netting or poaching would take
place in a river, and if all the fry survived
their many dangers and returned to us here in
the summer and autumn, the produce of one pair
of salmon would be enough. The number of ova
in a salmon are reckoned on the average at 18,000
or 20,000; and 12,000 are thought to be the

176 GROWTH OF SALMON.

average of fry vivified ; so that from a single pair
of salmon, spawning in December, in the follow-
ing August we should have, say 4000 pairs, male
and female, of from six to nine pounds, and 4000
non-breeders : then suppose each of these pairs
produced their 12,000 fry; in the following Au-
gust, the second year, we should have the original
12,000 large fish of ten to twenty pounds, and
their young, 48,000,000, from six to nine pounds,
making in all, 48,012,000 fish ! ! What a sad pity
it is there is an "if" in the case! — " If they
escaped their manifold dangers" — Heavens, what
sport !

Herb. — Perhaps you will, at some other time,
tell me what those dangers are. Meanwhile, let
me ask, whether von have read Yarrell's recent
Observations on the Growth of Salmon# ?

Theoph. — Rather say Mr. Shaw's ; for it is
more a criticism by Yarrell on what others have
written, and said, than any thing else. I have read
them, but am not yet prepared to give my assent to
a doctrine which is contrary to the opinion of every
salmon-fisher I know, and of every witness exam-
ined of late years before the committees of the
House of Commons, ypon the salmon fisheries'
question. These latter were for the most part
practical men, who had been engaged in whole-
1 — *

* Published by Van Voorst, 1839.

GROWTH OF SALMON. 177

sale salmon-fishing all their lives, many, evidently,
from their examination, acute observers ; and
they are, I think, unanimous in declaring their
opinions to be, that the growth of salmon is as
rapid as you just now intimated. No one will doubt
but that it is almost an insurmountable difficulty
to determine which is right, they, or Mr. Shaw,
from the utter impossibility of making, and there-
fore of arguing from, actual experiment : and we
know so little of the habits of fish, especially
migratory fish, that it is as difficult to reason by
analogy. With regard to Mr. Shaw's experi-
ment, we may reasonably doubt its sufficiency,
because the animal was not in its natural state
when confined in his small pools or ponds. As
Mr. Yarrell observes, Mr. Shaw had three ponds,

1st 18 feet by 22

2nd 18 feet by 25

3rd 30 feet by 50.

And Mr. Shaw himself admits that those fry in
the third, the largest, were one inch, which is
equal to one-fifth, larger than the others at six
months old : and what is thirty feet by fifty,
and " two feet deep," " supplied by a small
stream," and of "higher temperature," com-
pared with the length, breadth, depth, and
lower temperature of a noble salmon river,
bounding, and rolling, in freshness and majestic

N

178 GROWTH OF SALMON.

freedom ! Besides which, the more rapid growth
of the salmon is admitted to take place in the salt
water, which Mr. Shaw's fry could never taste.
How he gets at the fact that the fry " do not go
down to the sea till they are more than a twelve-
month old at the least," I cannot understand :
(his could not !) for thus much we know, that
during April and May, the fry may be seen in
the river by myriads ; that their journey down-
wards has been traced, as it were, from day to
day at that period ; that bushels are destroyed
in mill-races on their way towards the sea, and
dozens upon dozens every day, for a month or
six weeks, by angling ; and that before June they
totally disappear, and nothing more is seen of
them or the like till the following year. Even
assuming, for argument sake, the par we meet
with in the autumn, to be young salmon, we never
see shoals of these or any fish, small or large,
after June ; yet if the fry remain for a year in the
river, still congregating, as we know them to do
in the early months, in such countless numbers,
surely something would be seen of them at a later
period. But though many have looked for them,
nothing is found in the river, during the autumn,
except a few of what we call " par," and which
we never take much above or under five or six
inches in length.

Herb. — But Mr. Shaw says, that these par are

GROWTH OF SALMON. 179

the young fry of the salmon of the last autumn's
produce.

Theoph. — What I say is, that the very paucity
of these, found in the autumn, compared with
the immense shoals of small fish of the same size
seen to go down to the sea in the spring, proves
them not to be the younger fry of the salmon ;
and, moreover, we have repeatedly taken in
autumn these which we call par, with the milt
ready for exudation, and with roe, in the females,
in a less forward state. There is this fact also,
which is observed by anglers, that in the autumn,
though we take a fish we call in Wales " Morts,"
(somewhat resembling the salmon, but with a
forked tail ; — weighing from three quarters to a
pound and a half, and about thirteen inches in
length, and which I take to be a distinct fish from
the salmo salar) ; we scarcely ever take a fish
between that weight and four or five pounds. The
average of salmon taken at this time, and in this
river, where they run as large as thirty pounds,
may be rather placed at ten or twelve pounds
than under. But if the growth were so slow as
Mr. Shaw indicates, the probabilities are, that
the rivers would abound with, and we should
take, a greater number of the smaller dimensions ;
especially considering that the smaller river-fish
of other species are much more readily tempted by
our various baits than the larger ones. Then

n 2

180 GROWTH OF SALMON.

again, the subject is open to this observation, that
all terrestrial animals, except mankind, attain
nearly to their full growth, within a year or two
after their birth ; and why should not fish ? True it
is, that fish live to an enormous age, if the stories told
of them are to be credited ; and salmon have been
known of upwards of eighty pounds weight ; but
I see nothing more marvellous nor incredible, in a
fish attaining to twenty pounds weight in two or
three years, than in a dog weighing as much, and
being as large at eighteen months old, as it is at
nine years. I do not fear, therefore, to express
my opinion, that Mr. Shaw is wrong. I believe,
firstly, that par are par, and not salmon fry;
secondly, that it does not take more than ten
months to produce a salmon of six or eight pounds
weight ; and thirdly, that the fry go down to the
sea in the first May flood after their being called
into existence.

Herb. — In the waters of a gentleman I am ac-
quainted with, I knew of a trout which was thrice
captured within a year : about the end of De-
cember it was unintentionally hooked and taken
out, and weighed four pounds and a half, marked,
and turned back again. Early in the following
March it was again taken, weighing five pounds
and a half, and turned back. In June following,
strange to say, it was a third time captured, and
found to have increased to seven pounds.

GROWTH OF SALMON. 181

Theoph. — That is very likely ; but you must
allow something for the bad condition it was pro-
bably in on the two former occasions ; having,
we might suppose, recently spawned upon the
first. A salmon which, full of spawn, would
cause a twelve-pound weight to kick the beam,
would, as soon as the operation was over, lose at
least five pounds, not merely from the emission
of its spawn, but from the general decline in its
condition ; and if you were to mark such a fish
when only thus weighing seven pounds, and catch
him in the following year, you would be sur-
prised to find he had increased to near twenty
pounds. They are perfect gourmands while at
sea ; and this it is which nourishes and increases
them so astonishingly. But you were asking me
about this river. Success here entirely depends
on the state of the season. In fine dry weather,
one may toil through many days, not to say weeks,
without a rise. But let a fresh come, and you
will have a pretty good " take' for a day or two.
In two instances, six or seven, varying from four to
fourteen pounds, were taken by one angler in a
day, last season ; though this is most rare sport.
I have, myself, taken two, thirteen and ten
pounds, and lost, after playing them some time,
one of about fifteen, and another of ten pounds,
and pricked three or four, and had a few rises
besides : all which might have been realised. Two
fish of any weight, say from seven to twelve pounds,

182 THE RIVER CONWAY.

in a day, and that occasionally, say once or twice
a week, is, however, looked on as great success.
My notion, however, is, that this river might be
much improved as an angling river, with a little
more care and watching. It abounds in all the
locale* in which salmon delight — plenty of deep
quiet pools intermingled with numerous gentle
streams, plenty of rocky rapids and deeps, plenty
of small falls above, plenty of gravelly shallows, as
spawning ground, and not a single noxious mill-
stream or manufactory near it. And, from this
constant variety in its character, it constitutes,
perhaps, one of the best schools for beginners in
the noble art of salmon fishing. But here comes
a good old soldier, who escaped the carnage of
the American war. (Enter the Keeper.) Well,
Keeper, what news this morning? Any thing
done below ?

Keeper. — Eh ! Gentlemen, I am glad to see
you have caught a " grand saumon." Mr.
Llewellyn has taken only two morts. Your
friend Antiquarius bid me convey this letter to you.

Theoph. — What is this? Most a propos. —
(Reads.)—" Bettws y Coed. My dear Theoph-
ilus, — According to promise I send you the
enclosed, my observations about par. Your's
ever, Antiquarius." Something most excellent,
I warrant you. He has studied the subject, as
well as the time of their delivery, it would seem !
Let us read them. (Reads.)

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 183

The Natural History of the Par.

The following observations on the par are the
result of practical experience during twelve or
fourteen successive years ; and, though differing
in some points from the general received opinion,
they coincide with the remarks of a few intel-
ligent friends, who have lately devoted much time
and attention to the subject.

Although the history of the par may at first
appear scarcely worth the trouble of investiga-
tion, yet this is not really so ; for independently
of its interest as a long-disputed question in
natural history, various legislative provisions
have, from time to time, been made on the
assumed nature and species of this curious little
fish ; indeed, so various and contradictory are
the opinions entertained respecting it, that, on
consideration of all that has been said and written
upon the subject, the naturalist is inclined to
believe nature expressly intended it as an enigma
for the solution of the curious, with the per-
plexing properties of changing its form and cha-
racter, as the chameleon was formerly* said to do
its colours, to every individual observer.

The par, skirling, fingerling, graveling, last-
spring, shedder, sampion, rackrider, or smelt, —
for by all these names, and many others, it is
locally known — is a small fish, seldom exceeding
six inches in length, though usually found much

184 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR.

smaller; it is the ordinary inhabitant of every
salmon river ; and, in general appearance, closely
resembles the common burn trout, particularly
such as have the finger marks. These are dusky,
transverse, stripes or patches on the sides, very
similar to the well-known marks found on the
perch. They are generally from six to ten in
number, according to the length of the fish ; and
between each of these dusky patches, on the
lateral line, is a bright red spot, below which, the
par is rarely, if ever, marked. The belly is per-
fectly white. Another distinguishing mark of
the par, is an olive brown spot on the gill cover,
and this it is never without. Its general habits
resemble those of the trout, being extremely
voracious, and frequenting the most rapid streams,
particularly those thin sharps or streams, anciently
known by the name of racks ; hence its territorial
epithet of rack-rider.

Many speculative opinions, and numerous
theories have been advanced, touching the nature
and species of this mysterious little fish. Three,
in particular, would seem most deserving of con-
sideration ; First, that it is the young of the sal-
mon ; or, at least, of one of the salmon tribe;
Secondly, that it is a mule, or hybrid — the
mutual offspring of both the trout and the sal-
mon ; and, Thirdly, that it is a distinct species.

A very slight examination into the habits of

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 185

the par, as compared with the well-known habits
of the salmon fry, will destroy the first of these
theories ; and the second certainly cannot be
maintained by a single known fact, sufficiently
strong to support it.

In tracing the habits of the salmon fry, than
which nothing can possibly be more constant and
decided, it will be found, that they are emanci-
pated from the egg or roe of the parent fish,
about the latter end of March, or the beginning
of April, a few days earlier or later according
to the nature of the river, and peculiarity of the
season ; but prior to that period, not a single fish
will be found in the river ; although a few days
afterwards, they may be taken by hundreds in
every stream of a good salmon river ; there they
will continue, for six weeks or two months, at the
end of which time the successive spring floods
will have so completely taken every fish to the
sea, that not a single one of the many thousands
that were bred in the river, will be discovered.
During this period, their growth is very rapid;
indeed so much so, that during the last few days
of their stay, they have been frequently taken in
the tide-way (the tide being out), a quarter of a
pound weight ; although, a week or two before,
it would have been difficult to have obtained one
weighing an ounce. In appearance, they so
closely resemble the parent fish, in its highest

186 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR.

state of perfection, as to be, to all intents and
purposes, a salmon, or a salmon trout — as the case
may be — in miniature. On the other hand, the
par has no greater resemblance to any one of the
salmon tribe, than the common trout. It will be
found in the river, in the cold months of Decem-
ber and January — long prior to the appearance
of the salmon-fry — and although it will associate
with the fry in the same streams, it will not, like
them (at least at that period), migrate, but will
remain in the river after the fry have gone down
to the sea ; it will there continue in abundance,
throughout the whole summer : and many will
be found when the cold weather returns. On
what grounds, therefore, can it be contended, that
fish so essentially different, both in habits and
appearance, can possibly be one and the same ?

On examining the par, about the early part of
October, at which period it would seem to have
attained its full size (sometimes two ounces), a
very curious question arises, which, while it
affords the most satisfactory evidence that it is
not the young of the salmon, leaves the question
of its real habits in considerable doubt. At this
period, almost every fish that is taken (that is,
with the rod and line), will be found to be males,
the milt of which is usually so large as to com-
prise nearly one-fourth of the weight of the
whole fish ; and in so forward a state, as to be

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 187

shed on the slightest pressure ; while in the few
females that are taken _and these are not one to
ten of the males — the roe is so backward as to
be detected only on close, almost microscopic
examination. To this apparent anomaly may be
attributed almost all the existing uncertainty as
to the nature and habits of this little fish.

It is a well-established fact, that many fish will
not take food in an advanced state of parturition ;
of this, the salmon itself is a very strong instance.
In the fresh water (to which it resorts during
that period), although abounding with small fish,
the salmon is ever found with an empty stomach ;
whereas, the stomachs of such as are taken in the
estuaries and tide-ways, are frequently full of
whitings, haddocks, sand-eels, and other fish ;
showing, as might be expected, from the rapidity
of its growth, the construction of its jaws, throat,
teeth, &c, that it is really a fish of most voracious
habits. Again, there are other fish, the male only
of which, during the period of parturition, will
feed, and this is particularly the case with the
grayling. On the approach of the spawning
season, the female wholly ceases to rise at the fly,
or take a bait, although the male, during that
period, will greedily do both. If these habits be
peculiar to the par also, the great preponderance
of males taken, as well as the apparent discrepancy
between the state of the male and female at that

188 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR.

season, is very satisfactorily accounted for. But
whether thisdiscrepancy is, or is not correctly attri-
buted to the cause just mentioned, does not at all
affect the conclusion necessarily resulting from the
facts before stated, which is as clear as any position
drawn from positive demonstration can possibly
be, that a creature (whether male or female it
matters not), immediately about to propagate its
species, is not a creature in a state of infancy, but
in a state of maturity, and that, consequently, the
par is not the young of any fish, and cannot,
therefore, be the young of the salmon.

Those who profess to consider the par a mule
fish, assert, firstly, that trout are frequently seen
on the same scour together with, and as if spawning
with the salmon, and that the par is the produce
of this union ; that they are either all males, or at
least, are never found with a clearly developed roe ;
for, like all hybrids, the par has no perfect organs of
generation ; Secondly, that as the par is always
found in salmon rivers, and no other, and is never
found even in such parts of those rivers, up which,
owing to falls, weirs, and other obstructions, sal-
mon cannot ascend, it must, therefore, neces-
sarily, directly or indirectly, be connected with
that fish.

The mere circumstance of salmon and trout
frequenting together, in the spawning season,
such part of a river as is best adapted for their

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 189

purpose, affords so little ground for the conclu-
sion drawn from it, that it is not worthy a
moment's consideration; and recollectinor that the
trout will greedily feed upon the salmon spawn,
the idea of their being together for the purpose of
gestation, can only have arisen from mere wanton-
of speculation.
By considering the nature and character of
hybrids, and the general laws and principles which
govern their production, and carefully comparing
these with the known habits, character, and ap-
pearance of the par — the utter improbability of
its being a mule fish will at once be shown. It
may be safely asserted that amongst creatures in a
state of freedom, no one instance of a departure
from the immutable laws of nature, which assign
to each an affinity for its kind, has ever yet been
detected ; and it is only by constraint that this
inconsistency can be effected ; and when pro-
duced, the offspring are ever accompanied by a
capricious and doubtful resemblance to either
parent, and, above all, by a total want of har-
mony and definite character amongst themsel
Now, as an example of any deduction from these prin-
ciples, the par is in every respect utterly opposed
to them. It is in the highest degree improbable
that trout and salmon left to the free influence of
their own separate instincts, unrestrained in habits,
and unconfined in space, should depart from the

190 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR.

ordinary laws of nature, obeyed by every other
creature ; and still more so, that the offspring of
such a union should be, as the par undoubtedly
is, both in respect of its various spots and marks,
as also in form and general appearance, one of the
most perfect examples of constancy that nature
can produce. Besides these objections, it should
be recollected that there are many species of trout,
as also several species of salmon, and assuming for
argument, the possibility of such a union, it would
necessarily produce some variation in the offspring;
but none such is found in the par, it being always
alike. Although its assigned parents — the trout
in particular — continually exhibit every variety of
form, marks, spots, size, colour, and appearance
that imagination can conceive. It is said that this
union between trout and salmon is the work of
necessity, and takes place only when the male or
female salmon has been destroyed ; but if no
instance of the production of hybrids can be
shown amongst carp, tench, roach, dace, and other
fresh water fish, closely and artificially confined,
as they continually are, in small ponds, ditches, &c.,
it is clear that the necessity for a cross amongst
fishes in general does not exist ; and if so, it is
absurd to plead the necessity for such inconsistency
amongst trout and salmon in particular, wholly
unconfined as their theatre of existence must
necessarily be, save by the ocean itself.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 191

That par are never found in rivers, but such as
are immediately connected with the sea (all of
which more or less afford salmon), and never in
such parts of those rivers up which salmon cannot
ascend, is strictly true, and any instance to the
contrary, will, upon enquiry, turn out to be the
work of art or accident, not affecting the general
rule. But this does not establish the fact of any
connection between the two fish.

The power of closely observing fish in its ele-
ment is necessarily very limited ; much, therefore,
of their history must always depend on conclu-
sions and analogy. Now, assuming the par to be
a migratory fish — and there is reason to believe it
is so — all incongruity in this part of their history
is at once removed. Like all other migratory fish,
their travels must have a limit ; and a fall of water
that cannot be ascended by a salmon cannot pos-
sible be attained by these little fish : hence they
are never found except in rivers immediately con-
nected with the sea, and never found above falls,
weirs, &c, up which salmon cannot ascend. The
only question seems to be at what period do the
par migrate, as they are certainly found in the
rivers during the whole year, although as certainly
not in equal quantities. Now, it is perfectly well
known that all fish immediately after spawning
become in a very unhealthy state, their bodies at
that period being infested with numerous water lice,

192 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR.

animalculi, &c, for the removal of which, and a
restoration of the fish to health, a change of place
is absolutely requisite, and that with migratory
fish, deleterious animalculi, &c, acquired in the
river, are lost immediately after their entrance
into the salt water. There can be very little
doubt, therefore, but that the par migrate at this par-
ticular season, and assuming their migrations to be
for a short duration only, commensurate with the
restoration of their health and strength, as they
cannot all be in a situation to leave the river at
one and the same time, many will have returned
before others will have gone down to the sea, and
thus more or less they will always be found in the
river. Be this, however, as it may, from a consi-
deration of the facts already stated, and which for
the most part have their foundation in practical
experience, it seems extremely difficult to look
upon the par in any other character than as a dis-
tinct species of fish."

Theoph. — Well said, most excellent Antiqua-
rius ; and in every respect I entirely agree with
you. Herbert, I never read a more convincing
argument.

Herb. -- Might I add one observation to
strengthen it, I would say a word about the par
always being found in rivers where salmon are,
and never in parts of rivers where salmon cannot
get. From their hanging on scours and swift

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 193

parts of streams, we may infer them to be a strong
little fish. But how do they get up high falls
which salmon are obliged to leap ? I take it that
salmon only leap the falls because there is not a
sufficient body of water to admit of their swim-
ming up ; though, if the same force of water came
in greater body, they could swim through it with
ease. The par cannot leap ; but from their smaller
bulk and still sufficient strength, can swim up
them. Besides, I assume that there are few falls
where salmon can leap, which are not much
reduced in height by a heavy flood or fresh of
water. But tell me, do you ever fish below Tre-
friew ? I was wondering, as I walked by the river
side yesterday, whether salmon ever took the
fly in the tide-ways, in the sea, or in brackish
water.

Theoph. — I believe that they never do in such
sluggish tide-ways as this, for one very good reason
— that we seldom try. There is but one likely
place : that is at Tal-y-cafn, about half-way down
towards Conway. A few isolated attempts have
been made there by us upper anglers, but without
success — it is too far to go often upon a chance.
Fish are occasionally seen to rise there, it being
a shallowish, rocky, rapid bit of stream. In some
situations, however, they will take the fly in the
sea, in brackish water, and in tide-ways. I once
submitted a question on this point to some friends.

o

194 SALMON-FISHING IN SALT WATER.

From Sir Hyde Parker I learnt that " there are
two rocks in the sea, not far from Dunrobin Castle,
Sutherlandshire, where salmon take the fly in the
strongest salt water. A strong race runs by these
rocks, and the salmon take here two hours before
low water. A friend of Sir Hyde has been very
successful." My friend Medicus, living here,
tells me that he knows that at the head of Loch
Swin, in Argyleshire (close by the Sound of Jura),
which is a pure salt water loch or bay, salmon will
take the fly in a breeze during the last half-hour of
ebb and the first half-hour of flood tide. He has seen
them rise there in very great abundance — thirty or
forty in five minutes, for one or two hours together.
To use his own expression "a Highlander used to hit
them off in fine style," once, while Medicus was
there, taking fourteen small salmon in an hour.
He says the fish come to this station every season,
and there remain for four or six weeks, finally
going elsewhere : there is only one small fresh-
water stream running into this loch, too preci-
pitous to allow salmon to get up it. But then
again, from the Hon. Richard Hely Hutchinson
I receive the following opinion : — -

" I am persuaded salmon never take the fly in
salt water ; I have heard of men who had heard
from others that they did, but I never could yet
find any one who had either killed salmon them-
selves, or known any man who, to his certain

m

1 1 •

*4.

- k

■ '.J;'"

i

. :.%»•:■•*-

%'- 5|

SALMON-FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER. 195

knowledge, had killed them in salt water. I
have fished a great deal in tide-ways with the fly,
and had admirable sport : mackerel, whiting,
pollock, and sand-eels, may be taken in great
quantities. The fly is a white feather, projecting
considerably over the hook, and it resembles the
herring fry, of which both mackerel and pollock
are very fond."

As to salmon fishing in brackish water, he
says —

(c Salmon take the fly in brackish water. I was
quite ignorant of this fact until last year (1838).
The Costello river in Connemara, twenty-one
miles west of Gal way town, belongs to a club, of
which I am a member ; perhaps there is no river
in Ireland, or any other country, in which there
are more salmon. The tide runs up about half-
a-mile, for the most part over a bed of rocks and
turf soil. The oldest fishermen on the river never
had known any man to kill a salmon below the
bridge until last season, when one of our members,
Mr. Martin of Ross, hooked what he conceived
to be a white trout, just as the tide was running
up ; the keeper, in attendance on him, swore it
could not be a salmon, as they never took in
brackish water, but a salmon it proved to be ; and
I, having joined my brother angler, killed my
share of eight fine fresh fish ; they had all the
sea louse on them, and were enormously strong.

o 2

196 SALMON-FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER.

There are two of these streams below the bridge,
and the tide must rise seven or eight feet before
the salt water can enter them. The salmon will
take the fly, provided there be not much sun,
until half flood."

Another friend of mine, an old fisher, once
indeed hooked a salmon, in the sea itself, outside
the river gates, at Tremadoc, while many were
rising about the spot, waiting no doubt for the
flood tide to open them an entrance to the river ;
but having only held it for a minute or so,
he was unable to determine whether he had not
(as was probable) merely hooked it foul ; on two
or three occasions, I have known fine base or
base mullet (a fish somewhat like the chub, with
the brilliancy of a salmon), varying from two to
ten pounds, caught with a huge red salmon fly,
in the sea, off the foot of Great Orme's Head,
just after the tide had begun to ebb#. I tried
once for them, but failed ; though while thus
occupied, I saw three or four fine salmon leaping
high out of the water, about two hundred yards
off. I am told, also, that these base have been
taken half-way between this place and the sea, but
I will not vouch for that fact. Perhaps, however,
more might be done with perseverance both in
tide-ways and in the sea. Some of the best

* If I ever tried this place again it would be during the last hour of
ebb tide.

SALMON-FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER. 197

salmon- fishing is in the tide-ways ; in rivers
where the tide only reaches a distance of two
or three miles from the estuary, having a rapid
descent, and passing over a clear and rocky bed.
In muddy tide-ways I should say, salmon, except
at certain spots, and then only when the stream
has clarified the river, would never take the fly,
for one especial reason, namely, that they would
not rest in the turbid parts, which must of course
abound in a twelve miles course like this, and as
we imagine, they never take the fly, when on the
move. Mind you, the flowing-tide may dam up
the current a long way up a river, as it does here ;
without, except for the time, hindering fishing ;
and I consider it only in those parts rendered
foul by the flowing tide, where fishing would be
useless.

Herb. — Then if a tide river, from any cause,
constantly ebbs and flows clear, as, for instance,
over a rocky bed, I suppose angling may be suc-
cessfully carried on after the salt water is ex-
pelled by the current of fresh.

Theoph. — We practical anglers say, fish never
rise at a fly while on the move. Then, again,
there is plenty of evidence to show that sal-
mon move up with a flowing tide, and either
get at once fairly into fresh water, or return
towards the sea with the ebb, and therefore do not
rest in the tide-wav. These two data would be

198 SALMON-FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER.

at variance with the notion of taking salmon in
the tide- way; because if they are never stationary
there, according to the second opinion, being on
the move, they will not take a fly according to the
first. But then comes a third data, for instance,
that in the " Angler in Ireland," and there can
be no doubt that in rivers of similar character to
that of which he writes, fish will rise in the tide-
way. Speaking of the Moy at Ballina, he, at
vol. i. p. 151, describes it thus, " about one hun-
dred yards above the old bridge,- is a ledge of
rock, where are situated the weirs or salmon
boxes; they entirely occupy the whole breadth
of the stream, with the exception of a narrow gap,
to let the spent fish go down. Few salmon can
pass above them, except in very high floods,
until their removal in close time. Rod fishing
extends from these weirs for about a mile down
the river, but as the tide reaches quite up to them,
there are three hours every day when all chance
of sport is suspended by the entrance of salt
water," &c.

Herb. — I see what you mean. In such a river,
the fish, waiting in hopes of being able to ascend
higher, are per force stationary, and may there-
fore take the fly.

Theoph. — Just so : except, however, in a river
where the ebb and flow of the tide is so short,
we may consider it as a general rule that when

SALMON-FISHING IN BRACKISH WATER. 199

not actually at sea, salmon are either in brackish
water close to the river's mouth, or running up
and down with the flow and ebb, or else pushing
up above the influence of the tide : — and, there-
fore, never stationed in the mid space, between
the stream and the mouth of the river; their
object being to ascend above the tide, if the
water be adapted to their taste, or else to retire
seaward till it suits them.

Herb. — Is it an ascertained fact that salmon
really float backwards and forwards with the tide,
as it ebbs and flows ? I had always thought that
they came right on straight up the river, as soon
as they once left the "deep, deep sea."

Theoph. — By no means so, as a general rule,
except it be such fish as, with spawn in an
advanced state, come to the mouth of the river
late in the season. These, indeed, if a river be
at all adapted to their taste, push up it at once
without the hesitation which the clear bright fish
exhibit ; but the latter hover to and fro, very
considerably, for days* — often for weeks, almost
months,t before they finally ascend for the pur-
pose of spawning. Some persons conceive that
many fish, if the river continue low, or is not
otherwise suited to them, will leave its mouth

* See Appendix to Second Report on Salmon Fisheries of the United
Kingdom, 3d June, 1825, pp. 13, 38, 71, 104, 109, 116, &c Id. June,
1834, pp. 35, 74, &c

t Id. June, 1825, p. 116.

200 STAKE NETS.

altogether and return to the sea, and there fruit-
lessly (for it is said it will not vivify in the sea),
deposit their spawn, or, at all events, proceed to
some other river. Be that as it may, that they
swim, as it were up and down with the tide, as far
as it reaches upwards, long before they proceed
towards spawning ground, is sufficiently proved
by the circumstance, that in the great fisheries,
hundreds are caught by the ebb stake net in the
estuary of a river, when the tide is ebbing, that
is, while swimming, with their heads seaward.

Herb. — These nets are, I believe, those which
have been so much quarrelled with by the
river proprietors ; but I never exactly under-
stood them.

Theoph. — Bright clean salmon, at all events (for
it is asserted, by the advocates for stake nets, that
salmon advanced in spawn, proceed in deeper
water returning to fresh water), grope their way
along the sea-shore in order to find it; vacillating
for the most part with the tide between high and
low water mark. And these nets are either
made to take fish when swimming towards the
river, which are called flux ox flow stake-nets, or
when going away from it, called ebb nets, from
the difference in the manner of placing them.*

* In Yarrell'3 British Fishes, vol. 2, p. 23, there is a drawing of one of
these nets, to which I must refer the reader. Looking at it, down the left
side of the page is the high water-mark, and on the right the low water,
and the fish are taken [swimming as it were from the top of the page
downwards, so that the top may either represent the river or the open sea.

STAKE NETS. 201

They are regular mousetraps, most destructive,
and with great reason complained of by the
river, or upper proprietors. Some doubts cer-
tainly exist whether all the fish which they take
would ever reach the upper properties, because
it is contended that not one half which come to
the mouth of the river ever go up it. One of
the chief reasons for this opinion being, the
admitted fact that in thus swimming to and fro at
the mouth, they continually become prey for the
hungry shoals of porpesse, grampus, and seals,
which more or less always hang about the estuary.
But it is also undeniable, that hundreds and hun-
dreds of salmon, which these estuary stake-nets
catch, would sooner or later venture up the
river, and there spawn, or be captured by the
upper proprietors. My belief is, that these stake-
nets are one principal cause of the great falling
off of all the salmon rivers in the United King-
dom. They, in fact, destroy the seed of futurity
to too great an extent. Too many salmon are
taken.

Herb. — But I understood you to say that the
spawning fish, from swimming upwards in deep
water, do not fall into these traps.

Theoph. — That may be very true ; but you
forget, and so do the advocates for stake-nets,
that every fish would spawn some time or other.
Denying that they cause this injury, these gentle-

202 DESTRUCTION OF SALMON.

men throw the blame on cobble-net fishing, asserting
that the heavy bottom-line, which is often neces-
sarily drawn over the shallows at the head and
tail of a pool in a river, tear up the gravel, and
so destroy the spawn. They may be so far right ;
but instead of throwing off the blame on to
others shoulders, they only prove the cobble-net to
be an additional injury. Of a truth, salmon are
most cruelly persecuted individuals, the friend of
none — the prey of all. All, excepting a few gentle-
men anglers, cry " havock, and let slip the dogs
of war" on them, and it is only the wonderful and
prolific care of nature, which spares us the few
fish that are left. Their known natural enemies
are the porpesse, grampus, and seals, and each of
which, it is supposed will, if they can get a
" battue' among them, destroy six or eight per
diem. Then they are food for otters, cormorants,
and sea eagles, when large ; herons, bitterns, eels,
trout of all kinds, and the elder salmon* them-
selves, while young ; and trout, eels, and various
birds, in addition to that little devil, the water-
ousel, devour the ova. Then come the artificial
injuries inanimate, such as mill races, heads, and
leads, and eel baskets, in all of which the fry is
destroyed by sackfuls on their journey to sea !
and the foulness of water caused by manufac-

* Evidence before the House of Commons, June, 1825, pp. 20, 39.

DESTRUCTION OF SALMON. 203

tories, drives them from a river if it do not
destroy them ; their great human enemies are
poachers, who make profit of the roe for bait ;
and the hundreds of spring anglers, who may each
take perhaps twenty or thirty dozen per day,
during April and May ; thus we see how different
a thing it is to estimate 48,012,200 fish on paper
and in fact ! — alas ! where shall we catch a sal-
mon twenty years hence if things go on long, as at
present ?

Herb. — Why, in America : — near Quebec (as I
understood), I heard of a gentleman* taking forty-
three salmon in two days, from twelve to fifteen
pounds each ! In this country it is impossible to
conceive a worse state of affairs, important as
salmon fisheries undoubtedly are to the well-being
of the country, both as regards the supply of
food they yield, and the employment they give
the poor.

T/ieoph. — But the fearful list is not yet com-
plete ; there is also one natural cause over which
we have no controul. Salmon sometimes run up
the smallest rivulets to spawn in the winter; so
much so, that a friend of mine, only last year,
detected a little boy with three salmon, of eight,
five, and four pounds, which he had taken in one
spot, with his hands, out of a little running ditch,

* J. Strang, Esq. in the summer of 1839.

204 DESTRUCTION OF SALMON.

not too feet wide, and, in summer time, not three
inches deep. If then, the winter be very wet,
the quantity of water invites the fish into places
left, perhaps, quite dry in the early spring ; and
should a dry spring ensue, not only is the mother
fish killed by inability to get back to the main
river, but the spawn is never vivified, being ren-
dered totally abortive from the want of aerated
water to nourish it. A dry spawning season is
much more propitious than a very wet one,
because the parent fish do not ascend too high,
but if the winter and spring be wet, so much the
better for them — the poachers are " at fault."

This reminds me, that there is one evil equal to,
if not greater than all others, to which the dimi-
nution of salmon must be attributed, and which,
if not taken up by the legislature, must lead to
the total extirmination of the race ; and that is,
the want of preservation and protection in the
sources of rivers, where fish almost universally
spawn. It is impossible to remedy this evil unless
you do one of two things, either give each upper
proprietor a sufficient interest from the quantity
of fish you enable him to take during the fishing
season (which at present very few have), to
induce him to watch, and keep off poachers, and
preserve the spawners, personally, and at his own
expense, or else to provide a fund for that purpose,
raised by a proportional assessment, according to

PRESERVATION OF SALMON. 205

the annual local value of each fishery on the river,
or at its mouth, from among all the proprietors
collectively. It is proved by the evidence to
which I have so often alluded, that the larger and
finer fish are more shy of entering a river early,
but that more of this quality are taken at such
time at its mouth only. I would therefore make
a law, that the meshes and opening of the nets and
engines should be proportionately wider as they
approach towards the sea; and also, not only
would I provide fence months, — not only enforce
the law against fishing in any way on a Sunday, and
the observance of what is termed the Saturday
slap, viz. an opening of all nets, so as to allow
fish free access upwards, from Saturday evening
till Monday morning — but I would also enact
that a Wednesday slap should be strictly observed.
I would try this as an experiment; for it would,
at all events, give the upper proprietors a better
chance, and, if it failed or succeeded, would be
alike injurious or beneficial to all. If it were
tried for a year or two, all the harm it could do
would be to lessen the supply coming to market
during that period, while it must increase the
quantity in after years. Angling out of season
has been spoken of as injurious ; especially
because it affords the lower class (poachers to
wit) a pretence for hovering about the rivers by
day, thereby to detect where they can find the

206 PRESERVATION OF SALMON.

fish, and bag them by night. This is moonshine
with a vengeance ! If a river be properly watched
by day, as it should be, such characters, — always
well-known in a neighbourhood, — are easily sent to
the "right-about." But as to angling by the better
class (mere angling for sport)what is the extent of
its mischief? Not one out of twenty fish, over
which our flies pass, is inclined to rise to them.
And suppose there are six miles of river, and
you give to each angler half a mile, and he takes
six fish per week, which is a large average of
sport for any river in the United Kingdom, here
are seventy-two fish taken altogether by twelve
men in the week. Now, in the same quantity of
river, compare this with netting. Take the Foyle,
we will say, in Ireland ; we find that is fished for
six months, or one hundred and fifty-six days,
Sundays excluded, and, according to their
returns, the proprietors took 55,906 salmon
during a.d. 1835, averaging 358 per day, or
2,148 per week ! What is seventy-two com-
pared to 2,148? Anglers, perhaps, are the only
body of men who are interested now-a-days in
protecting the upper parts of rivers ! This river
in particular, I know to be solely protected by
them : the upper part being open to anglers
subscribing for their amusement, and a keeper
provided solely to preserve for their sport. Each
real angler therefore in the neighbourhood feels a

PRESERVATION OF SALMON. 207

zealous regard to protect every fish he or his
friends cannot take by fair means, and is willing,
personally, and with his own hands, to enforce
preservation strictly. I remember on one occa-
sion (a.d. 1838), hearing late in the evening,
that permission was (as we argued, contrary to
the understanding with subscribers) given to
certain parties to draw or net a great extent of
this river during that night. What was the
result ? I and one or two more anglers sallied
forth in the dark at once (for there was no
time to remonstrate) and with our own hands
pelted every pool, as far as we could, so as to
drive the fish to the banks and to those streams
where the nets dared not venture in the dark, for
fear of entanglement. We succeeded ; for in
none of those places did the netters take a single
fish. And next morning, to the great satisfac-
tion of all parties, excepting the netters, we found
that the permission had been wholly misunder-
stood : — for every " inch" given them, the netters
had intended to take " two ells ! ! " and a stop
was put to any further proceedings. If, on that
occasion, blows had been requisite, we would
have preserved the river, as the lawyers say, vi
et armis — notwithstanding what may be said to
the contrary*. I know, perhaps, a dozen other

• See Evidence before House of Commons, 1836. Question 1564, and
Index tit. " Angling."

208 PRESERVATION OF SALMON.

instances, in which gentlemen anglers have per-
sonally interfered to preserve the same river by
night, as well as by day. None who know the
angler's disposition can doubt it. But even
anglers, if better chances were afforded to the
river proprietors who use the net (those above
the tide-way), would have so much better sport
from the same cause, that they would feel less
desirous of trespassing into the fence months.
As it now is, in many rivers, they have little or
no chance until netting ceases ; because, no fish
can come up to be caught. '" Some provision
might be made to limit the number that anglers
should appropriate to themselves ; they might
fish and return all above a certain number in the
day to the river. But I say, preserve the
spawning fish and fry ; for, without it, every-
thing else is useless. And let me suggest, that
not only should the lower as well as the upper
proprietors contribute to the expense of preserv-
ing, but the whole neighbourhood of a salmon
river, or the county, or counties through which
it flows, or which it divides, ought likewise to do
so ; in as much as these feel the benefit in having
fish more plentiful and cheaper ; in their moral
improvement (which should never be lost sight of
in legislation) ; and, by the prevention of crime,
ultimately lessening the expenses of punishment.
I entirely agree, as to the destruction of fry by

PRESERVATION OF SALMON. 209

angling. There the fish is born, and every one
of the twenty dozen which a little boy may take
in a day with a bent pin and thread, might, in all
probability, in three or four months, be a sufficient
meal for a dozen people. This I would stop, by
prohibiting angling for small fish, or with small
hooks, during the month of April and part of
May ; for, as one witness very properly remarked
to the Committee of the House of Commons,
" it is purchasing a very little personal amuse-
ment at an enormous cost to the community. "

210

Laptev X*

Scene. — The River above the Quay stream.

Herb. — Come now, fire away, — where first am I
to expect to find fish?

Theoph. — Pray be patient, and understand that
as a general rule, you may expect fish, small or
large, in every part of a trout or grayling stream,
with this exception, that they do not lie over a
muddy bottom, nor in holes frequented by chub or
pike ; for the reasons that they love gravel better
than mud or clay ; and that pike are quarrel-
some companions ! From one to three feet deep
of rapid water, among clusters of weeds, is their
great delight ; and though large trout frequent
deeper and stiller positions by day, and may rise
at the fly occasionally, it is not under such cir-
cumstances that they are actively on the feed.
Where a rapid stream, such as I have just alluded
to, terminates in a deep hole, it is at the head

HAUNTS OF TROUT. 211

of the hole rather than at the tail that large trout
lie. So at a high fall of water, as over a weir,
it is rather under, than in the fall, or else close
under the adjacent sides or banks, that they
" hold their court." Grayling, on the contrary,
are ever found, in both these instances, at the
tail end rather than at the head of the hole, unless
they be on the shallows above. At a large weir,
little is to be expected in trout-fishing with a fly ;
because you must fish much deeper than the rush
of water will allow, and there, spinning or bait-
fishing comes in with good effect. But if there
be a gentle glide of water, having a sloping fall,
and causing no very great depth of hole, then, in
the rapid ripple it creates, is the place of all
others I should prefer for trout. Where deep
water shoals up into shallow at the tail end of a
weir, there lurk the grayling ; and, if at the ter-
mination of the deep hole, which the fall of water
causes, there are beds of weeds, — which gene-
rally happens, — then the trout, and good ones
too, will be there also. At night-fall large trout,
becoming more bold, sport themselves as much
on shallows as smaller ones have done during the
day-time ; because there it is that they find food
of all kind more readily. Minnows are there in
abundance ; and, if the fish seek flies of any
kind, they can lie nearer the surface, down which
the winged prey floats, and they have the quiet,

p2

212 CHUB-HOLES.

created by the weeds, to resort to, when they
wish to avoid that necessity for exertion, which
their being constantly at the surface would im-
pose upon them. It is strange how fond fish
sometimes are of avoiding the light, as though
their deeds were evil ! Under dark arches and
culverts large trout are almost sure to be met
with. But the bait must not be the artificial fly
— rather a worm or a minnow — that is, if you
choose to turn poacher occasionally, and with this
propensity, you are always sure to find trout
ready, either for worm or minnow, under the
roots of bushes, where deepish water rushes past
them, and hollows away the bank. The shade of
trees is always very inviting to fish.

Herb. — You spoke of a chub-hole. How do
you distinguish it ?

Theoph. — Don't ask too much, or you'll beat
me. Chub love to lie in deep sluggish water;
consequently, where there is mud or clay, rather
than gravel at the bottom of the river, and in
deep water, where the banks are much under-
worn by the stream setting in directly on to them,
consequently in acute bends of the river : a hol-
lowed bank is their chief delight ; and it is not
rapidity of stream which drives them thence. I
know the head of one of the aits on the Thames,
a little below Hampton (I think it the one which
extends down to Hampton lock), where the stream

M

BAIT FOR SALMON. 213

is so rapid, that it is every year fast wearing it
away ; and this spot is most excellent for large
chub, and I could enumerate very many like it.
The side of a much worn bank, though it runs
quite straight, is, if the water be swift and deep,
sure to produce chub. A regular chub-hole is
very often a good pike-hole. I know a few
where, in their respective seasons, I can always
make sure of these fish.

Herb. — But to return to our nobler prey, the
salmon, do not they take worms, and even a
spinning bait in rivers? I learn that those are
the great means resorted to in Norway.

Theoph. — I grant you, that as regards their
taking worms, it is a puzzler. So I believe that they
have been seen to take natural flies on this river,
and have been taken by dibbing with the natural
fly. But a spinning bait offers the extra tempta-
tion of something glittering, and having a motion
communicated by our hands and by no means
natural to a living fish ; and I never heard of
their taking a live bait, as jack, and perch,
will do. Upon the whole, therefore, I fear we
must place this also among the many subjects
connected with the natural history offish, as to
which we are, I regret to say, entirely in the
dark at present. Still, however, from all we have
to base any opinion upon, I feel quite justified in
saying that salmon do not, and cannot take our flies

214 FLIES.

from any resemblance they bear in shape or
colour to living or natural prey, and I am, there-
fore, not prepared to say that we have any reason
to employ particular feathers or other material in
a fly on account of their colours. I cannot, at
present, admit it as proved, that colour has any-
thing to do with the u takingness" of a fly. I do
not really think that a salmon looking upwards
from his depth below, can distinguish more than
that an opaque object is passing by him, and
provided he is inclined to stir, my idea is, he will
do so, whether the suit be red, or blue, or green,
or yellow.

Herb. — Do not you then prefer one kind and
colour of fly before others? What is your secret
charm ?

Theoph. — Aye, " there's the rub." I have found
three or four flies pre-eminently successful, and,
in consequence, I persevere more with them than
with others. With trout you must be exact
(more or less), as to colour; but, in making sal-
mon-flies everything, in my opinion, depends on
the mode in which the materials are worked up;
the appearance of life which, from the mode in
which the wings in particular are put on, is given
in the motion we communicate by the play of the
rod. That, I think, is the whole secret of salmon
fly-making. But, at the same time, I am not so
over-confident of its correctness, that I would

FLIES. 215

cease to give preference to one coloured fly over
another, and, therefore, I will willingly describe
a few flies which I consider killers for such wea-
ther and water as the present, namely, bright sun,
with flying, screening, clouds, rippling breeze,
and low and bright water. But let me first inti-
mate to you that on pools much deeper than we
have fished this morning, and on rapids, you dress
them on larger hooks ; and, on streams, on
smaller hooks. Well, then, the first fly I had on,
and .which killed a fish, was about fifteen-six-
teenths of an inch long, from shank-end to
bend. This fly I made from Ronalds's beautiful
work, the "Fly-Fisher's Entomology," as the
stone-fly for trout. Its tail is composed of two
fibres of a long grouse hackle. The body is a
mixture of bright yellow mohair, and a con-
siderably predominating portion of the fur from
a hare's ear ; but there is a greater pro-
portion of the mohair at the tail, which gives it
a yellow appeance in that part. Over this,
representing the joints in the fly's body, is wound,
spirally, palish yellow floss silk. The hackle for
the legs, is dyed a dark olive, and the wings are
made of about fifty fibres from a light mottled
feather, off the hen pheasant's wing. In addition
to this, the fly happened to have for its head, pro-
jecting forwards, two whisks of sable fur. But

216 FLIES.

I do not consider that they had any effect towards
the fascination of our friend Salmo. I may as well
tell you now, once for always, as 1 shall have fre-
quent occasion to mention " the wing-feathers" of
a bird, that unless I specify any others, you are
to understand that, taking off, and exclusive of
five or six of the longest, which are termed pinion
feathers, and in fact form the point of the wing,
I refer to the eight or nine next largest in size ; and
of them we use the fibres on the concave side of
the stem, corresponding to those which, as a
matter of course, you would strip off from a goose
quill preparatory to making a pen. They are
much finer and rather longer than those on the
other or convex side, and are, therefore, preferred.
Here is a fly of a similar pattern to that which
so raised your ecstacies, and with which you might
have done execution before breakfast. It is of a
more elaborate description than the preceding one,
a regular salmon-fly ; and, by-the-bye, it is a
great favourite here, so remember it well. The
hook was, perhaps, a sixteenth of an inch less
than the preceding, namely, fourteen-sixteenths
long. Below the tail is thin silver thread or wire,
then comes a golden pheasant's top-knot for tail ;
above that, three or four turns of black ostrich
hurl. The body, of crimson mohair left rough,
is ribbed over with silver thread. It is sometimes

FLIES. 217

made of crimson floss silk, with a claret hackle
over it. The wings are of equal parts, but not
many fibres, of the dark brown speckled feather
off a mallard's back, and the light brown speckled
feather of the shovel duck, from the side of the
body, under and below the wing; and mixed with
these, and left rather longer, are six fibres from the
bright yellowish green parroqueet's wing. Then
over the wings comes a dark mottled feather from
about the shoulder of the grouse's wing, which
we call a grouse hackle, because generally worked
up (and as you see this is) as cock's hackles are,
namely, by being wound or hackled round the
shank of the hook. Three or four turns of a
black ostrich hurl for the head, completes the fly.
The third affords a good lesson of the advan-
tages of industry and foresight ; which, if
neglected in this instance, would have caused
me to reverse the reason for my regrets, and to
have petitioned the Emperor of the Salmon in
this river for the restoration of the fly, without a
care about the punishment of the fish that took
it ; I would then willingly have compounded the
felony, in defiance of the laws and statutes of this
realm in that case made and provided, as those
skilful fishers of men, lawyers, would have it.
But having completed half the circle of digres-
sion, let me tell you that it is a good fly, a
favourite fly, and a successful fly, made after the

218 . FLIES.

pattern of one rather prized by u the greatest
sculptor in Europe," who took salmon with it
below this town, in just such water as there is
at present, when no one else could stir a fin.
But you saw its powers, though my unskil-
fulness counteracted them. Very fortunately,
just before starting off to meet you yester-
day afternoon, I made this, its fac-simile, in
order not to lose so valuable a pattern. Now
having completed the ?' aforesaid" circle, let me
tell you, that after the four turns of silver thread
under and below it, the tail is composed of three
fibres of the yellow spreading back feather of the
golden pheasant ; the body is of light red-brown
mohair, left rough, with silver thread wound up
it; and over this, all the way, comes a Marlow
buzz hackle ; that is, a red-hackle, with a black
stripe up the stem, and the fibres tipped with
black. The wings are, first a mixture of plain
dark speckled guinea fowl's back feather, with an
equal quantity of the same feather dyed maroon ;
over these, and extending rather beyond them,
comes about the same proportion of dark speckled
mallard, such as I have just mentioned ; for horns
projecting still further, and towards the tail, are
four fibres of the dark (not brown) speckled mal-
lard's feather from the side of the body under
the wing, dyed a bright yellow ; and three turns
of a maroon dyed ostrich hurl make the head.

FLIES. 219

But I must not forget its great advantage on the
pool we have been fishing, namely, its size. This
hook, you see, and the one I lost was the same,
is about thirteen-sixteenths long : though I should
mention that the pattern belonging to Sir Francis,
was not more than twelve-sixteenths long, and
that the body was of a similar coloured floss silk.
But what are you laughing at ?

Herb. — Only at seeing you so particular to a
hair's breadth.

Theoph. — It's well to laugh, but I have no other
way of conveying my notion of the sizes of hooks
to you. Every maker has his sizes numbered or
lettered according to his fancy ; but as all makers
differ from each other in their numbers, or par-
ticular distinguishing characters, none of which
convey any definite idea of size, except from
occular demonstration, and as I do not learn that
the statute books contain any act of parliament
which assimilates and equalizes their measures,
how else, in the name of goodness, can I make
you comprehend what is a small hook, and what
a large one? I do not approve of recipes
ordering " a little" of this, a "dash" of that, and
so forth; you will, however, only find a differ-
ence of one inch seven-sixteenths between the
largest salmon, and the smallest trout hook; and
if a quarter of an inch can be said to make such
a difference in a man's nose, surely a sixteenth is

220

THE AUTHOR S SCALE OF HOOKS.

to be regarded in a hook which is to be applied
to a fish's eye and mouth. But in order that 1
may not puzzle you so often by ' ' sixteenths," and
henceforth to subdue that derisive cachinating
curl of your lips, you may at once note down the
following scale which I adopt for hooks, measuring
from the shank end to the extremity of the bend.

Theophilus South's Scale of Hooks.

1

Inch.

Measures . . 1

1

16tbs.

15

10

7

5

4
15
12

8

9
10
11
12
13
Midge

Measures .

Inch.
. 0
. 0
- 0
. 0
. 0
. 0
. 0

16ths,

11

10

s

1

9

4

1

8

5

1

7

6

7

... 0

0

6

5

In order to compare my scale with others,
note down also the following : —

Sell's

SALMON.

No.

1 measures

2

3

4

5

6

7

O'Shaughnessey's.

Phillips*

SALMON.

in. 16th No.

2 12 1 measures

2 10 2

2 5 3

2 3 4

115 5 .......

1 14 6

1 10

in. 16ths.No.
2 4
1 15
1 13
1 8
1 7
1 5

SALMON.

in. 16ths.

2 4

1 14

1 12

1 7

1 7
1 5
1 4
0 15

1 3
1 0
0 15

4 0 14

BB
B

CC
C

1 2

1 0

0 14

0 12

THE AUTHORS SCALE OF HOOKS. 221

TROUT.

1

2

3

4 ,

5 ,

6

7

8 midge

TROUT.

TROUT.

0 12

1
2
3
4
5

0 10
0

0 $
0
0 6

Iff ..

0

10

0 o

ff ..

o

8

0

f ..

o

7

0 6

fe ..

0

6

0

midge .

..... 0

5J

o g

6

0

0

7

o s-

0 5

8
9

midge

0
0 5

Let me observe, that as you grow older in this
art, you will find that much of your success
depends on the size of the fly you make use of.
This you must, whether in search of trout or
salmon, vary according to the weather, the
general height of the river, and the nature and
depth of the particular spots where you throw.
For instance, for salmon in shallow clear water,
(say about six foot, and under eight), and in sun-
shiny weather (by which, I mean, when the sky
is clear, and the sun only occasionally bursting
from behind passing clouds) — and the stream
moderately swift, I should use a very small fly,
for instance, my No. 8, and according to the
increase in rapidity of the same depth, I should
enlarge the fly to the No. 6 size. If again, the
weather were dull, and the sky completely clouded,
I should fish the same water with hooks a size
larger, namely, from No. 7, to No. 5. But if the
same depth were coloured after rain, and the sky
bright, I should advance still another size,

222 SIZE OF FLIES.

beginning by No. 6, and ending with No. 4. —
and in dull weather, use No. 5, to No. 3. Ad-
hering to the same principles of calculation, in
water of eight feet deep, and under ten, I should
begin with No. 6, and finish with No. 3, and so
according to the increase of depth, I should put
on flies larger in the same degree, advancing one
number for every two feet of water. But the
largest I should ever think it necessary to use on
this river, is No. 1, whatever may be the state
of the water.

Herb. — I have been given to understand that
on some of the Scotch and Irish rivers they are
in the habit of always using flies much larger, and
as far as I can carry the sizes I have usually seen
for those rivers in my memory, there appears to be
none under the largest of those you advise to be
used here. Why should this great difference exist ?

Theoph. — I think you judge of the fact more
from those which fishing-tackle shops exhibit,
than from examining the collection of an expert
salmon fisher who ties his own. In Ireland, and
in Scotland, wise men, occasionally, and in the
former place for the most part, use flies quite as
small as those I recommend. You will observe,
that in some places nothing under five pounds,
and in others under seven pounds, is denominated
a salmon. But the rivers there are, many of
them, of a greater depth and of a bolder cha-

SIZE OF FLIES. 223

racter, and the fish in proportion average larger;
and there, perhaps, anglers would never think of
using any hook less than my number 2 or 3,
while here, and on other rivers less bold, four or
five pounds is called a salmon, and the general
average weight of those taken does not exceed
ten or twelve pounds, though a few are caught in
each season of five and twenty pounds and up-
wards. But you may be sure that the few who
pay attention to the matter study the size of the
hook they shall put on, and are much more suc-
cessful than those who have but one size, and
that a large one. Many, perhaps, are accus-
tomed to fish only in one place ; they occasionally
meet with success in deeps with their monster
fly, and then, without thinking about the matter,
extol nothing but large ones, and have no faith
in waters from five or six foot depth, which they
call shallows. Perhaps, however, I do wrong in
giving you an impression that it is only the un-
thinking who declare in favour of large hooks.
One or two first-rate, and really scientific fishers
of my acquaintance, let me tell you, are partially
of that school. I say " partially," because though
generally preferring large to small, they qualify
their partiality by this saying, namely, " Large
hooks catch large fish;" which, to a certain
extent, is indisputably true, because large fish,
especially trout, generally lie in deep water,

224 SIZE OF FLIES.

where, as I told you, you should invariably adopt
a larger hook. For my own part, I would rather
be under than over the mark, and certainly think
that smaller hooks are much more generally suc-
cessful, even for moderately big fish, than large
ones, while it is very certain that the latter do
not take small fish. And I can also assure
you that in a day's fishing, in company with
an expert hand, who has differed from me upon
this point, with my small flies I have taken three
large fish to his one, or, which is a stronger
proof, in one instance, two large, and three or four
small ones to his nothing ; and that, although his
skill was equal, if not superior, to mine. And it
is by no means uncommon in low bright water, to
take salmon from six to nine pounds with trout
flies, upon hooks as small as my No, 10. At the
same time I may tell you that I know of no
person taking to himself credit for any science
upon the subject, who asserts that large flies are
of any avail, either for trout or salmon, on shallow
streams.

Herb. — I have often heard, that it is an uni-
versally acknowledged rule that a larger fly
should be used very early in the morning, or
late in the evening. If you accede to this, may
I ask for what reasons ?

Theoph. — I will tell you. When a fish rises,
he is more or less on the feed, as we suppose, and

SIZE OF FLIES. 225

perhaps at the moment when your fly engages
his observation, he is already half-glutted with
other food. But supposing him to be commenc-
ing his meal, then, if we can judge by our own
appetites, let me ask you, if when you sat down
to dinner, three mutton cutlets en masse were
upon your plate at once, would you not be less
likely to get through them than if they came
before you one by one ? And might not a fish
for the same reason prefer many small morsels to
one large ? It seems to me that they are not so
gross in their habits of feeding as many animals.
They do not, like a boa-constrictor, " swallow an
ox," and then lie gorged and torpid for a length
of time. But if you examine a trout's stomach
(except in the May-fly season) you will find him
full of innumerable small flies, with scarce one
large one, though the larger sorts are in abun-
dance upon the water. I myself have taken
trout with myriads of what we fishermen denomi-
nate the black gnat in their stomachs and throats,
though the air has swarmed with larger flies, such
as the alder, and March brown, and cinnamon,
on a dozen of which/with infinite less labour, he
might have contrived to make as hearty a meal.
This cannot proceed from the mere superiority
of taste and flavour which one fly may possess
over another, even admitting that fish have the
sense of taste, which has been doubted by Mr.

Q

226 SIZE OF FLIES.

Ronalds, especially as we know that those three
large flies, which I have just mentioned, are especial
favourites of the trout, and it must be, that they
prefer small morsels to large, although collecting
the former must entail so much greater pains
and trouble.

Herb.— This is clearly proved in bottom
fishing. A moderately small piece of paste being
more successful than a larger one, and a smaller
worm of the same sort producing the same
result.

Theoph. — You are quite correct, according to
my experience. Again, if we may compare them
with man, do we prefer large mouthfuls to those
of moderate dimensions ? Certainly not ; not
only because education teaches us that it is a
vulgar habit, but for the reason, that there is more
trouble in their mastication, as well as in swal-
lowing them. And it must be remembered that
we masticate, while the fish swallows whole
that which he puts into his mouth. I therefore
think it probable that a fish would prefer the
trouble of collecting several small morceaux to the
chance of one large one sticking in his gullet, and
chokeing him. And thus probatum est q. e. d., viz.
that large flies attract attention, while smaller ones
take the fish. In trolling for pike, a large bait
often induces a fish to seize it, and it is well to
use such, if you are fishing with a snap ; yet if

SIZE OF FLIES. 227

you use a gorge, though the large bait be seized,
it is ten to one but that he leaves it without an
attempt to pouch it, unless he be strong on feed •
though there is no doubt his throat would be
capacious enough for the purpose, had he been
inclined 'to make the experiment. .A fish often
seizes a passing prey, merely, as it seems to me,
by way of a punishment for its' audacity in ap^
proaching too near. You often see fish take
things into their mouths, and then instantly eject
them, though the next hour they would seize and
swallow" the same in nature and substance. Yet
it is only when much pressed with hunger that
they attempt to swallow a bait large in propor-
tion to their own size. I certainly was once
trolling with a gorge for pike, with a good sized
gudgeon, when 1 saw a perch not longer than
nine inches, and not twice the length of the bait,
seize it. She (for I found it to be a female full
of spawn, and nearly as deep as long) ran with
it in shore, and I, thinking it impossible that she
would attempt to swallow it, sang out for the
landing net to entrap her with it at once from
among the rushes beneath me. This T and my
companion did, and when we got her out, I was
indeed surprised to find that she had attempted
to swallow it, and was fairly hooked, but neces-
sarily " stuck at the tail." Yet I am satisfied she
must have been driven by hunger to commit such

q2

228 SIZE OF FLIES.

a daring atrocity. )?ike are found occasionally
gorged and half choked with one of their own
species, not much less in size, in their throats ;
though this again is only in ponds where food is
scarce, and therefore they are urged on by the
old adage, that " hunger has no law/' And you
may depend, that these are unnatural feats on
the part of fish. Give me, therefore, small flies
in preference to large all the world over, whether
for trout or for salmon.

Herb. — Why, then, let me ask you, do you
recommend any variation in the sizes of flies,
according to the different depths and degrees of
the clearness of the water ?

Theoph. — Simply upon the principle of ex-
citing attention, That which he would discern
plainly from the bottom of four feet of water can-
not be so perceptible at a distance of twelve feet,
and, for the same reason, the faculty of vision is
less perfect in muddy, than in clear water, or in
cloudy than in clear weather ; and, therefore, you
must use a larger fly. Such have long been my
notions upon this subject, and though. I am
willing to change them for better, considerable
experience has not afforded any inducement to
forego them. You will, of course, understand
me as using the terms large hooks and large flies
synonymously ; since you must always apportion
the quantity of material in the one to the size of

A KILLING FLY. — EVANS'S FLY. 229

the other. And do not forget the hint I dropped
just now, that larger flies should be used early in
morning and late at night, than in mid-day;
simply, because they are then less easily seen.
That's a mighty great reason ! you'll say ; yet it
it is little known or thought of, as the reason
why a fire burns better and brighter from poking.
So much for the sizes of hooks and flies.

Herb. — You have not yet described the fly I
have on, and with which we killed the last fish at
the Quay-stream pool.

Theoph. — You mean Antiquarius's fly. It has,
you see, an apple-green silk body, a golden phea-
sant's crest feather, and a few fibres of scarlet
ibis left shorter for the tail; below which, and
wound up the body, is middling-sized gold thread.
Close under the wings is wound a claret-coloured
hackle ; and the wings are composed, the major
part, of dark-brown speckled mallard ; the rest
of a few strands of dark striped turkey feather,
and on each side are two bright blue king-fisher's
feathers ; and the hook is about my size No. 5.
But see another, the choicest fly in my collection
for this state of water. It is u Evans s fly ;x
and, like a provident man, I reserved it for the
last, in the assurance, that though the others had
failed, this would have served me well if anything
would have stirred a fish to day. Its size is as
small as my No. 6, or even No. 7. Mulberry

230 AN UNEXPECTED CONCLUSION.

floss-silk body, golden pheasant's crest tail, under
which are several turns of the thinnest silver wire,
and some turns of the floss-silk ; the silver wire
is then carried over. the body spirally; close
under the wings is wound a small dark partridge
hackle. The wings are of — First, brown speckled
mallard : second, about a dozen fibres, from the
golden pheasant's ruff; Third, three or four fibres
of bright green paraqueet, and above them are
about a dozen strands of dark mottled, or rather
striped turkey. Above the wing is hackled either
a striped blue jay's wing feather, or amarlow-buz
hen's hackle*, which is perhaps preferable, and
then a heading of ostrich hurl completes the fly.
I shall try this myself by and bye, and I know
I shall succeed with it, if the fish continue on
the move.

Enter Messenger with a Letter.

Herb. — Theophilus, what means this pallid
tremor — this suddenly anxious visage ?

Theoj)h. — My friend, instantly we part. How
unexpectedly. Little indeed do we know what a
day may bring forth. I must leave you, and not
only you, but dear Old England, at the same
time. The call, imperative, admits of no delay.
I must depart at once. Farewell, my pupil. If I

* Similar to the Marlovr-buz hackle mentioned ante; but taken from
off the hen's. neck.

FAREWELL ! 231

have helped you ought in our loved art, improve
my precepts, and when at any future moment of
success, remembrance bids you own my influence,
think of me, as of one, who exiled far from old
associations and old friends, seeking a new home
in a distant clime, breathes ardent prayers for
his loved country's welfare, and leaves his heart
still with his native land:

Herb. — God speed you — and

FAREWELL !

WALTER SPURS, PRINTER, 17, NORTH AUDLEY STREET.

iy

RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT

TO— ■+• 202 Main Library

LOAN PERIOD 1
~ HOME USE

2

3

4

5 i

b

ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405

6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk

Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date

DUE AS STAMPED BELOW

MAY 1 4 1

380

mm 24 m

1

\,m

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 1 1 /78 BERKELEY, CA 94720

®$

ft •