WET-FLY FISHING

TREATED METHODICALLY

n

E. M. TOD

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

SECOND EDITION

LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY

LIMITED
1907

74

/I*'/

TO THE BELOVED MEMORY

OF

ALEXANDER MONTGOMERIE BELL,

M.D.
TRUE SPORTSMAN AND LOYAL FRIEND.

M83900;

PREFACE

IT would indeed be a graceless sin of
omission did I not record with gratitude
the thanks which are due to the friends
who have (in one way or another)
earned them so well, by their kind help,
advice, and sympathy during the writing
and publication of this book.

As I must begin with some one, permit
me to commence by saying with what
sincerity I record my obligation to my
friend, Dr. Spence, of Edinburgh, for the
advantages I have had from the use of
his extensive library of angling works.

I should have liked to have said much
more, but my hand was held. I will,
therefore, merely content myself by adding

viii Preface

that no one could have been kinder or
more considerate than he has been.

I also wish to tender my very hearty
thanks to my friend, Mr. Walter Puttick,
for the beautiful sketches with which he
has embellished this work ; for the care
and interest which he has shown in their
production ; and, not least, for carrying
out my own ideas so well.

His sketches will make so much more
clear and simple my written instructions,
that I seem to owe him a double debt.

Further, I wish to thank very sincerely
my friend, Mr. Andrew Smith, "W.S., who
edited (as a hobby) that excellent, though
comparatively short-lived journal, The Scots
Angler, and who is the President of the
Trout Anglers' Club, Edinburgh; for the
humorous and kind letter by which he
answered my request to be allowed to copy
from the volume of The Scots Angler in
my possession, an article which I contri-
buted to its May issue, in the year 1897 ;

Preface ix

entitled "How to land Trout expeditiously
while Wading," an article which, I trust,
will repay perusal, now that it has been
incorporated in this book.

The two names next on my list happen
to be those of father and son. The first
is no less a personage than the venerable
and much-respected head of the publishing
firm of Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston &
Co. — I allude to Mr. Edward Marston.

Mr. Marston's kindness towards the
writer has been shown in many pleasant,
unobtrusive ways, all the more appreciated.

He is well known in piscatorial circles,
through the medium of his charming
angling-holiday books, two of which I have
had the honour and pleasure of reviewing,
and I have no hesitation in disclosing his
identity with that of their author, "The
Amateur Angler."

My cordial thanks are most willingly
recorded to his son, my own personal
friend, Mr. E. 33. Marston, the Editor

x Preface

of the Fishing Gazette, who is also a
Director of the publishing house.

During the writing of this handbook
he has treated the author thereof with
uniform courtesy and kindness. I fear
I must also add, with much forbearance,
seeing that the necessary correspondence
has had to be carried on between the
respective capitals of England and Scot-
land, a very serious addition to the burden
of so busy a man.

I have had to control a strong desire to
mention the names of two old and dear
angling friends, in whose pleasant com-
panionship many of the happiest hours of
my life have been passed; but as they
were not directly connected with the pro-
duction of this book, I had to refrain.

There is yet one small person, with the
mention of whose name I shall conclude
a preface already longer than I had
intended; that of my dear little grand-
son, Charles Eudolph Feilding, at present

Preface xi

aged fourteen months. He is, alas, so
ignorant of all the pleasures and mysteries
of wet-fly fishing, that I am placing his
name on record, in the hope that, per-
chance when I am gone, he may study
what I have written herein, and, starting
where I have left off, may become, not
only a skilful but a scientific fly-fisherman,
and as great an enthusiast as his grand-
father was before him.

E. M. TOD.

EDINBUBQH, March, 1903,

PREFACE

TO

SECOND EDITION

As the publishers are about to issue a
Second Edition of " Wet-Fly Fishing " (the
First Edition being, not 1000, but 1500
copies), I hope that I may be permitted
to thank my friends !

xii Preface to Second Edition

In the front rank I should like to place
the Press, whose reception of my work I
looked forward to with anything but self
assurance.

Their notices, with scarcely an excep-
tion (and by our collection of Eeviews
numbers 64), have been, I think, generous,
as well as just.

Next, I take the opportunity to thank
those who know me only by my book ; for
the kindly letters I have received, and
which have been such a source of pleasure
to the recipient.

Last of all, I place my own personal
friends, some of whom I am proud to say
are Fly-fishers of acknowledged merit, and
reputation.

Their outspoken and friendly words have
been more than gratifying to the Author.

Let me assure my readers that my effort
was to produce a thoroughly practical
treatise which should stand the test of
time, rather than a merely showy work

Preface to Second Edition xiii

which would perhaps have an ephemeral
success, and then be forgotten.

How far I have succeeded it is for others
to say.

It is with sincere regret that I have to
record the death of my young friend Mr.
Andrew Smith, Writer to the Signet,
before he had reached his prime ; the first
President of the Trout Anglers' Club,
Edinburgh, and the hard-working Secretary
of the Trout Anglers' Association.

Having mentioned his name in the preface
to the First Edition, I trust that these
words may not be considered out of place

here.

EWEN M. TOD.

EDINBURGH, April 19, 1907.

CONTENTS

CUAPTIB

I. INTRODUCTORY ..... , . 1

II. THE FISHING OF BUKNS WITH THE WET-FLY . 11

III. THE FISHING OF "WATERS," i.e. TRIBUTARY

STREAMS ..... ... 22

IV. THE FISHING OF RIVERS ..... 65
V. RIVERS AND STREAMS GENERALLY, WHICH HAVE

BEEN FISHED BY THE AUTHOR . . .136

VI. "THE ANGLER'S EQUIPMENT;" INCLUDING MR.

TOD'S INVENTIONS ...... 139

VII. CONCERNING FLIES ...... 183

VIII. CONCLUSION . . .... 237

ILLUSTRATIONS

E. M. TOD Frontispiece

BURN FISHING. THE LINN POOL .

" The place where the old (trout) died '

To face 18

28

A TYPICAL SCOTTISH WATER ....

Where pool and stream are shaking hands

38

76

A few casts in the early morning

120

" The Hang " of the stream, named by old Tweed
fishers "The Hing"

MR. E. M. TOD'S BUCKLE FOR CREEL STRAP
BACK VIEW OF MR. TOD'S CREEL . .

E. M. TOD SLIDING THE LANDING-NET BACK

WITH THE NEWLY CAUGHT TROUT

THE LANDING-NET COMFORTABLY HANGING
AGAINST FISHING-BASKET, BOTH HANDS
BEING FREE TO UNHOOK THE TROUT

169

178

Between pages
180 and 181

MR. E. M. TOD'S TRIPLE GUT HINGE, FOR FLIES

205

WET-FLY FISHING

CHAPTER I.

INTBODUCTOBY— HOW TO FISH METHODICALLY
WITH THE WET FLY.

FISHING with the wet fly is but a term.
It is, however, a very correct term, for the
purely wet-fly fisherman never really seeks
to make his fly float on the surface of the
water ; never oils his fly with paraffin oil ;
never greases his reel-line with deer's fat,
and does not devote to a rising trout the
time that would seem all too long to listen
to a sermon; or to run and kill a 30-lb.
salmon. Battles have been lost and won,
in less time than is sometimes devoted to
the ensnaring of an Itchen trout.

It would be, in these advanced days,
impossible to tackle a work such as this
without referring to the dry-fly school: it
would be equally unwise and absurd to

B

2 Wet-Fly Fishing

keep on comparing the merits of the two
systems, in the body of the book itself.

The men who are the most dogmatic,
exclusive, and narrow-minded are they who
fish — year out year in — one river, or class
of river; be it of the "wet" or "dry" fly
type or "school." To such, Tennyson's
words seem to me very appropriate, " They
take the rustic murmur of their bourg for
the great wave that echoes round the
world " ; and I maintain that, as in social
life, so is it in angling. Nothing sweeps
away narrow and unworthy prejudices like
travelling, since travel means meeting with
men of all shades of thought.

The writer, who is also a freemason,
is quite sure that the freemasonry of the
angler's craft is hardly less sacred, since it
is, as it ought to be, a brotherhood ; em-
bodying within it, as does freemasonry,
men of all shades of opinion.

In the writer's opinion, the dry fly is
neither more nor less than the slow and gra-
dual evolution of its progenitor the wet fly,
adapted to rivers which are specially suitable.

The more we fish, the more do trout
become educated and knowing ; and whether
it be in Scotland or elsewhere, when trout
are few and far between, or many, but

Introductory 3

knowing to a degree ; the tendency will be
for men who have tried all they know with
the wet fly, to take a leaf out of one's
neighbour's book, and try what the dry fly
will do, on occasion.

Let me be very clear about this, how-
ever, lest I may be misunderstood.

I have no patience whatever with the
extreme purist of the dry fly, who, in the
month of April or beginning of May would
not unbend by a hair's breadth, were he
placed on the Deveron or any such Scottish
river.

At present, I should advise the southern
angler who comes to fish in Scotland, to let
the dry fly be "his crutch rather than his
staff," on the majority of our rivers; and
especially in the early spring.

He may leave Euston or King's Cross,
congratulating himself that a man who can
take the trout of the Itchen and Test, need
" fear no foe in shining armour." He may
even " thank Heaven that he is not as other
men," nor " even as this publican" (of the
wet-fly persuasion), who, by the way, may
be his brother-in-law, and a hard nut to
crack, by the side of a good Scotch trout
stream, with his wet flies and his dry jokes,
all the same.

4 Wei-Fly Fishing-

In war, the main object is to kill or
disable the enemy. In fishing it is very
much the same thing ; and the man who
wastes his energies drying or oiling his
fly, when he should be creeling trout after
trout, lays himself open to the criticism of
the French General, when he witnessed
the Balaklava charge.

Each system has its place and time.
On the other hand, he who would venture
to win fresh laurels as a wet-fly fisherman,
in the rivers presided over by the dry-fly
expert, would return to the north a sadder
and a wiser man. Of this, there is not the
shadow of a doubt, any more than that the
skill of the dry-fly fisherman, as practised
in these particular waters, is of an excep-
tionally high order. His flies are a much
closer imitation of the natural fly than
ours are, as a rule. The average dry-fly
fisherman, moreover, has a milch more
intimate knowledge of entomology than
has the average wet-fly expert ; and yet,
notwithstanding all these advantages, I
declare that he but wastes his time if he
fishes for trout in many of our rapid rivers
during the cream of the fly-fishing season,
solely as a purist of his own " school."
This is my opinion, and I give it for what

Introductory 5

it is worth. That, at times, when fishing
a Scottish river, he would be wise, like
" old Uncle Ned," to " cast down the shovel
and the hoe and take up the fiddle and
the bow;" in fact to use his dry fly; is
beyond all question.

The perfect fly-fisherman unquestion-
ably is he, who is quite at home with loth
methods, and has the judgment to know
when to apply each to advantage.

At present, I hold that the expert wet-
fly fisherman, is still master of the situation
on the large (very large) majority of Scottish
and north of England rivers ; and a very
considerable change will have to take place
ere he is knocked off his stool, by the rising
generation of dry-fly fishermen.

In the first place, trout are numerous
rather than large in most of our Scottish
rivers, and it does not pay to waste the
brief but valuable time of the " rise " over
any single trout. When our streams are
free from pollution and poaching, and "free
fishing " has been supplanted by a wiser
system ; when new varieties of trout have
been introduced, and with them the culture
of natural food for their support (without
which the larger-sized trout never could be
expected to thrive and multiply), then, and

6 Wet-Fly Fishing

then only, do I seem to see " the disciple
of the dry fly " " wiping the eye" of his
wet-fly brother throughout Scotland. It
is certainly most desirable that our rivers
should run pure, and that trout fishing
should be as carefully guarded in Scotland,
as it is in England, on private and club
waters.

I have dear friends belonging to both
<c schools," and I am, I trust, wholly with-
out controversial bitterness. All the same,
I hold that the time is far distant when the
dry-fly invader from the south will be able
to wrest from the expert north country fly
fisherman, the premier position on the
streams and rivers of his " ain Countree."
In other words I hold that if the men of
the dry fly go to Scotland, they must do
as Scotland does (in the main) at the present
day.

Before I close this introductory chapter,
I desire to say a few words on a subject
which I rather shrink from handling ; I
mean the well-known and, to my own think-
ing, very tiresome jokes about fishermen's
" tales " concerning fish and fishing.

Nothing can be more contemptible than
the publication of false reports, and the
man who needs to adopt such tactics is

Introductory 7

" a puir creetur, sir, a puir creetur," as old
Carlyle once snapped out to a man who
had irritated him beyond bearing. Gillies
(especially those connected with a fishing
hotel) are especially guilty; but if their
patrons had a higher sense of honour, the
evil would not exist. Hotel-keepers also
have their own temptation, and I regret
to add that the reports sent to newspapers
are frequently quite unreliable. The com-
monest of all forms of deception is the
placing of the united " takes7' of two or
more anglers to the credit of one. Naturally
men rush to waters where such individual
(?) takes are still possible — only to find that
they have been deceived. When Anthony
Trollope visited Australia (many years ago)
he discovered that the colonist had a like
failing, and in his book his advice to him
runs thus : " Don't blow.'1

I think if there was less "blow" (or
brag) amongst fishermen, veracity would
reassert itself; and the stigma, which now
rests on fishermen, would gradually die
a natural death. Much of it is done in
joke, doubtless ; but in most cases the love
of bragging is at the root of the disease.

Be a truthful duffer — if a duffer — and
you will enjoy your sport in youth, and

8 Wet-Fly Fishing

its retrospect in old age ; and what more
do you want ?

I feel inclined now to speak of the
" poaching angler," who fills his creel by
unfair methods. But is he worth writing
about ? I think not ! He despises himself,
and I am of opinion that, in so doing,
he places a just estimate upon his own
character. We will, therefore, let him
severely alone, only hoping that, by degrees,
he may be improved off the face of the
earth.

In " The Incomplete Angler,'* by F. C.
Burnand, are a few lines which, I think,
enable me to end my introductory remarks
pleasantly.

" For you must know that a proficient
can catch as good a fish as swims with
a fine line from one of the poets, if he
be but careful to let it fall with bated
breath."

What wet or dry fly man can do
more ?

January 1, 1903.

DEAB TOD,

"You have asked me to read
this Introduction to your book — the com-
pletion of which I shall rejoice to see — and

Introductory 9

I have done so, and I am glad to see that
you treat the matter so impartially.

" I have been an angler as long as I
can remember anything, and that is getting
on for half a century ; for many years after
I began fly-fishing I fished only in the wet-
fly style, afterwards I took to the dry-fly
style as well; and what I cannot for the
life of me see is why one angler should not
adopt both styles, as I and many others do.
I only wish you had been able to join me,
as I hoped you would, on the Tweed, at
Kelso, early in May, 1901. I think I could
then have proved to you that it pays to use
both styles on the Tweed, and not only at
different times, but at the same time.

"One afternoon, when fishing on the
Upper Floors Water, in about three hours
I killed a nice basket of over 12 Ibs. of
trout, all with the fly, and quite two-thirds
with the dry fly. I used your double-hook
midges, three on my cast (" GreenwelTs
Glory" and "Iron Blue'1 did best). I
fished all three flies first dry and then
wet. I also fished with two of the flies dry
and one wet, or one dry and two wet, and
this in the rapid broken water of the streams
as well as on the pools. It is a great
mistake to think dry-fly fishing must be

io Wet- Fly Fishing

confined to slow smooth water. Wherever
the natural can float there the artificial can
float if properly made, and oiled, and used.
It is most interesting to watch your fly
coming down dancing on the waves, and
then disappear when the brown head of a
trout breaks the surface, also to see it pulled
tinder when a trout takes one of the wet
flies.

"Ever yours sincerely,
" (Signed) " E. B. MARSTON,

< ' Editor F.G."

CHAPTER II.

THE FISHING OF BUENS WITH THE WET FLY.

I AM even as a blind man in the deeper
mysteries of fishing with the wet fly.

Willingly, nevertheless, shall I speak
of the little I know about it, hoping that
I may impart some of my enthusiasm to
other and younger brethren in the gentle
craft/ » Whilst imparting information, I
hope I may be excused when I venture to
state, right away at the beginning of my
treatise, that the memory of my few big
days is seldom with me in " the Silences
of Life ; " these moments that come to
all thinking men when alone, and that
will, occasionally, force themselves upon
one even in a crowded room or busy
thoroughfare.

I repeat, that the very memory of these
" big " days is forgotten, all but the
butcher's bill ; " an' divvle an ounce of the
Poethry of Angling " is there in such a day,

12 Wet-Fly Fishing

unless the circumstances be such as to fix
the incidents which form the event in the
fisherman's mind, as well as in his diary,
for it is a poor thing if the memory is not
refreshed hy the remembrance of bygone
angling delights.

One may sit pleasantly thinking of some
absolutely charming hours, or even brief
moments, spent in the prosecution of one's
pet pastime — fly-fishing — where the plain
facts, as recorded in the said diary, would
seem to indicate that the particular day
in question was one of absolute and dis-
graceful failure : the results being so modest.

I give my ideas of what, to me, has so
often constituted the ideal of a sportsman's
" delightful day's fishing " ?

First, then, one should be feeling in
good health to enjoy it to the full.

Secondly, one must leave behind, as
if they had never existed, the cares of life
in every shape or form, and be a boy again,
keen as mustard, and simply indefatigable
in one's application to the business in
hand.

An idle fisherman is seldom worth much ;
keenness goes hand-in-hand with energy.

Let me, then, convey to my readers
some of the pictures which have remained

The Fishing of Burns with the Wet Fly 13

in my brain, when the mere record is dead
and buried to all intents and purposes.

And now to my subject !

May I draw (as best I can) the pic-
ture of a day's fly-fishing on a rather
large Highland burn, (for, on the smaller
burns the " wiggling wum " is the best
"fly"). Imagine me, a youth, instead of
a grandfather. I have tramped across the
hills to my favourite burn. There arrived,
my 11 foot 6 inch " Forrest " rod is soon
put up, the reel placed in the fittings, and
the line passed through the rings. The
gut casting-line (only of 2£ feet) is knotted
on, and two flies attached thereto : Black
hackle for tail fly or Stretcher, and Par-
tridge Orange for the bob fly or dropper.
I am now ready to begin. Crouching, I
move upwards, and my flies soon cover a
nice-looking little pool with one, two, three
casts; butwithout a single response. Moving
on, I throw up stream, my flies falling like
thistledown on a deep but quiet eddy. This
time there is a rise at the dropper, and the
trout hooks himself ; but, after giving a few
wild leaps for freedom, he is free — slightly
hooked probably. Nothing discouraged, I
let a little more line pass through the rings,
and cast again. Here the waters from the

14 Wei-Fly Fishing

pool above, being literally squeezed between
two large boulders, pour down into my own
pool, and, near to the edge of this rush,
my black hackle is thrown. A trout of
f Ib. soon fastens, and is leisurely drawn
downwards, landed, and encreeled. This
process in my upward progress is constantly
repeated. Frequently I have to cross the
burn wet-foot, so as to fish it to better
advantage. I wear no waterproof wading
stockings. They would only be an encum-
brance while fishing a Highland burn ; and
youth makes light of wet feet, especially
when the said feet are encased in thick
knitted worsted socks under a pair of strong
shooting boots, well nailed, to make sure
the foothold. My basket keeps growing
heavier, and my spirits lighter in propor-
tion. At last I sit down to eat my sand-
wich, and this being soon done, I fall into a
musing attitude — not a very common thing
at my age. Well, the surroundings are
enough to appeal, even to a lad. The
music of the stream, the " caller" moun-
tain air, the wild scream of the curlew (the
" whaup "), the challenge of the sentinel
cock-grouse as he sounds his note of warn-
ing, and then whir-r-rs off with his covey into
a thick bed of fern, the cuckoo's familiar

The Fishing of Burns with the Wet Fly 1 5

but quaint note, and hard by, (though the
bird himself be perchance out of sight) the
sweet song of the sedge warbler.

I drink in these sounds, unconsciously
surrendering my young soul to their spell ;
and then (who has not experienced its weird
fascination amid the wild Scottish hills ?)
comes a strange sensation ! Nature has
apparently fallen asleep, and when that
happens, I strain my ears and listen — listen
to the silence.

Suddenly, "I spy strangers in the house."
The water-ouzel it is, who has broken the
spell.

There he is, in his spotless shirt-front,
bobbing and bobbing again. Ah, Kascal!
who knows so well as you where to pick
up the roe of a spawning fish ; your larder
at present holdeth not the " caviare " which
thy soul loveth. You need not keep on
booin', booin', like Sir Pertinax MacSyco-
phant. I have nothing for you, so be off!
I continue, kneeling, crawling, and stumb-
ling, the rod continually " waving " the
while. At last I draw near to the best pool
in the whole burn.

Let me describe it.

A solitary cascade (or linn), where, into
the deep black basin beneath, the brown

1 6 Wet- Fly Fishing

waters thunder down from the rocks above.
See ! I have at times to crawl on hands
and knees to reach the place I am aiming
for ; but at length I am enabled to sit down
on a large stone, some yards below the
tail-end of the pool, and I am glad to mop
the perspiration from my brow, and to take
a moment's breathing space. As I gaze,
a gust of wind shakes that stunted birch
tree overhanging its deepest and blackest
part — at the further side — but, now a few
flies fall upon the surface and slowly move
around the eddy. Then, out of the black-
ness of night, comes a bar of gold ! Again
and yet again it flashes from fly to fly ! I
am nineteen, and, as I involuntarily exclaim,
"What a thumper !" my heart thumps
wildly.

My flies now are Greenwell's Glory for
tail fly, and a red hackle for the dropper.
Greenwell's Glory is sent forth on an ex-
ploring expedition time after time, but
nothing comes of it, and yet Greenwell's
Glory is a grand explorer. Eeturning to
my stone, I sit down and give myself up to
the friendly solace of my pipe — that trout,
big on my brain, you bet.

My eyes meanwhile scan the surface
of the dark moss-coloured waters.

The Fishing of Burns with the Wet Fly 1 7

Presently I observe one small fly, then
a second, and a third, at no great distance
from the haunt of that cunning old rascal,
but a little further up the burn.

Then I see a small "bell," followed by
a ring, and this is repeated. The odd
thing about it all, is, that no flies now
are visible. Can that be my friend's work ?
Eh ? Off comes my dropper, and I have
replaced my tail-fly by a red spinner (No. 2,
Kendal scale) for luck. The wind has
fallen momentarily, and it is a dead calm.
Now for it— now, or never. Wading, so as
to avoid sending a tell-tale wave before
me, and bending low to keep out of sight,
as far as it is possible for a six-foot lad
to do ; I deliver an underhand cast. Alas !
it is caught by a twig, and I am hung up
— but only a moment, for I give one sharp
pull and am free, minus the fly, a very easy
let off.

Keplacing it with another from the same
lot, and, wetting the gut well, I make
another effort. The fly falls just right,
but a breath of wind, bellying the line out,
drags it away just as the golden blaze of
the form I love, parts the black waters, and
tells me that I shall soon be on terms with
the king of the pool, my friend of the eddy.

1 8 Wet-Fly Fishing

Oh the delights of stalking such a fish
at nineteen, ay, or at sixty-nine : if you
can.

And now the line is sent, with a side
switch, right under the birch tree once
more. There is no wind now, and the fly
alights very softly. Then there is a wave,
and the line tightens. In that same second,
a gentle but decided turn of the wrist has
driven the steel home. The rod is held
sideways, near to, and parallel with, the
water, not up; else the words of Burns
would be only too true of that trout —

"And safe beneath the shady thorn, defies the angler's art.1*

for the branches of the birch hang low, and
liftingi the rod up would be a dangerous
game to play at present.

Finding himself collared, he dashes out,
and faces ^the foaming waters of the linn,
springing hither and thither in his efforts
to shake' himself free ; but, at last, gasping
and beaten, he finds himself lying on a
spit of sand, a lovely landing-place, and
permits me to knock him on the head.
He weighs If lb., a fine trout, indeed, for
such a hill-burn as this.

To give point to my meaning, let me
suppose another case. The same pool, the

BURN FISHING. THE LINN POOL.
•'The place where the old (trout) died.'

[To face page 18.

The Fishing of Burns with the Wet Fly 19

same trout, and the burn in spate, peaty
rather than muddy, the lure a worm on a
single bait-hook tied upon gut thick enough
to land a salmon, and skill nowhere ; that
wretched trout skulldragged out of the
drumly water, and thrown on the bank
by sheer force. And there, in a nutshell,
you have my idea of sport and of murder.

I shall not touch on the latter subject
again.

Such is the poetry of angling, and its
prose.

My young friend, make your choice early.
It is surely enough to be a true disciple
of old Izaac Walton, to love angling for its
own sake, and to be content therewith.

Believe me, for it is the truth, that
many "a record - breaker " is that, and
nothing else. He is " a miserable dog " if
he returns home unsuccessful, and quite
spiteful, if even his dearest friend has
" licked his head off," however fairly.

Let me not be mistaken. Some of the
noblest and most unselfish of men and of
" fishers " (I love the old word) are also
record-breakers, at least occasionally. The
combination means the blue ribbon.

And now to my hill-burn again. There
is but the one linn, and one other large,

2O Wet -Fly Fishing

broad and deep pool, like the one you saw
me fishing last, in the entire burn. The
burn, as you fish upwards, forms a series of
tiny pools and cascades. As you get higher
and higher, the dropper may be as well
removed (for, having landed the big one,
the dropper was again added, to fish the
rest of the pool).

In conclusion, I will only say of burn-
fishing, it has so little of the real art or
science of wet-fly fishing about it, that I
shall now close this chapter ; heartily com-
mending it to all youthful and active
" fishers." To those who love solitude
amid the hills — as a restorer of the tired
body, or the overwrought mind — this branch
of angling is simply invaluable, and, as a
tonic, is far superior to all the drugs in the
British Pharmacopoeia.

There is a charm about it, too, which is
peculiarly its own. If you go a-fishing to
such a place, and find none of the charm I
speak of, blame yourself. None the less is
it there.

It is many years since I first came under
its influence ; and, to this day, the remem-
brance of these golden hours is still fresh,
and lovingly cherished.

There is just a touch of sadness, as

The Fishing of Burns with the Wet Fly 2 1

one thinks of the days that can never be
lived over again — the days of boyhood and
of youth.

Eather let us be thankful, in old age, for
the hours thus spent in our youth. It is
idle to repine that past joys lie behind us.

A quaint old proverb comes to my
rescue, and prevents me falling into a more
serious vein.

"You cannot eat your pudding, and
have it too."

Just so.

CHAPTEE III.

THE FISHING OF WATEES WITH THE WET FLY.

IN Scotland, running streams are, as a rule,
roughly classified into three varieties or
grades, namely (1) Burns, (2) Waters, and
(3) Eivers.

Every one, I presume, knows what a
hill-burn is, and a river is surely big enough
to speak for itself. Class No. 2, waters,
is at present our subject, and to anglers of
the wet-fly school it is one of great and
abiding interest. Many of them are famous
in song, such as " The Banks of Allan
Water," " Braw, braw Lads of Gala Water,"
and many others. It is not my intention
to dwell on this aspect of our Scottish waters,
but to look at them solely from their angling
point of view. And in that connection, it
becomes very important to understand how
the methods of fishing any stream of the
volume, width, and generally having all
the features of "a water," somewhat differ

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 23

from the systems usually in vogue amongst
wet-fly fishers when fishing the parent
rivers. The same general principles govern
each system or method ; which fact, I trust,
eventually to make tolerably clear as I
proceed with the subject. I fear that I
must occasionally mention what is properly
named "a water " in Scotland by some
other title, for it would never do to land
myself in some such absurd sentence as
" The water in such ' a water ' as this
is," etc. In such a case I must speak
of a " river/' or " small river." " Eivulet "
I dislike intensely.

W. C. Stewart, the writer of that very
excellent work " The Practical Angler,"
the first edition of which was issued in
1857, was one of the most famous wet-fly
fishermen Scotland ever produced.

I must qualify this statement. It was
as a fisher of medium sized streams; in fact,
of " waters" that he really won his fame;
and any one with a full knowledge of his
subject, reading Stewart's excellent work,
must notice that his teachings are chiefly
applicable to the fishing of his beloved
" waters."

As a matter of fact, Stewart was not
nearly such a successful fly-fisher in any

24 Wet-Fly Fishing

large body of water, like the Tweed, at
least, in its lower reaches. He either was
so wedded to waters that he did not care
much for rivers, or he was unable to alter
his methods. The fact remains, that his
fame was that of a fisher of " waters"
rather than of " rivers."

Stewart confessed his inferiority to James
Baillie (the professional), and refers to him
in glowing terms in his work. I remember
Stewart quite well, but only by sight. I
once heard Baillie's brother play the violin
in his cottage. He was gifted musically
to a wonderful degree for a man who was
wholly self-taught. Both of the brothers
Baillie, thus, were evidently men of genius ;
but alas ! theirs was the kind of genius of
which the Poet wrote —

" Genius left to shiver
Died, it is said,
On the bank of that River."

Adam Dryden was also a very success-
ful, but professional, fisher of waters, and
his tiny book, " Hints to Anglers," is well
worth perusal. It is out of print, but can
be picked up occasionally at bookstalls.
• Stewart, Baillie, and Dryden frequented
and loved the same type of streams, in the
south of Scotland ; as who does not ?

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 25

Then there was Webster, who wrote
"The Angler and the Loop Kod." He
chiefly fished the Clyde, also the upper
waters of the Tweed. In reading these
works, the beginner must remember that
trout were plentiful and fishers few, in
those good old days. Their records could
not be repeated on the same waters to-day.

I think that they yield the very poetry
of sport. They can generally be com-
manded from bank to bank; they consist
of a delightful variation of pool and stream,
and, further; there is, what there never
can be to the same extent, in any large
river; an indefinable charm, arising from
the angler being generally able to locate
the likely places ; spoken of by Stewart as
"the habitat " of the larger trout. This
knowledge only comes with experience. It
is not quite so easy to acquire, as it may
seem, seeing that trout do not occupy the
same places (a) in early spring, (b) in
summer, and (c) in autumn ; and naturally
so : for trout, when in condition, seem to
glory in their strength. Hence, you will
find them in the strongest runs in summer ;
whereas, when they are not yet in condition,
or are beginning to fall off, their tendency
is to seek the quieter waters.

26 Wet- Fly Fishing

Again, when "a water " runs down to
its summer level, trout seek out well-
defined stations ; but, during a flood,
they get scattered all over the place, very
often hugging the banks, or even lying
under them — for two reasons. First, to
pick up worms, etc., which get flooded out
of their holes ; and second, in order to get
out of the full strength of the heavy current.

Stewart's book, when it first appeared,
set my ardent young soul on fire. Indeed,
it is not too much to say of Stewart, that
he did what no man did before him, what
no man has ever done since, or ever will
do again, viz. he revolutionized the fishing
of rivers and waters throughout Scotland.
We all owe a deep debt to the author of
" The Practical Angler."

I have never regretted becoming his
disciple, in respect of the fishing of waters,
just as I became, later on, the pupil of
Mark Aitken, in whom I recognized the
very best exponent I had ever met, of the
art of fishing rivers; such as the Tweed,
or its large tributary the Teviot in its
lower reaches.

The men were as different as their
methods ; and yet, in his own style of
stream, each was a past-master in the art.

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 27

Much of my own success as an angler
I owe to Stewart; but to Mark Aitken I
owe far more, since at his hands I received
invaluable practical instruction extending
over several years. I regret to add that
I have never even seen Stewart fishing.
Here let me mention that small but ex-
cellent booklet, "How to catch Trout,"
by Three Anglers ; published by David
Douglas, Castle Street, Edinburgh, in 1890.
It is a splendid shilling's-worth, and I
advise all wet-fly anglers to invest in the
book. I fancy that- 1 have the pleasure of
knowing two of the writers, and both are
good and clever anglers ; and of whom it
may be said, " what they don't know is not
really worth knowing." I make no apology
whatever for quoting the following from
its pages.

In that all too brief chapter, "How to
fish a small Stream," the writer says,
"When there is a strong wind blowing,
the shallow water, just above where the
stream breaks, should always be tried, as
feeding trout often congregate there."

This is typical of the book, and the
advice is excellent.

Indeed, if the book possesses any fault,
it is that the subjects are too briefly

28 Wet-Fly Fishing

referred to, and the matter is too severely
condensed. I have proved the value of
their advice, and with pleasure I add my
own testimony to that of the triumvirate
aforesaid.

No two waters are quite similar in
character.

One flows through a hilly country and
is quite easy to wade, because it has a
hard bottom of gravel and sand. Another
flows sluggishly through a rich agricultural
country, and has a muddy, or, perchance, a
clay bottom.

Here runs a water embowered amidst
bushes and trees ; and there flows a water
almost destitute of trees, as it passes
through some purely pastoral and hilly
district. It is surely evident that the local
expert, is the angler who ought to be most
at home on his own familiar well-wooded
stream or streams. For instance, tahe that
beautiful tributary of the Teviot, th ) Jed,
as an example. The local fisher, accus-
tomed to much of Gala water where he
has what we call, a clear cast (an un-
hampered throw), would be rather puzzled
when fishing some of the well-wooded parts
of the Jed, especially in windy weather,
say about Ferniehurst, when the trees are

fc tx

-sj a

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 29

waving hither and thither, above, in front,
and behind the angler, as he wades, rod in
hand, up the water, casting as he goes.

It is easy to say, "He is a duffer if he
finds trees trouble him seriously."

What, my friend ! even if he never saw
till now, a tree or bush worth speaking of,
on the waters he is familiar with ?

If the angler's only, or even chief aim,
was to avoid trees and bushes, I quite see the
force of the remark. If, however, he is put
on his mettle ; as, for instance, when fishing
a friendly match with an old friend who is
well used to woodland waters, he would
have something else to think of. In fact,
he would have to exert all his energies and
wits towards the making up of a presentable
basket of trout; and in the haste to get
rich (in trout) a man is very apt to be off
his guard, as when he sees a good trout
rising in front of him : and he will get his
fly into a branch or twig behind him, ere he
knows of its existence.

In a calm day it is easier.

I repeat that there are waters and waters.
Take yet another case. How different are
the methods by which the sluggish canal-like
part of any Scottish " water " is attacked
by the expert; especially where neither

3O Wet-Fly Fishing

bushes nor trees line the banks, and where
the angler has therefore got a clear cast.
Here it is all plain sailing to the man who
knows what he is about, and who, of course,
fishes up-stream instead of down, with the
artificial fly.

As the main object of any book such as
this is to teach others who are as yet learners,
I fear that I must become egotistical and
adopt the personal pronoun I for simplicity.
There are a few general precepts which I
desire to impress upon beginners, and the
first is this : —

(1) Begin with a rod which does not
unduly tire your wrist. In due course
you'» can increase the length of your rod,
and its weight. If you start with a heavy
rod, you run the risk of getting into
a slovenly manner of throwing the line.
You can never hope to strike delicately or
quickly, if your hand is over-weighted.
Now, as one man has the wrist and fore-
arm of an athlete, and another is deficient
in physical fitness, it is impossible to lay
down any hard and fast rules regarding the
proper length and weight of a rod for the
beginner. Besides which, this will be dealt
with in a subsequent chapter on rods, etc.

The next precept is this: Use a short

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 31

line at first, and let your effort always be to
throw a " clean line/' however short. Never
be tempted to throw a long line, till you can
throw a short one, easily and perfectly.

My next piece of advice is : do not try
to advance too rapidly. Your aim should
be to perfect yourself in any one stage,
before you begin to enter upon another.
If I can impress this upon the mind of a
beginner, he will be benefited greatly in the
long run. There is a very appropriate
Latin proverb, which runs thus: Festina
lente (hasten slowly).* I understand that
the Onslow family have adopted it as their
motto. This advice, to any one com-
mencing fly-fishing in earnest, is golden.
Begin with a casting-line (or collar) of fine
whole gut, and learn to throw a clean,
straight line. When you have satisfied
yourself that you have mastered this, the
first step; then, and not till then, try to
use drawn-gut ; beginning with the heavier
grades, and gradually, but slowly, getting
into the finer sizes. Things are often proved
by their opposites. Eeverse this order, and
what happens ? The beginner, finding that

" Wisely and slow ; they stumble that run fast."

Romeo and Juliet, Act ii. Scene 7.

32 Wet- Fly Fishing

he makes a hash of it, either gets dis-
appointed, or else gets into bad, i.e. slovenly
habits. In order to acquire confidence in
this, as in all other things, progress should
proceed on slow and deliberate lines. Ever
before my mind is the desire to render a
service to the willing learner; and I wish
to emphasize this fact. The expert who
has experience, knowledge, and skill, if he
be not ungenerous (and few good anglers
are captious and ungenerous critics, ready
to lay hold on trivialities in any work like
this), will understand me when I say that,
perchance, even he may, in spite of his
experience, find something which he may
think worthy of a mental note; but I do
not presume to teach the expert. The keen
aspirant who really desires, as I myself did
at one time, to learn anything which may
assist him to become a good and practical
wet-fly fisherman, will, I hope, gain some
useful hints from these pages. A more
earnest teacher, I can assure him, there
can hardly be. A more ardent and enthu-
siastic fly-fisherman than I was for nearly
fifty years I can scarcely imagine. Eecently,
rheumatism has interfered with my beloved
recreation, without decreasing my desire to
forward in any way within my power, the

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 33

interests of brother fly-fishers, and particu-
larly of those who are not above taking a
few hints from an old hand.

Before proceeding further, I must refer
to the classification of streams into burns,
waters, and rivers.

This classification is good only so far as
it goes. It enables anglers, and also writers
on wet-fly fishing, to lay down, if not fixed
rules, at least general principles for the
more or less precise methods employed by
our school, in attacking streams of such
varied width and volume ; but the reader
will bear with me when I point out that,
in point of volume, etc., "a water " is at
first a mere burn, and a river is all three,
in the various stages of its growth. So
that, when the angler fishes the top waters
of a river, he fishes as he would in " a burn."
Further down, he regards it as " a water,"
and eventually (an* he be wise) he will fish
the lower reaches on the broad principles
laid down in a subsequent chapter, u The
Fly-fishing of Kivers."

I mean just this : that the mere name is
of no real moment, save, inasmuch, as it
enables us to classify streams in such a
way as to render tuition more intelligible
and interesting. Description in all cases is

D

34 Wet- Fly Fishing.

simplified, and we gain thereby, whether
teaching or not.

To all intents and purposes, the middle
and upper waters of the parent river (take
the Tweed as an example) are to us, as
anglers, quite as much " waters " as are
any of the delightful tributary streams bear-
ing that title, which flow directly into the
parent river itself, but which never become
rivers in themselves. Thus it follows that,
when we fish, say the Tweed, we must
attack that noble river according to the
rules laid down in this book — elastic rules,
I admit. If we bear in mind that the
Tweed is a hundred miles in length, it is
quite evident that, near its source at
Tweedsmuir, it is only a burn, or rather
a network of burns. Further down it bears
the character of a water, and naturally must
be fished as " a water " accordingly, and
so on.

Imagine the case of a man who had
lived all his life at Tweedsmuir only fishing
these delightful burns, getting suddenly
translated to the Tweed from St. Boswells
downwards, when his habits were formed.
How would the tactics which filled his
creel at Tweedsmuir, do, when adapted to
the Tweed at St. Boswells ? and even more

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 35

so must it be, below Kelso Bridge, after
the Teviot has added its waters.

When attacking any considerable stretch,
in a small river — the characteristics of which
are not those of a typical Scottish water,
with its constant change of stream and
pool — wading may not only be difficult and
dangerous, but even impossible at times.
The fly-fisher will then be unable to conceal
his figure save by crouching, crawliug, and,
in every way possible, concealing himself.
In fact, he must " stoop to conquer "
literally.

Experienced fishermen must have ob-
served how trout seem to tolerate the
presence of four-footed animals, horses,
cattle, and sheep, so long as they go
browsing about quietly. Let them take
to galloping along the river bank ; then, if
you like, the trout begin to show alarm.
The bearing of this upon fishing is obvious.
First of all, he who can endure the strain of
crouching, and who goes about his business
quietly, is most likely to succeed in stalking
the old stagers.

As to wading itself, let me say, once for
all, that any man who can wade in a river,
or a water which can be waded with any-
thing like comfort and safety, must surely

36 Wet-Fly Fishing

be deficient in wisdom and knowledge if he
will not enter the water. The advantages
are so enormous. But here, where wading
is impracticable, you must just try to hide
your figure all you can. Stalk the trout.
Whatever you do, do not take them cheaply.
Somehow, nay, anyhow, keep out of sight,
since you may not and cannot wade. " On
thy belly shalt thou go." Yes, imitate the
snake, if you desire to possess the wisdom
of the serpent.

I need scarcely add, that clothing
should not be conspicuous. An elastic
tweed of a neutral colour is all that is
required. Let ease supersede elegance.
Stout lacing boots, with a few good hob-
nails, and a pair of good leggings to finish
up with, are all that any man needs in
fishing a sluggish water like this. I may
add that, crawling about in wading stock-
ings is very fatiguing work, as well as
injurious to the waterproof material itself.

The angler will often need to throw a
long line, but when a trout rises at his fly,
his wrist must be firm and ready to respond
in a moment. When no trout are observed
feeding on the surface, experience leads me
to regard such long stretches of dead water,
in any Scottish river of medium size, as very

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 37

uncertain, and the deeper the water the
more likely to be uncertain, are these long,
still, deep reaches. The reason is not quite
so obvious. There are many such problems
to be solved by the wet-fly fisherman. I
presume that in deep dead water, if there
happens to be at the time an absence of the
natural fly, the trout, when hungry, go
down to grub at the bottom, and in fact
are apt to become bottom feeders. Yet,
should a few flies be shaken off any over-
hanging trees or bushes, it is astonishing
how quickly the trout find them out.
Therefore, while there is no sign of the
natural insect — and as a consequence no
rise in the surface — you must learn to
use your flies as (more or less) sunk flies,
always contriving to impart to them,
cunningly, an appearance of vitality which
can only be done by a slight but deft move-
ment of the rod hand, the flies being thrown
up and across the pool, and then worked,
but slightly, towards you. You must
" strike " when the line stops, or when you
see the surface break, in a rise. But, the
moment you observe the trout " are rising,"
you must cease to sink your fly. When
trout are really rising keenly, when in fact,
the rise has fairly developed, you can hardly

38 Wet-Fly Fishing

keep your flies too near the surface, or
cast too often.

The wet-fly fisherman who, under such
circumstances, still continues to sink his
flies (and many do), forgets that his flies
may actually be passing underneath the
trout he is trying to lure, and nothing can
be more absurd! Eapid casting with as
short a line as can reach the trout, is the
game to play in sluggish or dead water,
when trout are fairly "on the hop," and
indeed almost anywhere else. There are
times when the man who can fish the dry
fly as well as the wet, scores ; especially in
sluggish waters, or portions of waters.

I confess that I do not love to fish small
and still rivers which are so uncertain, and
where it is either a feast or a famine. For,
as it is less frequently the case, that in these
slow running, deep and narrow rivers, trout
^,re rising well ; when you do so find them,
you should be able "to score." To this
end you must work hard, your rod never
idle for a second.

It is quite a pleasure to me to leave
behind the fly-fishing of sluggish Scottish
waters (or parts of waters), and to enter
upon the fishing cf any really typical
Scottish water, with the wet fly. How

« .3

5

S -3

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 39

charming is the variation of pool and
stream, of deep and shallow, and how
interesting the varied methods which are
called into play consequently. The learner
will now begin by wading gently into the
thin side of a pool ; making his flies search
the likely looking portion above him, where
pool and stream begin to shake hands. It
is morning ; but no rising trout are dimpling
the surface as yet. The day is mild, the
breeze gentle. It is blowing up stream ;
the sky is grey, and thus the indications are
favourable to a good day's sport. Having
put up your rod, your gut casting line
(with its two or three well-chosen flies,
meanwhile having been stretched), is left to
soak, in a shallow, with a stone placed over
it, to prevent accidents. The gut casting-
line being now pliant and soft, must always
be straightened before it is fixed to the reel
line. These minor details must be rigidly
observed. Your tactics must be those of
the wet fly, but must not be overdone. If
there is an eddy, search that, the one at your
own side for choice, first. Here, remember
that the fly is, at times, being actually
carried from you, not towards you. So,
humour your line accordingly, by allowing
the fly as much as possible, to float from

4O Wei-Fly Fishing

you, rather than dragging it towards you.
This is much easier said than done, and,
I am free to confess, that if there is one
thing I am never quite at home at, as a
fly-fisher, it is this very fishing of eddies.
Many a good trout lies therein, which owes
its existence to the fact that, just as he is
about to rise to the artificial fly, the
angler raises his hand a moment too soon ;
or else, a puff of wind perchance hurries
the fly off, at the critical moment, and
that trout subsides, to moralize on his lucky
escape.

No two eddies are alike in strength or
depth, and thus it happens that he is a
clever fly-fisherman, who, with the wet fly,
can satisfy himself that he fishes the eddies
scientifically (i.e. accurately), methodically,
and well. It is, in my opinion, not a very
common attainment.

And now fish the centre current, mov-
ing up gradually, till you near the rapid, or
rapids, descending from the pool or stream
above. All such rapids must be fished up,
and the line should be short, especially if
the angler is wading in fairly deep water,
and below the trout, of course. Throw up,
with a quick, direct, forcible cast, and then,
lower the point of the rod, so that, when

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 4 1

the line is thrown, your rod points up-
wards, and is quite close to the surface of
the river ; rod and line, for one hrief second,
forming one unbroken extension pointing
directly up stream. In this way — and in
this alone — you command your fly from the
moment it alights ; and you will find that,
even then, you have to raise the point of
your rod overhead, or sideways, with con-
siderable rapidity, as your flies often come
towards you, at a great pace. And, here, it
is necessary to dwell a little on the proper
fishing up-stream of any rapid like this.
One throw is no real test. You must throw
again and again, the oftener the better, in
a given time ; four, five, or six rapid casts
with a short line, and then, if you like, try
the water on either side. But remember,
when fishing a narrow "throat " up, if the
fly halts for a moment, look out; for it
means a trout, and you must tighten on
him instantly, and pull him down stream
gently — if you can do so.

My friend " The Amateur Angler," does
not believe in a very quick " strike " down
stream, judging from his latest delightful
work, which I had the honour of reviewing
in the Fishing Gazette of 13th December,
1902, "Dove Dale Eevisited, with other

42 Wet- Fly Fishing

Holiday Sketches ; " but there, we cannot
all think the same; and in the case of a
wet-fly fished up-stream, the "pull" (or
stoppage of the line), means that the trout
has the fly in his mouth already, and to
delay to put the hook home, must surely
be folly, then. A shy trout often makes a
noisy, frightened " boil " at an artificial fly,
and this has given rise, I imagine, to the
notion of a trout drowning a fly with its tail,
in order to pick it up, afterwards. Could
that trick be verified, it would surely be
a proof that certain trout decline to take
an artificial fly till they have examined
it leisurely — from under the water — than
which theory, what could be more ridiculous ?
It reminds me of nothing so much —
this tempest in a tea-pot, this ridiculously
obtrusive and fussy rise of a timid trout
at a small fly, with a sting in his tail — of
nothing, I repeat, so much as the spectacle
of a young and charming but timid and
shortsighted lady, charging across a busy
London street, to greet a brother or husband
whom she is anxious to see — only to find
out, at the last moment, that he is a
stranger. The sudden halt to so much
momentum ; the revulsion of feeling, from
joy to fear, and the confusion consequent,

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 43

all taking place in one brief second, surely
furnish a picturesque parallel. Lord
Byron's lines on the blooming and blush-
ing schoolgirl arise to my mind, and seem
not inappropriate.

" So much alarmed, that she is quite alarming.*

But the trout, which has stopped your wet
fly in strong water, makes no such rise, and
must be hooked before he has had time to
eject your lure. Hence the need of a short
line, and of a ready and responsive hand.

In the few lines which I have given to
that small but good handbook, "How to
catch Trout," mention was made of " that
piece of water just above where a stream
breaks, " and so forth.

This is a favourite place with me, as
with the Three Anglers who wrote that
book.

Just where the waters of a pool, or
gentle stream, begin to be sucked down
into the rapids below, there is often a
portion, smooth-surfaced but not very slow-
running, called the "hang," where the
waters seem to pause ere they make their
plunge below ; and here (especially if a
breeze ruffles the surface) some good trout
should be picked up.

44 Wet-Fly Fishing

And now, suppose that you have fished
the "hang," and have waded ashore, and
that before you lies a long stretch of uni-
formly thin water, flowing over gravel and
sand, smooth of surface and gentle of flow,
how would you fish this characterless piece
of water ? Well, for my own part, if there
is a sharp bend here, I take the shortest
possible cut to the next good place, keeping
well away from the bank so as not to drive
the scared trout in front of me, only to
terrify others.

Beginners often spoil a day's fishing by
wasting time over such places. There is
quite as much in this knowledge as in knowing
the right fly ; nay, without this intuition,
good flies will never make you a breaker of
records, on a Scottish, or North of England
water.

Why do I skip such places ? My reasons
are many ! They are so shallow that you
generally scare the trout ere you come near
them. Then the trout generally run small ;
two good reasons, I think. I fear I may
seem to be inconsistent. I have just said
that long reaches of deep and sluggish
water are uncertain, and I say so still,
for it is my experience. When fish take
in them, they often take well, but an

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 45

average day's fishing in such water is, I
think, disappointing.

And now I am declaring my dislike
for long reaches of thin pools, without cover
for the trout or the fisherman ; and I repeat,
that to pass these over is often good policy.

I am not speaking of them in times of
flood, for then I might write somewhat
differently ; but in a clear water of normal
volume, I generally go over these places
at a gallop. And yet, I love to fish good
pools in such a small river, with a nice
wind curling the surface as it meets the
flow of the stream.

A pool of moderate depth, which you can
wade from your own side, with bushes and
high banks on the further side, is another
matter. Again, a pool, deep in the centre,
getting thinner at the further side and flow-
ing over layers of trap rock. What old
fisherman but expects, as I do, the prospect
of some infinitely pretty fly-fishing in such
a pool as that 1 Even when trout are not
rising at the natural fly, in these shallows
close to the edge of the deeps, throw up and
across ; then turn the point of your rod
down stream slightly, ready if you see a
rise, or even if your fly is stopped, for then
it is your own fault if you do not twitch

46 Wet-Fly Fishing

your fly past the barb into a fish. Many
and many a trout have I thus taken.

When an overhanging tree has to be
avoided, with a side cast, how much it
adds to one's pleasure, to hook some good
trout which hitherto has reigned there
unscathed.

In any such pool as that which I have
tried to describe, how should you fish?
Well, broadly, I think, on these lines. You
can try your own side first, and cast across
rapidly; but, when you come to fish the
further side, try to cast up and partly
across. Let your tail fly come as near to
the further bank as is compatible with
safety. In some angling works, you will
be told to allow your fly to land on the
further bank, and then to gently draw it
off, as it will then fall upon the water as
softly as thistle-down.

This is beautiful in theory, but it must
be swallowed with a large grain of the salt
of common sense. If the grass is newly
cut, or cropped short, good ; but to attempt
these tactics where a tangle of long grass
and heather, bramble and bushes twisted
together line the bank, would be folly.
Wherever it is safe to do so, the fly can
hardly be thrown too near the further bank.

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 47

That very practical professional fisher-
man, Adam Dryden, goes too far in his
sweeping condemnation of the pools, when
he says, " Anglers think that a deep pool
is the place in which they are sure to find
trout. This is a mistake; you ought to
fish twenty or thirty yards above or below
the pool, for any fish which may be in it it
is almost impossible to take."

There is a substratum of truth in these
remarks.

We must always sift out the wheat
and reject the chaff, when weighing state-
ments such as these. One would think,
to read the lines I have quoted, that all
Dryden's pools were of a certain well-
defined character — and all practically worth-
less to the fly-fisherman — and that the
waters above and below such pools were
of a more or less uniform character: one
of excellence, of course.

He does not mean anything so sweeping.
Much of the solid truth, in such a small
book, the thinking reader will find between
the lines.

Next, let us consider how to tackle
reaches of moderately deep water, flow-
ing amongst rocks and boulders, and, in
fact, broken water. The wading is often

48 Wet-Fly Fishing

execrable ; but good trout are to be had,
and it is exciting work too. Behind each
boulder, or rock, there is generally a bit
of calm water which must be fished with
care and skill ; also the runs between rocks
must be fished up, casting frequently, and
in the manner already described ; and all
eddies searched thoroughly. But there is
one thing I must repeat : never use a long
line in such places if you can avoid it, else
you will be smashed up now and again,
especially if you hook a large trout, and
he bolts amongst the boulders. I remember
such a place, and (in a high wind) how
often I came to grief. The wind was the
chief cause that day, for its weight ^upon
the rod prevented me from being able to
1 ' feel" or control a large trout; the power
and weight of the wind on my rod, being
the greater of the two forces, by far. To
fish good broken water, makes a pleasant
change on a suitable day, for it is often full
of trout, and if it gets a fair chance at all
will "fish" well. It requires a man to be
active, and is therefore the very place for
the young aspirant, who rather likes hard
work, and does not mind a possible spill,
whilst wading after an obstreperous and
large trout, doing his divilmost to foul the

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 49

line, across some one of the many boulders
which often strew the stream, in such a
piece of broken water as I am thinking of
now, in the wild Cabrach of the Deveron,
Aberdeenshire.

The man who believes in, and sticks
to, his "fine and far off"; when fishing
any rapid Scottish water up stream must
necessarily get his reel-line drowned fre-
quently, and when this happens, he loses
that touch, that direct control, which to
my mind is so all- important ; and with the
result, that, many a good trout which he
ought to basket, goes to add to the num-
bers of the knowing ones, which are hook-
shy from experiences like these. Broken
water, which is shallow, and devoid of these
deep little pits, where the trout can rest, is
useless to the fly-fisher.

A short line enables the man who is
tackling these broken bits of water to cast
frequently, and to be in touch with a rising
trout instantly. The learner may ask, what
sort of man would I back as an all-round
wet-fly fisher on any typical Scottish water ?
What, if I put first, the man who knows
every stone in the river ? All other things
being equal, he has the advantage, surely,
over any stranger to the district. Wet-fly

5O Wet-Fly Fishing

fishermen frequently develop remarkable
intuitive powers, combined with rapid
decision, and he must therefore possess
these two characteristics. Then he must
be an enthusiast, since enthusiasm engen-
ders energy. And, as in the more serious
affairs of life ; there is a close affinity
between the industry and the success of
the angler.

Think of the man who smokes and
dreams away the hours, when he should
be fishing.

To quote an old Yorkshire worthy's
maxim, " The fly that is allus in the water
and never on the bank." It may not be
a very famous fly, but I'll back it against
any number of more orthodox flies, which
are fished less assiduously and persistently.
" It is dogged as does it JJ in most things ;
and without dogged perseverance I cannot
promise any learner success as a wet-fly
fisherman. Moreover, he must learn when
to cast a long line, and when a short one ;
when to let the line " dwell," even for a
short time, and when to repeat his casts
with rapid frequency. He must be in touch
with his flies always, and know exactly
when to strike, and how. He must so
utilize his day as never to be found wasting

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 5 1

its precious hours, fishing unlikely and un-
productive stretches of water, and he must
work hard, whenever the trout are in
a rising mood. He must know intuitively
(but also by study and observation) the
most likely places in which to meet with
success — wind, season, weather, sky, and
condition of water all being considered ; he
should know the best points of a fly, and
all the better, if he can dress his own flies.
He must be able to cast well, and to use,
with confidence, even the finest drawn gut.
Knots of all kinds must be as an open book
to him, else he is, at best, but a helpless
sort of fisherman. It has always staggered
me that there really exist quite " old
hands," who hardly know how to make
up a collar (gut casting-line), or how to
put on a dropper neatly ; and so, all round,
I affirm that a man who takes up wet-fly
fishing seriously (and it is not worth taking
up at all, unless it is taken up thus), should
learn to be independent of others ; that, go
where he may, he will be able to paddle
his own canoe. I preach what I practised
in youth. I could, and I did, tie my own
flies, and I have never seen any flies which
killed better than my own simple flies did.
If my rod broke I could splice it and go

52 Wet- Fly Fishing

on fishing. I used to delight in making
up my own tackle. To repair my own
waders was no great trouble, nor was it
difficult to add fresh tackets (hobnails) to
my wading boots. " Can do is easily carried
about," says an old Scottish proverb, which
proverb I think has a decided application
when considering fully the make-up of a
good wet-fly fisherman.

But there is one thing which the wet-
fly fisher must not be, still less he who
ventures to write upon that most interesting
of subjects. He must not be too clever,
nor too dogmatic, else Humpty Dumpty's
fate threatens him. For myself, when I
look forward to being overhauled by the
critics — I hope that when I am slated it
will be by a man who can wield the rod
quite as well as he does the pen. Now and
then the feeling that comes over me as I
write, takes a humorous turn, such as Baron
Munchausen puts into the mouth of the
Coon he has begun to fire at, with his un-
erring aim.

" Oh, all right ! You needn't fire. I'll
come down ! " said the Coon.

There is one thing which he must most
emphatically be, none the less. He must
be practical; he must take a broad and

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 53

comprehensive view of his situations, and
take it promptly, too, if he would be classed
Al. This seems, perhaps, "tall talk." Let
me explain what I mean : by two examples,
thus —

A. has procured all the best rods, reels,
and tackle procurable, and he can throw a
beautiful line ; and yet, as a wet-fly fisher
on Scottish waters, he is not a success ;
indeed, he is far from that. Why ? The
reasons may be many or few. Indeed,
there may only be one — namely he lacks
"gumption," truly a Scottish phrase — but
oh, the depth of it ! What use to him are
all his fine flies, or his fine casting, if he
simply is "a potterer," and an aimless
potterer forbye who, when he goes out to
fish, has no more grasp of his subject, than
an average Poll-parrot has of the alphabet ?
Such men will stand for half a day, over
one or two small pools, throwing the most
beautifully dressed flies in the most skilful
and approved manner, and feeling (as they
invariably do) that if they cannot and do
not kill trout, the trout cannot be taken
by any one. "Vain, vain pursuit; toil
without 'troot." That is the way how
not to do it. Now, B. has half A.'s para-
phernalia; but he has twice his wits, and

54 Wet- Fly Fishing

three times his gumption ; for B. takes a
comprehensive grasp of any day's fishing
which lies in front of him, and argues it
out thus to himself. " Water just right ;
wind up-stream, also right ! Sky grey and
temperature mild — good ! I must make a
hasket to-day ; and I shall too ! Let me
see. Where shall I fish ? The best places
are good enough for me. Let the others
fish where they like. Then, I know the
best flies. Bother luncheon ! a sandwich
whilst I fish ; no time for more ; and now
I'm engaged till the evening."

Then, in he wades ; his situation grasped
clearly beforehand. Would not I back such
a man to win, even if he did not throw a
very fine line ?

In the fishing of large rivers, this is not
the case, to anything like the same extent.
But I am dealing with " waters;" and if
anything shows the need of dealing with
the fishing of " waters," as entirely separate
from " rivers," surely this brings the matter
home.

At the risk of repetition, there are a few
things which I deem worth placing on record,
before I conclude the subject of " waters."

1. It is better, if you have the choice, to
fish any typical "water" when it is fairly

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 55

full. I hate a muddy river, personally;
but, at times, big things are done when it
is porter-coloured, fining off into claret-
coloured. For my own part, I prefer fishing
an absolutely clear " water " or " river. " In
a prolonged drought (to take the opposite
extreme), trout seldom take the fly well,
from a variety of reasons which it would
take time to enumerate ; the fact remains.

2. My own favourite sky is one too
seldom met with ; one wherein the clouds
are very high, termed by Scottish anglers
" a grey day." In very cold weather (espe-
cially in the early spring) a little genial
sunshine "a blinky day" is often very
advisable ; and sometimes at that early
season a sunny morning, ending by a cloudy
afternoon, proves propitious, for obvious
reasons.

3. Personally, I prefer a wind which
meets the current of the river or " water."

In the first place, especially where the
water flows through any gorge, or narrow
valley, when the wind is blowing directly
down stream, the amount of wind required
to make a really good ripple is often very
considerable ; so considerable indeed, that a
man who uses fine-drawn gut, has hard
work before him, if he wishes to fish

56 Wet- Fly Fishing

up stream all day. And, at times, he is
beaten from fatigue. Now, a comparatively
moderate wind, when blowing up stream,
suffices to make a very pretty ripple on the
surface, a ripple better in every way. First,
there is an absence of the fatigue con-
sequent upon fishing a whole day against
the wind, and, as one can fish with twice
the accuracy, precision, and delicacy, the
results are usually satisfactory to the angler.

4. I have spoken already of wading, and
I repeat that it is well to wade, where
wading is fairly easy and safe ; but, in the
language of Shakespeare, remember this of
wading — "It is well to have a giant's
strength, but it is tyrannous to use it as a
giant. "

I mean this: "waders" give you the
"giant's strength," since a wet-fly fisher-
man, without his waders, is seldom very
successful. Only do not wade "tyranni-
cally." It is a common experience to find
men wading where they ought to be fishing.
And now comes. a suggestion which may
possibly be worth consideration.

If the angler is fisEing open water,
and, if his comrade is likely to fish the
same stretch of river, yea, or even " the
stranger at the gates," soon afterwards; it

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 5 7

is scarcely the thing to go rushing deeply
into the pools, and streams, with wading
trousers on ; scattering the trout in all direc-
tions. Certainly the man who follows hard
upon the heels of such an angler, has not
got much chance. Therefore, unless it is
absolutely necessary to do so, do not unduly
disturb the best parts of any " water," by
wading furiously through them. Think of
the angler, who is almost certain to follow
you, as well as of your own sport.

5. Again, never allow yourself to get into
the timid habit of playing each individual
trout (of any size) as if you had got hold
of a salmon. Even with fine-drawn gut,
after the first few wild bursts, the safest
plan is to play your trout with a firm and
steady pressure. To let the trout have it
all his own way, is too laughable, and no
man can hope ever to make big baskets of
trout, who cannot kill his fish quickly.
Especially is this important when trout are
rising keenly at the natural flies, the time
of the " take," as it is often called.

6. The early spring, as a rule, yields the
best fly-fishing in our Scottish waters. In
some small Scottish rivers, fly-fishing falls
off a little from the 1st to the 15th of May ;
whereas in others (fewer by far) it does not

58 Wet-Fly Fishing

really begin, till about May-day. Much
depends upon the elevation above the sea.
The sources of the river, also have a con-
siderable effect on the earliness or lateness
of any individual trout stream ; for a river
which issues from a chain of lochs, deep
and cold, is bound to be a later stream,
than one which never passes through any
such lochs. The action of the sun upon
the shallows, is bound to raise the mean
temperature of any river, or water ; just as,
once raised in this way, the temperature is
bound to be lowered if, on its way, it has to
flow into and then out of, any long, deep,
and cold Highland loch, in which its waters
are practically lost. For, doubtless, many
of these Highland lochs are partly fed by
deep hidden springs of crystal-clear but
ice-cold water.

Other causes are self-evident, namely,
where, from the height of the mountains
near its source, the snow lies late ; as also
the way in which it remains buried in deep
corries, seldom reached by the sun's rays.
Melting snow always lowers the temperature
of a river, and thus retards the " seasons "
in any trout stream, under its baleful
influence.

Who would think of comparing one of

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 59

our South of Scotland " waters," flowing
through a rich and open agricultural district,
to a Highland stream, such as I have spoken
of already, flowing for many miles amongst
lofty mountains, with a daily minimum of
sunshine, as a direct consequence ?

So much for a few harmless theories as
to the possible causes of the early or late
characteristics of various streams in Scot-
land. I may add that, certain streams which
lie much further north than others, yield
earlier trouting with the fly, so it is not an
uninteresting subject to work out, which I
am in no way attempting to do, herein.

In my first contribution to the pages
of the Fishing Gazette, entitled " North
Country Fly-Fishing," I told how, when
fishing the Isla above Glenisla, Forfarshire,
in the month of May, I once had an experi-
ence, possessing certain features which gave
an added charm — the charm which comes
from getting out of the ordinary beaten
track. The Isla there, is of the size of " a
water," and it was unusually low at the
time.

I had fished a certain "hole" or pool
which was bounded on the farther side by
rocks, into which the stream from above
rushed at a right angle, causing, in flood

60 Wei-Fly Fishing

time, a burrowing-out of the pool, or hole,
and hurling the gravel and sand into a
considerable heap, on my own side. It was
difficult to wade, and unsafe. In fact, it
gave one the idea of wading on the rather
friable edge of a submerged, but narrow
gravel-pit. And I had at last to leave the
water, for the wading got worse as I moved
upwards. When, at length, I stood on the
dry gravel-bed (from which I fancy the
local anglers fished the place) I " put down "
all the trout. This hint set me on my
mettle. Crawling up for a few yards to
the edge of the deep eddy on my own side,
where the gravel-bed went sheer down into
the blue depths of the pool, I sat down
on the gravel itself, allowing my legs to
dangle in the eddy; and then, having
arranged landing net and basket, convenient
to my hand, I waited, Micawber-like, for
something to turn up, keeping perfectly
still the while.

Presently I observed one or two trout
rising near to the part where the stream
rushed against the rocky wall of the oppo-
site side. Now, it happened that the stream
just above the pool was useless, because of
trees and bushes, and also because it was a
thin and quite characterless bit of water for

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 61

the fly-fisher. Gusts of wind from time to
time, however, shook out showers of small
flies from the foliage, and these got rapidly
carried down into this deep but narrow pool.

The trout were always on the look-out,
ever waiting in one or other of the eddies,
and even in the rough water itself, for their
expected manna. I took in the situation
at a glance, and saw that my chance had
come, if I could but use it skilfully. Letting
out a little line, and remembering that I
had trees in dangerous proximity close
behind me, I switched the line right into
the wind's eye. In the neck of the stream
a trout showed, and was promptly hooked.
Gently but firmly I drew that trout towards
my landing net, from which I transferred
him to my basket. There was no fuss ; and
let me remark that if one only keeps still,
and above all, if one avoids standing up,
the shyest trout will recommence rising,
and at no great distance from the fisher-
man ; especially if the angler (as I presume
he does) places himself below his quarry,
and throws up to him.

Yes, I can still recall with the greatest
delight, the hours I spent sitting on that
gravel-bed, with my legs (in wading stock-
ings) pendant in the water. Now and then

62 Wei- Fly Fishing'

a trout would rise in the centre current
itself. At once my flies were thrown
upward, and allowed to sail down for one
or two yards, and the cast was repeated, till
at last my reel sang out its merry music.
In time the trout got disturbed by the noisy
and rude plunges of their brethren, led
captive through their midst. To meet the
situation I crawled yet a little higher up
stream, and again sat down, as before. The
only trout now visibly on the feed, were in
the eddy beyond the centre current, and in
the calm water even beyond that. Here it
was necessary to raise high in air my rod-
hand, so as to keep the reel-line from even
touching the rapid centre current. I
always managed to secure a goodly number
of trout in this way, and no prettier bit of
fishing do I ever remember having, in my
life.

Again, just below this deep pool was a
shallow one, overhung by trees, to reach
which I had to wriggle down on my side as
best I could. Lying flat, I then had to
cast underneath the overhanging boughs.
So few locals ventured to fish this place,
that I managed always to secure some good
trout. When, at length, I saw that this
thin water was not going to yield me any

The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 63

more sport on that day, I stood up, and oh,
what a commotion I caused.

In 1886 I wrote an essay which was
printed in the Fishing Gazette, and entitled
"Fishing for Trout with the Wet Fly."
I quote from the lines with which I con-
cluded. (t The fishing of small tributary
streams ({ waters ' ) with the wet fly, em-
braces all the best principles of fishing up
stream. "

" Never fish down, is my rule, on any
small ' water/ if the wind permits you to
fish up ; which it does not always do.
Keep out of sight, by wading below the
fish, by taking advantage of bushes, etc.,
by going on your knees, and so forth ; and
fish up, fish up, casting incessantly, using
such a rod as you can easily manage."

Previously I have remarked on the folly
of allowing a good trout of 1 Ib. or even
of 1J Ib. to run as long as you would a
salmon. The learner must not mistake my
meaning ; he must allow a trout his first or
second wild bursts, when he should be "in
hand." Then a steady strain on the rod
will prevent his breathing easily, and you
will soon find him giving in — when the
landing-net should be slipped under him,
without delay.

64 Wet-Fly Fishing

One sees anglers who never seem to
collar a good trout lest it might escape.

This becomes a disastrous hahit, since
one may lose the best part of the day,
playing a few decent-sized trout.

What if a trout does get off? When
trout are rising freely, you should soon be
on terms with another. Learn to make
hay while it is sunny ; don't dawdle — and
" collar " the trout bpldly.

When trout are not "rising," then,
and then only, can I sympathize with the
angler who plays an extra good-sized trout
with unusual caution, since time is of little
relative value, when trout are not really on
the rise. Let me hurl the words of the
Poet at the over-cautious, or timid, trout
fisherman.

<{ He either fears his fate too much

Or his deserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch
To win or lose it all."

I have not spoken of flies, and I shall
only say here that, for all practical purposes,
wingless flies, called " spiders " in Scotland,
and hackled flies in England, are the most
suitable for the fishing of " waters." When
I come to the subject of " flies," I shall
then enumerate a few general favourites of
my own, and of others.

CHAPTER IV.

THE FISHING OF KIVEBS WITH THE WET FLY.

THIS is something like a subject, nor can
it ever be a dry one. Had I fished but
one or two rivers, I fancy that I could have
entered on the topic with a lighter heart,
and a clearer mind. As it is, I seem to
have had such varied experiences (in the
various rivers I have fished), that I find
it somewhat puzzling how to condense into
one chapter all my thoughts and opinions.

At best, I am only giving my opinion,
however strongly I may choose to express
it. My neighbour may think differently,
and, he has a perfect right to do so. It is
quite surprising how, in life, apparently
diverse methods, bring about very similar
results.

And it is even so in the filling of the
angler's creel.

Perhaps each man does not make an
equally heavy basket; but the little

F

66 Wet- Fly Fishing

differences which often take pages of
printed matter to ventilate, go for very
little indeed, in actual practice.

Hard work, intelligent interest, enthu-
siasm, observation, manual and digital
dexterity, solid common-sense — not least,
though last named — these are the things
which make the successful fly-fisherman.

As I have written pretty fully of the
methods recommended for the proper fishing
of Scottish tributary streams, i.e. " waters/'
I hope I may be forgiven if I, at times,
seem to repeat myself; for, of course, a
"river" being only a big edition of a
"water" (sometimes its own former self,
when young and half -grown), it is im-
possible to get away from the fact that
in many points our methods possess a
similarity.

In some important details, however,
there is a marked dissimilarity between the
methods employed by the wet-fly fisher-
man, when fishing " waters " and " rivers " ;
so, having endeavoured to enumerate my
methods in the one, I shall now do my
best to describe my own method as a wet-
fly fisherman, in the other class — parent-
rivers, in fact.

I think I may say, that the larger the

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 67

river (provided it is fished while the angler
wades), the wider is the difference.

As in waters, so in rivers. They are not
all alike, even the upper reaches of a river
are often most unlike the lower reaches.
In some of the rivers which I have fished,
I have noticed a sudden and sharp line of
demarcation, between the character of one
or two miles of water above a given point,
and the waters immediately below. I
remember, though it is an age since I saw
it, that the river Dochart in Perthshire, at
one part of its course, suddenly ceases to
run in alternate stream and pool, and flows
sluggishly for some distance. In the same
county, the Tummel, at part of its course,
suddenly changes its character entirely.
Both of these rivers in time resume the
rapid character of normal Highland rivers.

The Isla, just below Meigle, gives one
the idea of a sluggish river, whereas just
below and above Glenisla, it is a typical
Scottish " water " in character. Is it to
be supposed that the methods which are the
rule on a rapid river are equally correct on
a sluggish one, or even on a mile or two of
sluggish water, running narrow and deep
between high clay banks, where wading is
seldom possible ? I say no !

68 Wei-Fly Fishing

I used to fish, and fish with success, two
miles of the river Tummel ; but had I been
compelled by circumstances to fish the mile
or two immediately below the boundary,
would I have done equally well? Would
I have had, as I had for many years, the
highest average on that well-fished stretch
of river ?

With a conviction that I am simply
stating a plain fact in plain English, I
declare that I should have been nowhere.
I had one or two days on that lower water
and I saw so few trout rising, and I did so
little execution, that I avoided it ever after-
wards, even when I had permission offered
me. And yet it was not one-tenth so much
fished as the water above.

It is such problems that trouble me, when
writing a book, for are they not parts of the
same river? They, nevertheless, must be
attacked by methods which are in many
essential features, widely different. I re-
member some parts of the Coquet, which
likewise ran sluggishly between high banks,
whilst an adjoining stretch was very dif-
ferent. It is, indeed, true of many " waters "
and " rivers. " And my decided opinion is,
that, whenever the angler finds a river of
moderate dimensions — and yet too large to

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 69

be classed as a " water " — suddenly altering
its character and beginning to flow (no
longer in alternate pool and stream and in
alternate deep and shallow, but narrow,
deep, and sluggish, with overhanging clay
banks, burrowed out by the winter's floods),
there will the wet-fly fisherman find that he
has got to exercise the virtue of patience ;
for such stretches are as uncertain as an
April day. Whereas, in a typical Scottish
river, when trout are not rising in the deep
places, we can always fish the shallower
portions, and with sometimes very con-
siderable results too.

Being a wet-fly fisherman, I therefore
plump for a river such as these I have
generally succeeded best in — the Tweed,
Teviot, Tummel, Deveron, Cumberland
Eden, and several others. In all the three
last mentioned I have had excellent sport.
The free waters of the Tweed and Teviot
of late years have been so over-fished, that
I have generally gone further a-field for my
annual fishing trip (from Brighton).

Of course I have fished other rivers — for
one, the Kibble, near Chatburn, with my
late brother ; but so long ago now, that I
remember very little of it. I have fished
the Don — the last time in 1864 — the Tay

70 Wet-Fly Fishing

from Aberfeldy, the Ness at Inverness, and
last and not least, the Navar, that noted
salmon river, where the only good trout
fishing with the wet fly, seems to be just
above "No. 1," near to the loch out of
which it flows. Sometimes very pretty
sport indeed, is to be had there. Lastly, I
have fished the Wutach from Bad Boll, but
I was only recovering from an illness, and
thus was not able to endure much fatigue
during my ten days' stay there. How-
ever, I saw sufficient to know that there
was an abundance of good water and any
amount of trout, and I had some excellent
sport. I wish I had exploited the lower
reaches, as I have since heard of sport
which simply made my mouth water, both
as regards the average size of trout taken
and their numbers. I can vouch for it that
my information is from a reliable source.
As the volume of a stream largely influences
the methods of the wet-fly fisherman, so
that the subject of fishing " waters " needs
a separate chapter as distinct from parent
rivers, the same unwritten law manifestly
influences the fisherman when dealing with
rivers proper, according as they are under
the influence — I had nearly written the
spell — of flood or of drought.

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 71

To illustrate my meaning.

During a low state of the water, a skilful
and experienced angler visits, say the Tweed,
for the first time, at any point between
Melrose and Mertoun.

He spends three weeks fishing daily, and,
his holiday over, he returns home, with
an absolute brain-photograph of every pool
and stream, in the three miles of water he
had fished.

He returns, another year. On this
occasion, however, the river has just been
in flood, and, though all but clear, is
brim full. Where are all the pretty little
places which he remembered so well?
where the gentle flow of some pool or
stream, which, with wisdom and skill, he
used to fish up, whilst easily wading upward
against the gentle current ? Where all the
pretty little eddies? — the little broken runs?
the long, pleasant, and wadable flats ?
Has the flood swept them all away, or
changed their character so ? He will not
believe it. He mil wade his pet flats
upward, anyhow, and fish up as he wades.

So he thinks ; but he is mistaken. The
toil alone would prove too great ; nor would
it pay him. He must fish the river as
he finds it, and his methods must change

72 Wet-Fly Fishing'

to meet the altered conditions of pool,
stream, and eddy. If he wants to know
how completely changed a river like the
Tweed at the points indicated can be, just
let him, for instance, try to cross the ford
at Dryburgh, which he waded at the same
time last year, with comparative ease. But
— let him have his life insured first, for the
chances are that he will find himself swept
off his feet, and sent rolling down " The
Boat-hole " into the " Hare Craig pool."

In treating my last subject, " The Fish-
ing of c Waters ' with the Wet Fly," I re-
marked that I wrote for the learner; that
I did not, in fact, presume to teach the
expert. But, let it be clearly understood
that I meant the word " learner," in a
kindly, brotherly, and comprehensive sense.
All good fellow-fishermen should belong to
that brotherhood ; and, as a matter of
fact, they do, in all things pertaining to
angling; and the position of an angling
author is neither more nor less than this :
he gives his ideas and his experiences
publicity, in the hope that he may possibly
render a service to any one who is not above
taking a leaf out of his book. I hold that
all true anglers are essentially learners,
to a greater or less extent. The "learner"

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 73

thus includes all eager to benefit, in how-
ever small a degree, by the experience and
observation of others. Never was any one
more ready to take a " tip " from a good
practical fisherman than the present writer.

Since there must be and is a difference
in one's respective methods, when fishing
any average Scottish river when full, and
when somewhat low, in what things does
the difference consist ?

I prefer to start by assuming that
the river of our imagination is somewhat
low. Now, why do I use this qualifying
word " somewhat," and not simply say, is
low ? For this reason : When a river such
as the Tweed, Teviot, Don, Deveron, and
so on, is dead low, as during a long drought,
a very great and sad change takes place.
The streams get choked by vegetable
growths, and the stones covered by green
slime. Any pollution is intensified, and
when you are wading (the last time I fished
the Teviot this was the case) large masses of
submerged abomination get detached from
the bottom, and rise to the surface, a spec-
tacle to howl at. Trout, I fancy, must
sicken; anyhow, between sickening, and
bottom-feeding on the creeper, caddis,
fresh-water shrimp, etc., fly-fishing is

74 Wet-Fly Fishing

seldom good then. As a matter of fact,
practical wet-fly anglers, knowing this fact,
generally forsake the artificial fly for other
lures. And that is why I say a " somewhat "
low state of river, where legitimate fly-fish-
ing is still to be had, and where it is, to
the wise and prudent, at its best, as regards
the real charm of fishing with the wet fly.

How, then, should one proceed ?

If it is very early in the season, and the
weather bitterly cold, till the natural fly is
seen, you will probably be wise to fish
somewhat below the surface.

I do not think I can possibly explain
matters better than I did in an essay
published (on May 5, 1894) by the Fishing
Gazette, entitled " The Delights of the
Deveron." I shall merely take some
extracts from it, such as the following : —

" The morning is cold, and the surface
is as yet unbroken by the rise of a trout.
I enter the water at once, and begin sink-
ing and very slightly ' working ' the fly.
I do nothing at first. Presently I get ' a
pull,' and my reel sings out its welcome
music." This is repeated time after time.
" Suddenly, however, a few little fairy-
forms appear on the surface. At first they
are hardly heeded, so I continue sinking my

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 75

fly, and killing a trout every now and again.
The apathy of the trout, however, soon
gives place to energy, and on all sides the
fish keep on making ' head and tail rises '
whilst sucking down the flies.

" They no longer lie in mid-water, but
quite close to the surface ; so, shortening
line, and wading well in, I begin to make
short, quick casts over each rising fish,
within reach, and for a time my hands are
full. Trout keep tumbling, tumbling into
the basket, in rapid succession. I seldom
wade ashore; for, thanks to my method
of carrying and using the landing-net mid-
stream, such a waste of time is seldom
necessary. Now is the time to prove what
the angler is made of. Some men take ten
minutes to kill a pound trout, and wade
ashore for each one of even half a pound.

"It is rank folly.

"The great aim should be to kill and
basket as many trout during these golden
moments as is possible. Timidity is folly
here."

I skip a long passage, and take up the
thread of my discourse again thus —

" The rise is all but over. The trout,
which have filled their mouths with flies,
go down to pouch them. They do not waste

76 Wet-Fly Fishing

time to swallow each tiny atom, but simply
keep filling the mouth as fast as possible,
swallowing dozens — nay, hundreds — at a
gulp. Some of the flies coming down from
above have got submerged. If skilfully and
delicately fished, a sunk fly will still do
execution."

It is an April scene which I have been
describing. And now for May.

Let us suppose the date to be the 15th.
And now for the rest of that "paper"
which is of immediate interest to us.

" There is a still pool; shallow on our
side, but deepening near the further bank,
where some fine old trees overhang the
water. The river is low, and the day
cloudy ; a nice light wind is just rippling
the surface, as it meets the placid current,
in its passage up stream. We mount
a f double ' midge fly, size of hooks 00,
' GreenwelTs Glory/ as the point or tail fly,
and for the next, a chaffinch or starling
wing, with a light red or coch-y-bonddhu
hackle, for ( dropper,1 placing the two flies
6 feet apart. When a river is ' dead fine/
I always think that two flies are ample,
kept well apart ; the size of dropper, No. 1
of Hutchinson's Kendal scale. Wading is
now a matter of importance, since a clumsy

EIVEIl FISHING.
A few casts iu the early morning.

[To face page 76,

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 77

fellow, splashing about, will put down any
rising trout. "

In a " fine," i.e. low, state of river wading
must be gone about very circumspectly,
especially when fishing pools and thin flats,
when the wind is light. I desire to direct
attention to what immediately follows. It
is no imaginary story, but a reminiscence
of one or two delightful days on the Deveron.
I do not necessarily rush into the water
up to the thigh, when I start fishing a thin
flat like this, in low water.

I begin by throwing upwards to the
shallow portion on my own side of the
" flat," just wetting my feet, and no more,
and then, I gradually switch my flies
round (short, quick casts) till I have
fished half-way across. Gliding quietly
in, and allowing no tell-tale wave to
go in front of me as I wade, I begin
fishing from the middle of the flat; first,
directly upwards, and then with that regu-
larity and precision which only comes from
long practice, my flies search the water,
until at length I am casting close to the
opposite bank. Slowly retracing my steps,
and moving a few yards further up, I repeat
this process, and in this way, very little
water worth fishing, escapes my attention.

78 Wet-Fly Fishing

At other times, I begin at the deep side,
working to the shallow on my own side.
Without wishing to place too much stress
on a purely mechanical plan, I cannot help
feeling that it is necessary to give expression
to some governing principles connected with
the art of fishing thoroughly a pool or a
stream in any (Northern) ordinary river,
when it is of such volume as to make
wading up stream advisable, and fairly easy
of accomplishment.

Very large rivers must be propor-
tionately low, especially those which have
a rapid fall. A river whose fall is
gradual, and whose current is gentle,
will naturally permit of up-stream wading
sooner than the former class of river. I
hesitate to use so simple and homely an
illustration, but I have none better in my
mind. Take, then, the rough plan which
I now suggest, from the homely illustration
of a wheel with its radiating spokes, before
the tire is on. Divide this diagram in the
centre. Let the axle, or a little below it,
indicate the angler's own position, and the
spokes the direction and rough plan of, his
upward casts ; and, surely, the illustration
will be easily grasped by any young fly-
fisherman.

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 79

Once the general principle of a thing
is made thoroughly clear, details fall into
their places of themselves. Let me
follow up my illustration and show its
application. Suppose the angler has dis-
covered a pool or stream which he can fish
from the middle, casting on either side of
him, as well as in front. It is, of course,
only a kind of " general idea,'1 which
must be continually subject to altera-
tions, since no large Scottish river runs
with a uniformly even flow, and the wind,
if it "lift up its voice," compels atten-
tion. May I now suggest to those who
believe in the "fine and far-off" theory a
few reflections which may prove interesting,
perchance also, instructive. It cannot be
too well impressed on the angler's mind
that, as trout lie with their heads up stream,
the aim of the angler should be to get below
them, and to cast his line upwards. If,
moreover, trout are lying close to the surface,
as they do during " the time of the take,"
surely the first moments of each cast are
the most valuable. Grant this ; then
frequent casting is advisable when " a
birth" of the natural fly is strongly in
evidence. Kindly attend to my argument,
as I point out the well-known fact, that the

8o Wet-Fly Fishing

distance between two straight but not
parallel, and, therefore, divergent lines,
having a common starting-point, increases
by extension. How about the fine and
far-off theory when viewed in this light?
Bach cast takes longer to make, and it
sinks more. It is not so easily or deftly
picked off the water, nor can it possibly be
so rapidly returned. These points are surely
incontrovertible. Therefore, I hold that,
when fishing up stream, while wading, the
shorter the line, the truer is the fishing. For
not only are the casts made more rapidly,
but the angler hooks a rising trout with far
greater precision than ie can possibly do,
with a long line, cast up stream.

Now for my last point, and I think it
a most important one. The longer the line
thrown, the wider is the space left between
each cast on the plan laid down, and thus,
it follows that, in order to cover or search
a pool with any degree of thoroughness,
the angler who fishes with a long line must
perforce make more casts than he who uses
a comparatively short line. This consumes
valuable time. Therefore, practice rapid
casting with a comparatively short line, rather
than long (uselessly long) casts, when
wading and fishing up stream. But, it may

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 81

be urged, it is comparatively seldom that
one can command a pool from the centre
with good water on both sides. Still, the
same fundamental principles should govern
the angler who wades up the shallow side
of pool (or stream) and fishes from the
deeper side. Let him begin by casting
directly across, working steadily round, till
he finishes by casting straight up stream,
and then move up a yard or so and begin
afresh.

I have just remarked that you will not
find many pools which you can readily com-
mand from the centre. They may be there,
but have not yet been discovered.

I (in common with every one else) had,
for several years, walked regularly past such
a place on the Tummel, the bushes interfer-
ing with fly-fishing, and deep water making
it quite impossible to wade in front of them.
One day, when I was wearing my long
wading trousers, and the river was some-
what low, I had been fishing up the stream
which flowed out of the aforesaid pool.
Something tempted me, for the first time,
to make an inroad into the pool, from below.
Judge of my surprise when I found that I
could wade (somewhat deep it is true) up
the very centre.

a

82 Wet-Fly Fishing

From the centre I soon found out, how-
ever, that I could not wade ashore to either
bank. When I had satisfied myself on this
point, I realized that my luck had come at
last.

I can throw as clean a line against, as
with, an ordinary breeze ; and so, with
fairly deep water (but little disturbed) on
both sides of me, all I had to do, was to
begin wading the stream slowly upwards,
and then the pool— a pool which I afterwards
frequently harried to my heart's content.

May I now be permitted to draw a
significant picture from life, and an exceed-
ingly common picture, in Scotland, it is,
and one which has given rise to many
ridiculous strictures on wet-fly fishing by
some experts of the dry fly, who have only
paid " a flying visit " to the North.

The curtain rises on a local fisherman,
and the chances are, that he wields a heavy,
clumsy, two-handed rod; and also uses
whole-gut, and not too fine gut at that.

He starts at the top of the stretch of
water he means to fish, and he fishes it down.
He would laugh, were he told that he had
no more idea of watercraft, and of the many
interesting problems which present them-
selves to the true wet-fly angler, than had

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 83

his great-grandfather when he fished with a
casting line of several links of hand-twisted
horsehair, with large, roughly-dressed flies
attached to the same substantial and
clumsy substitute for gut — three, four, or
even five horsehairs, twisted together, to
each fly.

A step at each cast; pool and stream
fished as nearly alike as may be ; and, above
all things ridiculous and unthinking, the
same methodical casting and swirling round
of the line, in a semi-circle, when the trout
are rising freely at the natural fly; as he
had adopted when there was no sign of
" a rise," say, half an hour before.

This is the " how-not-to-do-it " system
of wet-fly fishing, and there is not one ounce
of brains to a ton of practice, in the whole
wretched, uninteresting, unsportsmanlike
business.

I trust I shall be able to show, ere I
have finished, that we who are rather more
advanced in our methods, and are ardent
wet-fly enthusiasts, have " a method in our
madness/' seldom revealed, save to the
man who works out his own problems, with
patience and untiring energy : and who is
never dismayed by non-success, nor unduly
elated, when it is his turn to be lucky.

84 Wei-Fly Fishing

I have said that all rivers are not alike.
I know one fine river, for instance, issuing
from a loch ; the loch itself largely fed by
springs, and therefore of a low temperature.
How can that river be compared with one
which from its source flows placidly, over
occasional sandy and gravelly shallows,
readily warmed by the sun's rays ?

Again, how can barren land, sparse of
all insect life, yield the same quality, or
size of trout, which are to be found in
rivers passing through rich land, deep and
sluggish, full of weeds, and teeming, lite-
rally teeming, with insect life ? All these
problems, he who fishes many rivers, will
try to solve, if he be anything of an angler.
And here, I voluntarily admit that, especi-
ally when I was a young and inexperienced
river fisherman, I have often fished "down."
The temptation, especially when a high
wind is blowing straight down the stream,
is enormous ; and there are times when, the
river being a rapid one, and the wind fierce,
one is driven to down-stream fishing by
sheer necessity.

Even as an old hand, there have been
occasions when I have had to cast down
stream to save the situation ; but then, when
I am driven to do this, I know now how to

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 85

make the best of a bad business. I know how
to prevent my line trailing helplessly and
hurriedly across to my own side in a kind
of semi-circular curve or swirl. Then, why
do I not explain my method ? My answer
is easily given. "Would you have a lecturer
dwell upon his own bygone slips and
stumbles, in order to teach others how to
walk? I trow not. The more a learner
fishes up and the less he fishes down the
better fisherman in the long run is he likely
to make. I avoid unduly dwelling upon
(far less teaching) down-stream fishing,
which a weary and tired young hand drifts
into only too easily, without any teaching
of mine; especially under circumstances
such as I have mentioned. I desire to
preach the doctrine of " good form" in
river fishing, i.e. up-stream fishing, or up
and across, at most; not down stream
fishing.

Since I began (more than half a century
ago) remember that great strides have been
made, and that what was then excusable in
a young angler, would be nothing short of
very regrettable " form " in any intelligent
young fellow, starting to-day. He must be
abreast of the times, else he will be an old-
fashioned fisherman at the outset, and

86 Wet-Fly Fishing

simply nowhere in thirty years' time. What
says the pithy proverb ? " As the twig is
bent, so is the tree inclined."

If the beginner wants to get into really
" good form," he must not begin by tamper-
ing with " bad form." The way to undo
all genuine progress as an up-stream wet-fly
fisherman is to take it easy : to turn your
back to the source, to fish down, and to
let your line trail idiotically through the
water somehow. Much of this kind of thing
soon forms a habit, a lazy habit, which must
be avoided at the outset, like poison. I trust
to be able to show that we wet-fly fishermen,
have methods of our own, of the deepest
possible interest ; methods, however, which
are seldom revealed, save to the earnest
enthusiast, who loves to work out his own
problems.

The rod most suited to any particular
fisherman is largely a matter of taste.
Some men prefer a two-handed trout rod
for a large river. I have a very excellent
rod of fourteen feet, and I seldom use it.
So much for taste. But, it is not what I
have done, or do, for I may be often wrong,
and doubtless am often mistaken ; but,
when I see how invariably the best fly-
fishermen take to a rod which they can use

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 87

easily with one hand, I am strengthened in
my faith in such rods.

As for its length, that is a matter of
wrist power and daily use ; but 10£ to 11£
feet is a useful length for the fly rod on a
large river. A great deal of excellent work
can be done with one of 10£ or 11 feet,
as I can testify, provided that the rod be
powerful enough to lift a long line " clean "
off the water, without which the rod has
no real backbone. People do not suffi-
ciently realize that lifting the line " clane
an' cliver " off the water is the first great
essential to any well - delivered cast. If
the line at the lifting gets " drowned," the
forward throw will prove a failure.

It is here that so many cheap, ready-
made shop rods fail utterly ; they are mere
toys, unless they possess power. And I
hold that the perfection of a rod reads,
Backbone plus delicacy, and that delicacy is
a delusion minus " backbone."

I have already spoken of rods, and I
will say no more save that, even on a large
river, I never throw a very long line, if, by
wading fairly deep, I can attain my object.
But it is well to be able to do so, since he
who can throw an extra long line will
occasionally get his fly over trout which

88 Wet-Fly Fishing

are never even disturbed by the average
fly-fisherman. This is, perhaps, a remote
possibility; and I hold that the practical,
hard-headed fisherman will do all his best
work with a moderate length of line.

How, then, should a man fish a river ?
4 'With brains, sir!" I would answer, in
the words of the author of "Horae Sub-
secivsa" (Dr. John Brown). Muddy and
flooded rivers I abominate ! When the
river gets clear, or is even the colour of
port wine, I am ready to begin. I prefer
it to be absolutely clear and colourless.

In a full, clear river, especially in the
early spring, one can afford to let the fly
dwell longer than would be consistent with
good form later on in the season.

Even thus early — as soon as the flies
appear on the surface — the moment, in
fact, that the " rise " commences, rapid and
light casting, and fishing as near to the
surface as is possible, must be the angler's
aim.

There are those who fish like a mere
machine : who use a long line and sink
their flies at all times and seasons. Their
casting-lines, with the flies attached thereto,
must frequently pass underneath the trout
which they are endeavouring to secure,

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 89

during the time of the take. Can anything
be more absurd ?

This brings me to a subject of very
great interest indeed : a subject, all the
same, which I approach with considerable
misgiving. I mean fishing, not only with
a wet fly, but with a fly that is purposely
allowed to sink, the " drowned " or " sunk "

fly.

The beginner — yea, even he who is
more than a beginner — may naturally ask
such questions as these.

Under what circumstances is it wise to
sink the fly? What seasons, conditions of
wind, water, and so forth ? To which
questions I can only say that when I my-
self go forth of a morning, I cannot tell
how I shall fish on that particular day.
Nature is largely my guide, and the trout
my best teachers.

Much depends upon how the day turns
out — if it be windy or calm, sunny or dull,
warm or cold ; whether the trout rise freely
at! the natural insect, or hardly rise at all.
And last, whether the wind strikes the
water from below upwards, or from above
downwards : a circumstance which affects
the manner of my own fly-fishing materi-
ally. Of course, though I cannot lay down

go Wet- Fly Fishing

any fixed rules (for I know of none myself),
I am ready to indicate broadly the lines
upon which I sink the fly purposely. I
must again illustrate this subject by one
or two word pictures, after which, I think,
my meaning will be tolerably clear to most
readers.

Sketch No. 1.

I have started for a day's fishing on
the Tweed, Teviot, Don, Deveron, Isla, or
Cumberland Eden; say, in the middle of
April. For the past few days, the weather
has been quite genial; wind south-west;
flies have been not only in evidence but
in abundance. I have fished successfully
with the ordinary wet fly, but have never
really gone in for the sunk fly, save, per-
haps, late in the afternoon, when the air
got chilly and trout had ceased to lie near
the surface. This morning I find the wind is
from the north or east, and there is not even
a blink of sunshine to warm the atmosphere.
It is bitterly cold ! " Why fish ? " says
some one. Well, because I have some-
times made my heaviest baskets in weather
so cold that I could hardly fish without re-
peatedly warming my hands, in the manner
common to cabmen when standing on the
rank in frosty weather.

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 91

I go over the same ground as I did the
day before, and I do nothing worth speak-
ing of, while fishing in the orthodox way.
The river I am thinking of at present, is
a portion of the Deveron very well known
to me, where an up-stream wind, by reason
of twists and turns, strikes this part of the
river from above downwards. I feel that
if I fish all day where I am, the chances
are that I shall return home with a light
basket. Many a good angler is baffled on
such a day. He may throw a perfect line,
he may fish up stream, he may know the
river and the right flies to use, and yet
may be hopelessly beaten by the man who
fishes no better than he does himself, but
who thinks out his problems carefully;
which is essential to success when wet-fly
fishing, under difficulties.

I walk rapidly across the meadows,
passing a good deal of fine water on my
way. " What on earth is the man about ? "
I hear some angler say. " He is leaving
me all the best of the fishing ; but let him
go, by all means ! "

Arriving, I find, to my joy, that the wind
is striking the water from below upwards.
It is just what I expected. There is but
little stream here. It is a longish pool,

92 Wei- Fly Fishing

with sufficient "glide," however, to form
on the surface a series of little waves as it
meets the up-stream wind. The pool is
shallow on my own side, with excellent
wading (gravel and sand). I do not always
begin at the bottom to wade up. Some-
times I do, but not to-day. Why ? Because
the wind is blowing in gusts, pretty strongly
too, and every time I lift my rod up, the
line is apt to be blown clean out of the
water, with a flare sufficient to frighten
every fish in the pool. I, therefore, do not
raise my rod hand, as in ordinary fly-fishing.
I walk quietly up to the middle of the pool,
and wade in, very gently indeed. Here the
wind strikes the water with less violence,
and I shall fish it up or down, according as
I find it fish best and easiest. In such a
day I have no rigid rules. The wind is
blowing somewhat across as well as up,
towards the bushes which fringe the deeper
and further shore, where the waves are
largest. My eyes search the water for
some sign of " a rise," and at last I see a
" splash" on the crest of a wavelet, and
then another. There is a small "birth"
of flies probably, and the stragglers are
taken as " drowned " flies over there at the
further side. I am full of hope ; for, even

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 93

if the trout had not been rising, I still
meant to kill a good creelful here with such
a suitable wind for the sunk fly. The
evidence that some trout are really looking
out, naturally adds to my expectations very
considerably. I do not cast in the ordinary
manner. With a rapid switch, my line flies
upwards and across. Why? Should the
fisherman raise his rod vertically, the wind
will only belly out his line, and thus drag
it out of the water in no time.

A fly drawn across a river in the opposite
direction to the then prevailing wind, is
being very badly fished.

As a rule, a wet fly kills best when it
is allowed to float down stream, just as a
natural fly does.

Now, a "drowned" fly must necessarily
follow the current, and therefore the thing
to aim at is to allow the artificial fly, when
sunk, to take a similar course — i.e. the
course of the stream. At first blush, the
method which I employ at such a time,
seems to be unscientific, and a direct con-
tradiction to my own precepts. In reality
it is nothing of the kind.

When I have thrown my fly across and
up, I then turn the point of the rod down
stream, holding it quite near to, and parallel

94 Wet- Fly Fishing

with, the surface of the water, as thus held,
the wind has little or no opportunity of
tearing the line violently out of the water.

At first I do not give any motion, how-
ever small, to my flies. Presently, how-
ever, I impart a little life to them, still
holding the rod low and the point down
stream. To hold the rod, at present, up
stream, would be folly. The line being cast
in a slanting direction above the angler, and
then allowed to sink three to five inches,
the only hope of keeping in constant touch
with one's flies is to hold one's rod well
down stream. I now give, as it were, a
pull, and then allow the line to become
perfectly slack. If I did not pull upon it
occasionally, it would sink too much.

The while I am pulling I generally do
nothing. I will be understood when I add
that, as I slack off and allow the flies to
follow the current, then indeed am I all
alive. My eye is on the line as well as on
the flies. When I see my line suddenly get
tauty my hand responds simultaneously.
The main object, of course, is to get on
terms with the trout as quickly as possible,
so as to avoid any direct pull of the fish
upon the butt of the rod. This is very apt
to occur in this style of fishing, because, of

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 95

course, of the rod being held so low ; but,
unless the rod be held quite close to, and
parallel with, the water, this deadly form of
fly-fishing cannot be practised with success.
To me it is most enjoyable sport, but it
has its difficulties, one of which is self-evident
(especially if this method is used in a strong
current), for, when a large trout takes the
fly, you have scarcely got time to elevate
the point of your rod ; and if, when rod,
line, and gut collar all point in the same
direction, a large fish goes off with a rush,
every effort must be made to give him his
head till the point of the rod is raised.
Consequently a stiff or a crowded reel is
worse than useless for this style of fly-fish-
ing. It should pay out as fast and as
smoothly as it is possible for it to do.

Many hundreds of times have I been
compelled to use my left hand to throw the
reel-line out, and right freely too, in order
to gain time to play the trout, not from the
butt, but from the middle and top joints of
the rod.

At times, when trout run large, I have
had most exciting sport, but have frequently
run and lost two trout (sometimes three)
for every one I have creeled; from this
cause. If once I got my rod into position,

96 Wet-Fly Fishing

I was pretty sure of killing that trout. I
remember fishing the Tweed below Mertoun
Bridge on one occasion, the wind being
up stream. A Scottish parson (who could
fish), when he saw me at work, waded in
within a yard or two of me and tried to
snatch the sport from under my very nose.
At last he grew angry, and in an injured
tone asked me what fly I was killing with.
I waded ashore, showed him my own 'flies,
and even gave him some out of the very
same lot ; but, as he was so unsportsmanlike,
"I did not ,tell him the real secret of my
success. I was holding the rod's point
down stream, and quite close to the surface,
gently " working" the flies in the manner
described, and just under the waves. Had
I killed half of the trout I hooked that day,
I should have had a record basket. I did
well as it was. Even when no trout are
seen rising, I should be quite certain to try
any fine sheet of fairly smooth water if not
too deep, with a good rattling up-stream
breeze meeting the current of the river in
this way, for I can soon tell, with my
experience, if it is no use. Indeed, it is
only by the exercise of our ingenuity, that
we wet-fly fishermen can at times, make a
good basket, even in a river which is full

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 97

of trout. At other times one loses but few
trout fishing in this way. This generally
means that the wind is a moderate, but of
course an up-stream one, and the current
itself gentle ; for we have then a tolerably
fair chance of getting the rod's point raised
in time, and thus save each trout at the
first wild burst, which is not so easy to do
as it is to write about.

I recall an incident which I men-
tioned in one of my papers in the Fishing
Gazette ? I was fishing the Deveron. The
keeper was with me all day (the only day
he ever was ; as his other duties tied him
down too closely to permit of such a thing,
save on the very rarest occasion). The
river was low, very low ; and the part of the
water I was fishing (for the first time) above
Turriff, was a good deal thrashed.

I had done less than usual, when we
arrived at a spot where the waters rushed
down from the pool above, in a kind of
narrow, deep throat, thus causing an eddy
on either side, and gradually forming a nice
streamy pool. In no time, the water was
almost carpeted with a late hatch of March
Browns. The trout kept rising all over the
place, in their usual mad manner, when the
March Brown is in abundance. Of course

98 Wet- Fly Fishing

I did little or nothing, while the trout had
such a large choice of natural flies. No
one ever does, during any such glut, or
surfeit, as this.

I then began ta cudgel my brains ; and
my expedient was wholly original, so far as
I was concerned. I saw that I was going
to be badly beaten, and would return home
with a miserable show of trout, unless I
could hit upon some novel means of turn-
ing defeat into victory. Was I capable of
doing so ?

At last, I decided to leave the trout to
rise as they liked, and went down the river.
Here the stream flowed gradually into the
pool, with just a nice little breeze, rippling
the surface. Off went my ordinary flies,
and on went a small double-hooked midge,
for the end fly, GreenwelTs Glory, size 00,
and a single fly, No. 1, for the dropper.
Then a trout broke the surface ; and he at
once took my double midge fly. In the end,
I had 12 Ibs. of trout. The keeper stood
by, watching me all the time, and expressed
his surprise at the double midge fly, killing
so well. Also, at my unusual tactics, in
leaving so many rising trout, to go where
almost none were to be seen feeding.

Now, the problem worked out thus, in

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 99

my mind. I argued, that the trout had by
far too great a choice of flies at the top of
the stream, even to look at any imitation of
mine. At the neck, or throat, the wind
first struck a miniature earth - cliff, or
" scaur " (under the shadow of which I had
been standing) ; and as it glanced off, across
the rapid waters, I noticed how it frequently
engulfed numbers of March Browns. Then,
I argued further, that out of this hurly-
burly, here and there a solitary FLOATING
March Brown would also find itself carried
into the pool round the bend; and I
reflected after this fashion —

If only a few stray floating flies sail down
into the next pool, they will wake up the
trout therein to a certainty, and this too,
without the chance of such a surfeit as was
all too evident at the throat of the stream.
These stray flies, I argued, will set a trout
feeding here, and another trout rising there ;
than which condition of things, there is
none so conducive to a heavy creel.

Besides, a good many drowned flies
would also be carried down stream. These,
as they reached the stiller waters of the
pool itself, would slowly sink, and thus give
warning to every trout in the pool to look
about also, for the few floating March

ioo Wet -Fly Fishing

Browns that were coming down from the
rapids above. I confess that I expected
more from the numbers of the submerged,
drowned flies, than from the few (very few)
living flies still left on the surface itself.
Whatever may be said or thought of these
motives or methods, they saved the day.

The river was very low ; the trout were
getting rather hard to catch, and I had
done but little.

As I was taking off my waders, the
keeper noticed a neighbouring proprietor,
who was a first-class and very active fisher-
man, and who often made very heavy
baskets, a man as hard as nails, and a
harder nut to crack. He had just fished up
the very best of the water, and was making
a few up-stream final casts, below Turriff
Bridge, to wind up the day till his trap
came. Down went the keeper to see him,
and I fully expected to learn that he had
made a heavy basket, as was his wont.

To my surprise, he had done next to
nothing. I at once asked the friendly
keeper to take a little lot of the tiny
" doubles " down to him, with my compli-
ments ; and to say, from me, that, but for
these, I also should have done next to
nothing. He accepted the flies graciously,

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 101

with some surprise at their size, but I trust
he has often had good reason to thank me
for my introduction to the tiny " doubles."
Had I used the same small flies, where the
March Browns were in their thousands, I
would not have benefited. The trout would
have passed them by, scornfully.

The real turning-point that day was
just as I have indicated.

Then came the intuitive feeling that I
must use quite small flies ; and I succeeded.
I think I hear some reader say, " What a
'pow-wow' about 12 Ibs. of trout." Well!
there was nothing very great in that, I
admit ; a very ordinary basket, but not on
that day.

It is worth recording all the same ;
though I wish to observe that such tactics
are by no means to be made the rule.

I have a great difficulty in tearing
myself away from free-rising trout. They
fascinate me, I think. And it was only
by a mighty effort, therefore, that I found
myself at the pool below where so few trout
were feeding, every one of which, however,
was a taking fish, if well fished for. They
had not known surfeit that day.

The moral of the story amounts to this.

Suppose you come upon a regular surfeit

IO2 Wet- Fly Fishing

of flies (and I have seen many such in my
experience, particularly when the March
Brown is well on), just do your best where
you are. If, then, you find (as I have often
done), that, during such a fly-festival, the
trout know the real from the artificial, how-
ever cleverly the latter is presented to them,
and thsTfc they continue feeding upon the
natural flies, whilst taking no notice what-
ever of the cleverest imitation, then it is
surely worth while to try the plan which
succeeded with me, namely, to reel up and
walk down to another part of the river, not
too far distant, and there try your luck.

I do not for one moment promise you
success, for it was an out-of-the-way ex-
pedient ; but I am sure you will find such
tactics answer well, at times.

Again, when the fly-fisher is caught in
a gale of wind, especially the kind of gale
that comes in wild blasts, how should he
meet the situation ? The exposed places,
particularly the portions of a river where
the banks are steep and bare of trees — a
gorge, in fact — these places are to be
avoided then. The best thing he can do
is to seek a sheltered nook, and there, per-
chance, he may find some trout gently
feeding, and be able to fish in comparative

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 103

comfort. Or he may find a pool where the
force of the wind is greatly broken by the
shelter of some friendly bend, and where,
the wind being up stream, he can sink his
flies, as already described.

Thus he may fill his creel, which he
could not very easily do, in the exposed
parts of the river, during the gale.

The angler may know all the rules —
written and unwritten — but he must also
know when to free himself from their bondage,
and to allow his own intuitive instincts a
free range.

When trout are not rising, I, at times,
draw a bow at a venture, and, forsaking the
ordinary wet fly for the " sunk fly," I soon
read the river's mind on the question. If
it does not succeed, I do not necessarily
continue it. If, when I am doing nothing
worth speaking of, and am quite conscious
that I have got the right flies, as regards
pattern and size, and also that I am fishing
fairly well, then I do think I would be a fool
not to try, say for half an hour, sinking
and working some soft-feathered, winged or
hackled fly, as a mere " feeler," " to see how
the wind blows." If, upon trial, I found the
point of my rod boldly pulled down by a
fine trout, and the reel in a fit of hysterics,

104 Wet- Fly Fishing

screeching like a girl when a mouse runs
over her foot, surely to continue my
method is wisdom's choice, at least, so
long as it succeeds.

Sometimes it answers uncommonly well.
If it does not, I return to more congenial
and orthodox methods. Of course, if a hatch
of flies presently transforms the scene, no
one but a rank duffer would continue to
sink the fly ; as then, of course, the trout
come quite near to the surface, and the
endeavour must be to float rather than to
sink the fly. Then, how glorious it is, when
there is a good rise — not a mass of flies,
for that invariably is fatal to great results,
but just a fair sprinkling of flies, which
serve only to stimulate the trout, rather
than to satiate — and gorge them : to mark
down any large-sized individual trout ; to
get below them, to fish up, and, one by
one, to basket the fish, till you have creeled
half a score to a score of pounds-weight of
trout. I can imagine nothing on earth
more enjoyable than a time like this ; and
it is in the hope that I may be the means
of helping others to partake of many such
pleasant hours, that I am writing this
chapter at all.

Wading trousers coming up to the waist

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 105

allow a tall man to command water which
he could not otherwise do. Many a fine
basket of trout is got thus in large rivers,
especially in the early spring — the angler
perhaps not fishing more than one or two
pools all the day, and yet filling his basket.
And I unhesitatingly affirm that the same
water fished by short waders, and reached
only by long casts with a two-handed rod,
of say 14 or 15 feet, would produce no such
results ; as a long line sinks, and this, while
trout are really on the surface, is as un-
desirable as it is to fish the surface, when
the trout are lying a little depth below it,
in order to take the submerged insect as
a drowned fly. It is this "war of wits "
that lends to wet-fly fishing one of its
peculiar charms. To know how and when
to float, also how and when to slightly sink,
or even to sink well the fly, so as to produce
a successful result, must be the aim of
the fishermen of our particular school, who
literally " look below the surface." It is
naturally pleasanter to walk with one's head
erect; but to stoop in order to conquer is,
I maintain, quite sportsmanlike, especially
when it becomes a necessity. I have no
patience with those who will not " stoop,"
who perhaps do not know how to, and who,

io6 Wet-Fly Fishing

when the wet fly should be distinctly sunk,
say that " they " would never sink it. The
whole position is illogical and absurd. I
honour the dry-fly purist, who never sinks
a fly on principle ; but once a man admits
the principle of fishing in our Northern
rivers with the wet fly, to refuse to sink it,
at times, rather more than is usual seems
ridiculous.

A wet fly can be, and generally is, fished
quite near to the surface, but it is still
submerged.

A "sunk fly" is often two, three, or
four inches under the surface (even more
at times). Here may I give an emphatic
word of warning to the beginner ? viz. let the
" sunk fly " " be your crutch, not your staff " —
in Sir Walter Scott's strong words : let it,
in fact, be kept back ; nay, more, let it
be withheld, till you realize that all other
methods have failed on that day, and that
you are badly beaten. And (unless some
flies begin to hatch out and change the
aspect of things materially) then I say
boldly, try your luck with the sunk fly;
and remember —

For one man who understands how to
do this, to advantage, there are twenty at
least who do not, and whose sunk flies would

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 107

do no execution whatever, because they
lack the requisite judgment and delicacy.

Pools in any large river are usually
fished differently to the streams.

A river when brimful (as I have pointed
out) is fished on very different lines from
the methods employed when it has fallen
to summer level.

It is, to the fisherman, to all intents and
purposes, another river then.

Again, the force and direction of the
wind are important factors which cannot
be ignored.

I have said that I dislike to fish a
muddy river, even if it may be, as at times
I am assured it is, a favourable time for
big results. I have never found it so
myself; but, beyond question, others have
occasionally done so, and it is perfectly
legitimate to take trout with the wet fly
then. Choose, if you can, some broad and
rather shallow pool. Any one who knows
" Monks-Ford " * above Dryburgh, on the
Tweed, and has seen it when a flood was
subsiding, will bear witness that it is an
exceptionally good place then, and is very
easy to wade.

Somehow, trout are often to be seen

* It is now strictly preserved water.

io8 Wei- Fly Fishing

rising in such places, in a heavy water,
as if to invite the angler to try his luck.
But unless the angler knows it well, he
must be very chary in attempting to wade
a river when in flood — especially if he can-
not swim — as a step into deep water, say
in the Tweed, may prove a serious matter.
Those who have never tried it, have no idea
what it means to wade too far down-stream
when the river is running full and flowing
swiftly.

It is fairly easy, so long as you can go
on, and no serious hitch occurs; but if,
suddenly, you step into a hole up to your
waist, and, discovering your mistake, then
have to turn and go back, and find deep
water near shore, you will need all the
muscular power your limbs possess, and
you will need also, a cool head. Turning
round is always difficult, and at times risky
work; and to force your way back, inch
by inch, with your waders full of water,
is no holiday task, as I have found ere now.

I speak from experience, for I was at
one time so keen, that I often chanced
it, and I have had some very anxious
moments and even narrow escapes. Of
all things, it is well to wear a good pair
of boots, or brogues, with square-headed

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 109

iron, but never steeZ-headed nails. Steel
slips terribly on the face of a smooth stone,
and is to be avoided. Square - headed
nails, set a little apart, give a better grip
than do round-headed hobnails — called
" tackets " in Scotland.

Once I very nearly came to utter grief
while wading Loch Griam, in Sutherland-
shire. I had about 15 Ibs. of trout in my
creel (18 Ibs. gross weight) at the time.
A tempest had caused the water on the
lee shore, where I was wading (keen as
mustard and rather recklessly), to become
thick and peaty. The crisis came, as I
stepped forward quickly, to cast my flies,
during a momentary lull, into the teeth
of the wind. I had stepped up to the
waist over a hidden danger — a bank of
gravel and sand, with a slope only just
sufficient to permit me to set my feet edge-
ways thereon, which saved me. After this
and other experiences of the kind, I invented
my safety buckle, which I have found most
valuable, as the fisherman can be relieved
of his creel in a second, and this too without
fatigue.

The real poetry of fly-fishing comes in
when the rivers are of normal volume and
quite clear, and in quite large rivers, like

no Wet-Fly Fishing

the Tay or Tweed, even in a low water;
for, remember, there are rivers and rivers.
Wading up stream, which may be a perfectly
easy matter in one, is such hard work in
another, when fairly full, in particular, as
to be only a waste of time and throwing
away of energy. Beyond these considera-
tions is the fact that wading against a very
strong current makes twice as much dis-
turbance in the water as wading with it ;
and it is folly when it comes to that.

While advocating wading and fishing
up stream in a large river, I do not wish
my meaning to be misinterpreted. Take,
for example, the lower portions of the
Tweed. How could any man wade all
day against the force of that grand old
river when full? and even if he could,
wherein would he benefit? Nothing
so absurd shall be recommended by me.
One must use common sense. Parts of the
lower Tweed, even when running full and
clear, can, of course, be waded up ; others
must be waded downwards — yes, even when
our flies are being thrown upwards, or up
and across, and when the fisherman's face
is turned towards the source. At the very
beginning of the season, in bitterly cold
weather, with hardly a fly to be seen, you

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 1 1 1

may, if you do it with skill, occasionally
score by fishing down stream; but, rather
than preach and teach the practice of
down-stream fishing, I would lay down my
pen, and burn my manuscript.

I return with relief to the fishing of
our Scottish rivers when normal, or even
below normal in volume, and clear as
crystal.

It is a real and high pleasure to make
a good basket, under such conditions. My
rule, then, is to wade up, and to fish up
in all places where it is at all feasible. The
larger the river, the less the opportunity
presents itself to fish little nooks, eddies,
runs, and turns, and, in fact, all the charm-
ing " bits " which all born fishermen so
love. In a quite low river, there is a
nearer approach to all this, than at any
other time.

As I have already mentioned, large
Scottish rivers, when abnormally low, are
fished very much after the principles and
methods adopted by the wet-fly fisherman,
when fishing his own tributary streams —
" waters," in fact.

I shall now presume that I am dealing
with the subject, not in the too early
spring, when trout are flabby, and the sport

H2 Wet-Fly Fishing

of catching them is questionable, but when
they are in condition. The lateness or
the reverse of the fishing season, on any
particular river, depends on many circum-
stances; its height above the sea-level,
for one.

For instance, one river I once knew well
(in Perthshire) does not begin to fish till
May Day, as a rule ; whilst in others, quite
as far north, fly-fishing towards the middle
of May, is already getting somewhat past
its best. In the choice of flies, my rule is
to consult Nature first. Frequently, how-
ever, this rule must be ignored, the trout
preferring one of the droppers, for some
quite unaccountable reason, it being wholly
unlike the natural fly of the hour. Even
when a dropper has been tied on gut
much too stout, I have seen the trout
evince such a preference for it, that I have
placed its fellow as the tail fly, and at once
found the change beneficial. I feel sure of
one thing, and I wish it to be noted care-
fully, that our artificial flies, in wet-fly fish-
ing, are not presented to a trout's vision, in
the same manner as when they are floated
over them dry, and with their wings cocked.
I shall take away the breath of some purist
anglers when I say that, often when I wish

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 113

my fly to sink one or two inches as soon as
thrown, I deliberately take the wings and
hackle between the fore-finger and thumb
of my right hand, and, having wet my
fingers well, rub the feathers thoroughly.

Especially has this discovery of mine
been found to be useful, in fine and calm
weather, when the smallest midge-flies,
" doubles " or even "singles," were to the
front. If the learner will take a fly, and
place it dry in a tumbler of water, he will
find that it is largely kept from sinking by
reason of air-bells. The wings look as if
they were coated with a thin layer of glass,
whilst small bells get entangled amongst the
fibres of the hackle. These air-bubbles, I
am certain, often make the trout needlessly
suspicious of a wet fly. The bubbles get
completely rubbed out, partly because the
wet finger and thumb, thus deprive the
feathers of their natural oil. Be that as
it may, I boldly avow that when I have
observed trout shyly regarding small midge-
flies, newly put on, I have rubbed the
feathers well with wetted finger and thumb,
and have begun to basket them rapidly
immediately afterwards. A drowned and
bedraggled natural fly must surely present
a very different appearance to the beauteous

I

114 Wet- Fly Fishing

object upon which the sun's rays seemed
"to shine too rudely " but a short time
previously. Also, may not trout sometimes
get sick of a surfeit of one particular fly ?

I always endeavour to catch one of
the flies just as the rise begins, and if I
have got a good imitation in my book, I
give to it the place of honour — the tail fly,
or stretcher. If it does not kill well, I go
on changing that tail fly, till I succeed.

The words of a distinguished physician,
are very appropriate, at such times : " 'Tis at
best but shrewd guessing ! " The correct
fly for the day at last becomes a certainty,
and, this point once decided, I continue
fishing steadily and uninterruptedly.

How delightful it is to find the trout
feeding gently, but meaning business — say,
on the further side, where the pool slumb J/s
under the very shadow of the bank. There
must be no bungling here. Every cast must
be true, and in its place. I have said that
fishing up stream with the fly, at times,
becomes a sheer absurdity, during a stron<
down-stream wind. This is especially s<
when a rapid stream brings the line racing
towards the angler, like a boat before thi
wind.

When a light wind, or even an ordin*

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 115

breeze, is blowing across and in my face
from the opposite bank, I cast the fine
gut collar in the teeth of the wind; and
what may seem unaccountable and strange
is that I have often found the zone of calm
close to the other bank — which the wind
cannot strike, as it is blowing towards me
— the deadliest place of all. From the over-
hanging bank, perchance, insects drop, or
are blown, into the water.

So, if you cast your fly (by " cheating
the wind") right under the further bank;
you will probably be rewarded. It is very
pretty fishing, but it needs an experienced
fisherman to do it well.

How naturally you find yourself stoop-
ing as you attack any shallow piece of water,
every foot of which must be fished up.

Here judicious wading greatly aids the
angler.

It is a common thing to see an other-
wise good angler wading ashore with each
good trout, when, by such a plan as the
one I use (and invented) the trout can be
netted and basketed just where he is wading,
and with perfect ease too. He thus loses
no time, and can fish uninterruptedly —
an advantage too obvious to be open to
criticism.

n6 Wet-Fly Fishing

Occasionally trout may be observed
lying close to the very margin of a large
bed of gravel, nipping up the "sand" and
" cow-dung " flies, which are blown across
the dry bed towards the river; and when
this is observed, the hint should be acted
upon instantly. The fisherman should
stalk these feeding trout, stooping, or
even crawling on hands and knees, and
whipping the thin edges of the stream
upwards, but never allowing the line to
dwell for more than one or two seconds
on the surface.

It was in this way that I hooked the
largest trout I ever killed with a small
No. 2 fly, in the Tweed, and which weighed
5 Ibs. 1 oz. He seemed to be lying in water
scarcely sufficient to cover him. He seized
and held the fly as it crossed his nose,
giving no indication of a "rise " whatever.
It was therefore with some surprise that I
found myself dashing into the river up to
the tops of my waders, throwing out the
reel line with my left hand the while, as
he rushed across a grand salmon cast into
the pool below — "The Webs " — "The
Woabs," as old Slater, the fisherman, used
to call it. But for " observation," I should
never have even seen that trout.

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 117

N.B. — Some men would have been
wading just where he was feeding.

This leads me to observe that the
shallow edge, on the side of a deepish but
rapid run, is far too often passed over, save
by the angler's wading-boots.

When a large trout is hungry, and there
is no hatch of flies to attract his atten-
tion, he often goes prowling around the
edges, where he can pick up flies, creepers,
fresh- water shrimps, and minnows ; and if,
while he is feeding, a fly is skilfully pre-
sented by a quite invisible angler, he will
take it. Then look out, if your tackle is
fine ! The man, I repeat, who simply
" sweeps" or "combs" a river mechani-
cally, loses many of the details which are so
distinctly delightful to the true sportsman.

When a large river like the Tweed is
pretty full, yet clear, or at most porter or
port wine in colour, one of the places
which should always be carefully fished up,
is where the waters seem to pause, ere they
glide from the pool above, into the stream
below. This on Tweedside is called "the
hing — " Anglice " the hang."

Doubtless the trout here pick up many
a dainty tit-bit ere it gets swept away into
the rapid stream, or streams, immediately

n8 Wet-Fly Fishing

below. I remember quite well, how, in the
river Tummel, in the old days, I used to
succeed in a signal manner, when thus fish-
ing ; and indeed in no river, before or since,
have I found feeding trout so constantly
lying in "the hang," as in this charming
river.

Our flies must always be allowed to
float, or sink, with the natural current of
the river. Any unnatural drag, or aimless
and stupid trailing around, of the flies,
means failure. It was difficult ; and there-
fore most pleasurable fishing to me. Of
course, when the trout were rising at the
natural fly, the method of attack was
directness and simplicity itself, to an old
hand. Standing a little below, the cast
was delivered so that the flies alighted
six inches above the rise, and were allowed
simply to sail down for a yard or so.
Here, it is a point of immense importance
to know how to pick your line off any
short hing, without giving the slightest
note of alarm. Needless to add, the line
should be lifted, with the point of the
rod turned downwards. The angler must
not stand above the place to be fished, else
the flies will travel in the arc of a circle,
and are never taken properly, then. I

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 1 19

repeat, that the whole aim of the fisherman
should be, to allow his flies to glide down
naturally, without the remotest circling or
trailing across; and, if this is properly done,
when a trout is lying a few inches under
the surface, he quietly sucks the fly in.

He bolts, when he finds himself hooked,
by the action of the strong under-current.

These places often " fished well," even
when no trout were breaking the surface
of that fine river ; but why, I have little or
no idea.

The most desirable fishing is, when, from
the breadth and volume of the river, the
hang is one of considerable length and
width, and where the fall, into the stream
below, is very gradual, not abrupt. Then,
when a few flies begin to disport themselves
on the surface, we have the prospect of a
piece of the most charming fly-fishing
possible in any large river. In this con-
nection, I am only too glad to be able to
mention a case in point. The fisherman
was not, in this instance, E. M. Tod, but
a very old and dear friend of his. He
waded in below " the hing," and used only
one fly — the stretcher — a thing we all
do occasionally. The fly was GreenwelFs
Glory, tied on tiny 00 double hooks, by

I2O Wet-Fly Fishing

Forrest & Sons, of Kelso. He was re-
luctant to speak of it, even to me, but at
last I got the exact details.

They convey to me the idea of an
absolutely perfect afternoon's fly-fishing.
There was not a breath of wind on "the
hing." Also it was quite flat water, and
Tweed trout are cunning old dogs; yet
in less than three hours my old friend had
creeled twenty-three trout, which weighed
17 Ibs. 12 ozs. ; his best dozen weighing
12 Ibs. 12 ozs.

With large flies (March browns) in the
early spring, such a basket and average
on the Tweed would be one to be proud of;
but, under the particular circumstances, it
was a remarkable performance, one I myself
never saw equalled on that river in my life,
taking into consideration the whole details
now given, the " average," not least.

He, of course, knew how to cast and
how to place his fly — very few better.

When trout are feeding on the surface :
(1) wade gently; (2) make each cast a
true one ; (3) cast up and across (at times
straight up) ; (4) don't sink your flies more
than you can help, because trout at present
are expecting to see the natural insect
floating down with gauzy wings erect on

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 121

the surface ; (5) cast repeatedly, and when
a trout takes the fly, tighten the line
instantly rather than " strike : >J then up
with the point of the rod and get"command
of your trout as soon as you can ; (6) finally,
net !him, if possible, just where you are
standing, in the water. Methodically con-
tinue to search the hang step by step
across the river, and back again, till you
have fished it completely out.

Use two or even three flies. I prefer
two flies placed six feet apart, when I am
fishing in a dead calm, or wherever trout
are over-fished, to the usual three flies one
yard apart ; but I use, at times, only one.

It is a very consoling thing, when one re-
turns with a light creel, to blame the weather.
As a rule, the best sky is a uniformly grey
one ("a grey day " is proverbial) ; the clouds
not low, but high; the day bracing, not
bitterly cold. In early spring, a blink of
sunshine now and again is very desirable ;
but in May or June, a hot sun with large
towering white " cumulus " clouds (full of
electricity, doubtless) is not a propitious
day for fly-fishing. A bright sunny day
without a single cloud, but with a gentle
breeze blowing up stream, I have often
found excellent. A dark, lowering day,

122 Wei-Fly Fishing'

the clouds floating near to the earth's sur-
face ; or a day with a heavy mist, are seldom
propitious for the fly-fisherman.

Rain, again, is a very queer factor —
very queer, indeed — for or against our
sport. Sometimes, during rain, trout rise
well; and, occasionally, I have done well,
even on a dark, misty, lowering day. Hope
is the angler's angel !

Who, with a long experience of Scottish
rivers, is not familiar with that peculiar
phenomenon for which it is so hard to find
fitting words ?

It is best illustrated by one of my many
experiences.

I was giving a lesson to a worthy clergy-
man one dull afternoon, on the Deveron.
I made an unusually poor show of it on
that day. Trout would not rise; and if,
perchance, they came for my fly, it was
in a lazy, sleepy sort of fashion. It re-
minded one of a used-up young man who,
towards the close of the London season,
sits out his dances. I had seen the same
phenomenon before, and said to my clerical
pupil, " I feel convinced that we are in
for a flood/' "How so, Mr. Tod?" "I
judge by the way the trout are behaving
to-day," I answered.

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 123

Next day, down came the river, sure
enough ! Whether barometric pressure is
the cause, or whether the trout taste the
first whiff of the fresh water, I cannot say :
the effect is the same. We have much to
learn, and the trout, if well and patiently
studied, will help us in our inquiries.

I do not regard wet-fly fishing as one
of the exact sciences.

The conditions of climate, soil, eleva-
tion, and consequently of the natural food-
supply in one river are often very much at
variance with those in another. This fact
cannot be too well grasped. If it be not
understood, the angler who fishes many
rivers will fail in some, and fail badly too.
In certain of our Scottish rivers, much of
the sport in April, is got by fishing slightly
under, and occasionally well under the sur-
face ; while in other rivers deep fishing will
yield but a poor result, and one must be
content to make nearly all one's hay while
the sun shines, i.e. while the rise of the
natural fly is on. Per contra, it is often
the other way up. Early in May, on
the river Tummel, I have gone out day
after day, and though nothing approaching
a rise of flies was to be seen ; yet, with
the artificial fly only, I invariably returned

124 Wet-Fly Fishing

with a good basket of trout, averaging two
to the pound.

The weather there on May Day, 1877,
reminded me of mid- winter, snow and frost
prevailing, and the wind almost enough to
produce frost-bitten fingers. The sunk
fly was therefore the only chance. A few
flies of my own tying, did so well that I
must give their dressing. No. 1 is a
hackled fly, and made thus: body, yellow
tying silk, waxed. The glossy neck-feather
of the cock starling, wound round twice,
formed the hackle ; and immediately under
this I added a very tiny ball of green pea-
cock herl. (2) Another good fly had the
same body and hackle, but no peacock herl,
and a single upright wing (tied in a neat
bunch) taken from the quill-feather of the
starling, the inside of the feather being
kept outside carefully. (3) Another fly
was dark quill body, black hen hackle, and
the inside of a starling's wing for wing.
(4) Greenwell's Glory I am never with-
out, so you may be sure it was in constant
use.

On the Deveron I have made a higher
aggregate than in the last-named river, but
never have I loved any stream more than
I did the river Tummel. Probably my

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 125

success there was largely owing to my love
for, and knowledge of, the river, its fishing,
and its romantic surroundings.

Lest I be accused (like the heathen) of
"conceiving a vain thing," I may remark
that few anglers have been more frequently
beaten, yes, hopelessly and entirely beaten,
by the trout, than myself. All my angling
diaries prove this. Especially has this been
so when I have been fishing the Tweed and
the Teviot, for any length of time, con-
tinuously. For, in these hard-poached and
harder-fished rivers — open to all, night and
day — the state of the river itself, and of the
weather, is often unfavourable for sport, and
the daily record ; till some change occurs,
such as a big flood to sweep the river-bed
clean, is apt to prove disappointing. At
times, one's holiday begins under very
favourable conditions, and we go home, when
our two or three weeks have come to an
end, little thinking how much our success
has been due to circumstances entirely
beyond our control. Here is an instance.

On my first visit to the Cumberland
Eden (it was rather late in the season it is
true) the river was never once in condition.
In disgust, I went on a tour through the
Lake District for four or five days, and

126 Wet-Fly Fishing

returned, feeling sure that, at last, I would
have a beautifully clear stream, with both
water and barometer " in a settled state,"
and then . . . R-K-Eevenge !

I arrived in the evening, only to find
that a storm, in the hills, had again made
it muddy.

Each time it began to clear, this occurred.
Not one single big cleansing flood followed,
but a series of small risings. Coming after
a prolonged drought, these merely stirred
up all the filth, and sickened the trout.

I had a very poor record for that yearly
holiday trip.

I however returned, and more than made
up for my former ill luck, by my next two
holiday trips, on that charming river.

Under the title of " Keminiscences of
an Old Angler, " the Fishing Gazette pub-
lished, in 1893, the record of all my diaries.
Any one can see that the records were
uncooked, as they contain some miserably
small entries. Of course I might fish only
for an hour, and yet give the reader the
idea of a whole day's fishing. When a man
starts, say, on a June morning, at dawn, and
fishes till it is dark, and calls that " a day's
fishing," I smile.

With no wish to detract from the

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 127

deserved fame of that very famous Scottish
angler, and excellent angling-writer, whose
praises I am ever ready to sing wherever
the wet fly holds sway, one can hardly help
being tickled at the quaint humour of the
Aberdeenshire gamekeeper, who summed up
Mr. Stewart's notion of "a day's fishing"
in these words, "Ay! twenty-fowr hoors
o' creepin' an' crawlin' ! "

Seven to eight hours is nearer my
idea of a good long day. I have made
some of my best baskets of fish, when out
for four or five hours, most of the trout
being killed in one or two hours, every
moment of which, however, meant incessant
and energetic application.

So long as men are true to themselves,
so long will they deal openly with others ;
and the man who in open water tells you of
the abnormal length of his " day's fishing "
in connection with any extra large basket
of trout he may bring home, disarms criti-
cism. I imagine that Stewart made no
secret of such things. His reputation
certainly did not necessitate any such feeble
tactics.

I am aware that some good Scottish
angling clubs have strict rules, and no
gentleman would or could fish before or after

128 Wet- Fly Fishing

the stipulated time in such competitions;
but all men are not gentlemen, and angling
clubs are not all equally strict in carrying
out their rules.

I recall, while fishing the Isla, at Glenisla,
seeing the members of an angling club from
Dundee, weighing at the hotel, one Saturday
evening.

Some of them told me quite frankly,
that they had begun fishing the night
before ! Some had fished " the Shee,"
others "the Isla," and all had used worm,
live minnow, "fly," etc. It is true that
they had fished only " one day," but when
a man fishes all these hours and withholds
the fact, while swaggering about his big
baskets ; I maintain that he is not a sports-
man. The least that a man can do when
he gets a more than usually large basket of
trout thus, and speaks of it, is to add, " But,
of course, I fished from sunrise to sunset ! "
and that, in June, means a very long day
indeed.

May I add, with absolute truth, that my
best baskets have been generally quite easy
to make, so far as the skill went. What I
mean by such a statement is simply this
— the water was clear, and the weather
" settled." Then the trout were " keen

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 129

as mustard," or "fair daft.19 Add to this,
energetic action, not a single moment
wasted, while the trout were " on the job."
Such things have as much to do with it as
mere skill.

The days which cling to my memory
now, are some during which I have had all
my work cut out, and have only just
managed to get a fairly good basket of
trout — sometimes getting only a few large
and shy trout. Anything out of the common,
also, seems to remain in my memory, when
the mere catching of many trout is prac-
tically forgotten. I will indicate the kind
of thing I mean by " anything unusual,"
etc. And I am thankful to add that I can
write freely about this, as it did not occur
to myself, but to a better man. Many
years ago I told the tale in the pages of the
Fishing Gazette.

Many interesting letters followed, all of
which are still preserved by me, in a scrap-
book of rather large dimensions, much of
it from my own pen. My old preceptor,
" Mark Aitken," " fisherman " to the (then)
Marquis of Lothian, was one of the very
finest wet-fly experts I ever saw, and an
absolutely reliable man. One day he was
particularly anxious to get a good basket

K

130 Wei-Fly Fishing

of trout — I think to send up to the " Big
Hoose " (Monteviot). He had fished some
distance down the river Teviot, and was
completely beaten. Naturally he grew
anxious, for he did not like to report that
he had caught no fish — probably for a
dinner party. Jogging home disconsolate,
he observed a few trout rising on the further
side of a still pool, overhung by trees.
Instantly, he saw a chance of retrieving
his ill luck. He was using, as was his
wont, but two flies, six feet apart. His tail
fly was " woodcock and hare lug," dressed
by himself, but with a single wing. Judging
his distance, he put this fine fly over a
rising trout, without result; another and
yet another rising trout, were in their
turn duly wooed, but were not won. I
think I can see that patient, calm old
face, as he was obliged to admit his defeat
at the hand of his "slim" enemy. The
trout kept feeding steadily, but would not
take his flies.

In his despair, he waded right in amongst
them, and discovered, to his surprise, that the
trout were not rising at any fly, or flies, but,
instead, upon small round seeds, which were
occasionally showered upon the pool from
some breeze-shaken boughs, overhanging

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 131

the river. And, I remember his saying,
that he gave up all hope then, and waded
ashore. It occurred to him, to remove
the wing entirely ; and then, with the nails
of his forefinger and thumb, he plucked the
hare's ear body, till, what with the tying silk,
and the remaining hare's ear, it resembled
a round knob, tied on a bare hook. He also
removed " the dropper," and with no hope
of any substantial success, once more set
to work. It was, to him, truly a forlorn
hope.

A good trout rose ! This time, however,
he secured the trout ;~and not only did he
do so, but he filled his big black varnished
creel nearly full — about 20 Ibs. of trout !
Would I had been there to see him at
work. What a treat ! Every cast would be
in its place ; no flurry, and no loss of time.
Ah, when shall I ever see his like ! He
was a very experienced and clever fisher-
man, yet this was a wholly new experience ;
nor, so far as I am aware, did he ever have
a repetition of it.

I have fished about fifty years, and I
cannot remember, save once, observing
trout feeding on seeds. This was on a pool
called " Bedlam Home/' on the Eden, in
Cumberland, and just below Kirkoswald.

132 Wet-Fly Fishing

I may add that my statement was met by"
some doubters. I waited patiently, and
soon had the corroborative evidence of
several good anglers : for instance, Mr.
William Fawcett (a member of the Horn-
castle Angling Association) wrote thus to
the Fishing Gazette: — "Fishing in one of
the chalk streams in the North of this
County, in July last ('86), I caught a well-
fed, handsome trout, of about f of a Ib.
weight. On taking my fly out of its
mouth, I was surprised to see the throat
and mouth full of small round, but flat
seeds/' etc.

Another correspondent kindly directed
my attention to the scientific side of the
question, thus : — " In ' London's Encyclo-
paedia of Plants ' he especially names as
very greedily eaten by geese, ducks, and
fish, especially trout, the seeds of the follow-
ing plants. ' Name, Glyceria : Natural coun-
try, Britain : Locality, ponds : ' (signed)
Kobert Eoots, Hon. Secy., Portsmouth
Waltonians."

Before I close this chapter on "Biver
fishing with the wet fly," I should like to
say a few words more.

I have attempted to condense into a few
pages, not only the experiences, but the

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 133

memories, of a lifetime ; and that, too, at a
time when my memory is confessedly not
what it used to be.

It will not fail to be noticed, in the three
chapters on "Burns," "Waters," and
" Kivers," that I have not gone on the plan
of other angling writers. I have not, for
instance, devoted several pages to teaching
the beginner how to throw the line, on
papery because I think that such lessons
are practically useless. Fancy teaching a
young fellow, who was going to Australia,
how to use "the stockwhip," by written
directions I

I have seldom mentioned flies, gut lines,
and so forth, in describing how to fish pool,
stream, and quiet eddy. I shall deal with
all these presently. Where I have men-
tioned a few flies — in the process of illustrat-
ing a lesson, and, I trust, thus making it
not only less dry, but more interesting —
the reader may be sure that I have named
flies well worth taking a note of.

When we were small boys, my elder
brother and myself were already keen
fishermen. He died in 1874 : but left
behind him a small but capital little work,
entitled, "Tod's Trout Fishing Guide to
the Streams in the Isle of Man." It is

134 Wet-Fly Fishing

long ago out of print, but I have my own
copy still. He dedicated it "To my only
brother and a Brother Angler, whose Eod
and Line are always his Best and Constant
Companions" — a description which fitted
me exactly, in those days.

Quite twenty years after the book was
written; a friend of his, a great autho-
rity on yachting, and the President of the
Isle of Man Angling Association (the late
Mr. Sam J. Harris), edited and brought
out, in a cheap form, my brother's small
work.

Talking of throwing the fly : we were
both, as lads, fond of going into the garden,
rod in hand ; and I feel convinced, that in
no way can a beginner learn more quickly
than by constant practice on a well-kept
lawn, throwing at some definite mark, with
unwearying patience and determination.
When the river is exchanged for the lawn,
he will then find out how much he had
gained by hard practice ; perchance, even as
a man of formed habits, who has taken up
fly-fishing somewhat late in life.

I practised what I preach.

The rest can only come, by degrees. I
wish I could convince all young fly-fisher-
men to use light clubs daily, to develop

The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 135

wrist-power, as I did till I could cast in the
teeth of the wind quite easily.

A strong wrist makes a delicate fly-fisher-
man.

This is a truism — which has its
significance.

CHAPTER V.

A LIST OP STEEAMS FISHED BY THE AUTEOB.

As I am about it, I think I may as well give
a list of the various streams I have angled
in since boyhood ; and to simplify matters,
I shall divide them into three : A, repre-
senting those quite familiar, old and tried
friends; J3, streams which I have a toler-
able but not extensive knowledge of, or have
only fished long ago and have lost touch
with ; and C, those that I have only fished
from a day to a week, which, in my opinion,
constitutes but a slight acquaintance. AS
indicates, as in the case of the "Don,"
streams, once pretty familiar, but much
forgotten now; and J3C, streams even less
familiar or well remembered.

SCOTLAND.

Aberdeenshire. — The Don, AB. Deveron, A ; and Ugie,
B. The Schoolhouse-Burn, C (in the "Cabrach" of the
Deveron), which I fished with fly, once only. I killed
9 Ibs. of trout that day.

A List of Streams fished by the Author 137

Argyleshire. — The Orchy, C.

Berwickshire.— The Whitadder, C.

Buteshire. — (Isle of Arran) Glen Sannox Burn, (7, fished
only in boyhood.

Dumfriesshire. — The Esk, 5, and Liddle, C.

Edinburghshire.—ThQ Almond, B (now ruined). Gala,
C. The Water of Leith, C. Gogar Burn, C. Carlops
Burn, B. Ninemile Burn, C ; and I must name the first
burn I ever fished, the Braid Burn, in the outskirts of
Edinburgh row. My father (only) had permission to fish
with fly thfj Hermitage portion.

Fifeshire.—Th& Eden, C. Keneley Burn, B. Drill
Burn, B.

Forfarshire.—ThQ Upper Isla, A, at Glenisla at same
place.

Haddingtonshire.—ThQ Tyne, C.

Inverness-shire.— The Ness, B (at Inverness).

Lanarkshire.— The Clyde, BC (at Abington, and Lam-
ington only, and when young ; much forgotten now).

Peebleshire. — The Tweed, AB, and its tributaries, Manor
Water, AB, and Glenrath Burn, AB. Eddlestone Water,
AB. Leithen Water, AB. Quair Water, BC ; and other
burns, forgotten now.

Perthshire.— -The Tay, B. The Tummel, A. The
Dochart, B. The Lower Isla, B, and the Dean, C (at
Meigle). The Gaur, C7, and various burns. Innerhadden,
C ; Schoolhouse, C7, etc., feeders of the Upper Tummel.

Roxburghshire.— The Tweed, A, and Teviot, A. Jed
Water, A. Oxham Water, A, and Kale Water, A.

Sutherlandshire.—ThQ Inchard, BC. The Navar, A.
The Mallard, BC. Syre Burn, BC.

ENGLAND.

Cumberland. — The Eden, A.

Northumberland. —The Coquet, C.

Derbyshire.— -The Dove, B, and Manifold, C.

Borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. — The Kibble, (7.

Sussex. — The Ouse, B.

Hampshire.— The Test, C7, and Itchin, C.

138 Wet-Fly Fishing

ISLE OF MAN.

The " Doo," the " Glass," and some other smaller streams,
now forgotten by the author in the lapse of years.

(N.E. — The junction of these two small rivers gives the
name of " Douglas " to the capital.)

It is over forty years since I fished in the Isle of Man, in
the company of my (late) elder brother, who was a capital
fisherman, and who was the writer of the small yet valuable
handbook already mentioned.

Through the courtesy of the late Mr. S. J. Harris, then
the President of the Isle of Man Angling Club, I was elected
an honorary member several years ago.

GERMANY.

THE BLACK FOREST.

River Wutach.

I have already mentioned this angling resort.

The head-quarters of the Bad Boll Fishing Club is a very
comfortable hotel, with a lofty and spacious Salle-h-manger.

I spent ten days there, in 1895, as the guest of my old
friend B n.

I had been very ill, and still was weak. Therefore I was
not often on the war-path.

Notwithstanding this, I had a few excellent days' fishing,
notably one with my friend, at Achdorf Mill.

CHAPTEE VI.

"THE ANGLER'S EQUIPMENT."

THE question of rods and tackle generally
is not an enticing subject to me. One is
so apt to drift into a sort of reproduction of
the usual fishing-tackle maker's catalogue.
Indeed, I was half inclined to think that the
best thing would have been simply to select
the catalogues of a few undeniably good
fishing-tackle makers, recommend them to
the angling world in general, and be done
with the whole business.

This view, however, is not the one
generally accepted, and so I am compelled
to make a few remarks on rods and tackle
generally.

There is a good deal to be said for cane-
built rods, provided that the angler can
afford to pay for the very best. A cheap
split-cane rod is a thing to avoid ; a good
ordinary rod, made of wood, being twice as
reliable.

140 Wet- Fly Fishing

Messrs. Hardy Brothers' cane-built rods
are so well known, that to mention the
subject at all without mentioning their
names, would seem to me to be quite
impossible. The question of steel-centred
or not steel-centred rods is one, however,
which I am not prepared to go into.

I am inclined to favour a cane-built rod
without the steel centre for wet-fly work.

For salmon-fishing I feel sure that steel-
centred rods will kill " a fish " quicker, but
I am dealing with trout-fishing, and that
with the wet-fly, and I fail to see any real
advantage in the steel centre.

Eods of well-seasoned and suitable wood
have served me well, and I myself require
none other. Messrs. Forrest & Sons, of Kelso,
and of 24, Thomas Street, Grosvenor Square,
London, have built rods for me since the year
1860, and I should be ungrateful and even
unfair if I did not say, and say plainly,
that I never wish to handle better rods.
Indeed, all my rods have been made by that
firm. They have stood the severest tests,
the wood being well seasoned and all de-
fective pieces most carefully excluded. The
joints (the weak point in all cheap rods)
never seem to give way. In fact, with fair
usage, these rods last for a generation, if

" The Anglers Equipment" 141

not longer. They are as delicate as they
are powerful — in good hands, of course. As'
for the " style " of a rod, every man seems
to have his peculiar fancy. Stewart liked
a stiff rod for wet-fly fishing, whilst some
anglers like a rod of the Castle-Connell
type. Others, again, prefer one which holds
no sort of comparison with either of these
rods. The rod which may suit A. may not
necessarily suit B. Nothing that the rod-
maker can do will ever get rid of one
difficulty ; namely, the personal element.

Messrs. Forrest & Sons some years ago
paid me the compliment of naming " The
Tod Kod," after one built by the firm, and
with which I had done great execution. I
like it myself immensely, but, unless it suits
the hand of the fly-fisher, I am not so
foolish as to think that it will prove accep-
table. There are many other excellent
rod-makers. I name Messrs. Turnbull &
Co., of 60, Princes Street, Edinburgh, for
one firm. Mr. Turnbull, senior, served his
apprenticeship with old Mr. Forrest, of
Kelso, and he who has been his apprentice,
is quite sure to have been well and carefully
trained. He was afterwards, for years,
manager to my old friend, the late Mrs.
Hogg, of Princes Street, Edinburgh, my

142 Wet- Fly Fishing

earliest rod-and-tackle purveyor, a person
whom I held in very high esteem.

I have been kindly admitted to inspect
the workshops of Messrs. Forrest & Sons, and
also of Messrs. Turnbull & Co., and I can
vouch for the fact that they are in a position
(each of them) to turn out rods and flies to
pattern, equal to those of any firm I am
acquainted with. They are both thoroughly
practical, experienced, and reliable men, and,
for the rest, " Good wine needs no bush " !

Mr. Malloch, of Perth, is also an excellent
fishing-rod and tackle maker, and of him it
may be said that as a practical angler,
"what he doesn't know is not worth
knowing." I may add, that he is a stranger
to me, save that I have corresponded with
him occasionally on business matters, but to
leave his name out would seem rather odd,
since he is probably one of the very best all-
round anglers in the whole of Scotland.
On Loch Leven his angling feats are
matters of history ; and who does not know
the Malloch Eeel ?

May I venture to add a word of general
caution ? It is, to the inexperienced angler,
a very valuable word. Mr. Cotton- Walton
is a very well-known trout-fisher, and has
written a book ; or, like myself, has written

" The Anglers Equipment" 143

oceans of current angling literature. Being
in the habit of having his fishing-rods built
by a certain maker, he naturally is in the
custom of mentioning that maker's name, in
connection with his sport. No good angler
is such a fool as to continue using weapons
made by any one rod-maker, for twenty,
thirty, or forty years, unless he finds them
serviceable and reliable. Now, observe how
it works out. Mr. Tyro reads the book, or,
it may be, the article. He then goes to
Mr. Cotton- Walton's rod-maker and orders
a rod ; but he does so without even
mentioning Mr. Cotton-Walton's name.
What man of the world thinks it a likely
thing that any rod-maker turns out all his
rods to one pattern or " style.'' The thing
is ridiculous on the face of it.

Mr. Tyro comes in, as a mere stranger,
and begins turning over and trying rod after
rod, till at last he " thinks" he has got one
to his mind, is it in human nature for the
salesman, however honest he may be, to
say to him, " I think, sir, you have not
made the wisest selection," and thus, per-
chance, miss the sale of a rod ? I feel sure
that the tired-out, though polite, fishing-
tackle maker, is often very heartily sick of
the whole wearisome business.

144 Wet-Fly Fishing

I think when one is, after many years of
faithful adherence to his own rod-maker,
recommending him to others, he should
deposit his favourite rod, till a pattern
in the rough is built, and registered. In
this way alone can a satisfactory result be
arrived at, and this, I may add, has been
done in the case of "The Tod Kod," in
Messrs. Forrests1 catalogue. It gives an
idea at once, of the style of weapon used
and recommended by " Mr. Tod," which is
an important matter to the would-be pur-
chaser. There is another thing (and here
I will have all the rod-makers with me!)
— when a beginner has purchased a rod, he
cannot be expected to use it properly at
first, and he is very apt to hand it to others,
in order to obtain their opinion. In time
he gets so many, and, I may add, such
contradictory opinions given to him, that
at last he begins to hate the very sight of
that rod ! Accept a story from real life.

A young man, aged twenty-one, who
was already able to throw a good line,
hearing the fame of a local Scottish rod-
maker in the county where he happened to
be residing at the time, went to his shop
one market-day, in the month of April,
1860. There he ordered a fly-rod. To his

"The Anglers Equipment" 145

dismay, lie was calmly told that " he would
have to wait his turn, as orders were already
numerous, and could only be executed in
rotation. " This was a severe blow, as the
trout-fishing season had commenced, and
he, being young and keen, was " eager for
the fray." Seeing his dilemma, the kind-
hearted old rod-maker, taking up from a
corner, an all but brand-new fly-rod, ad-
dressed the young man as follows : " Here
is a rod which I made to order for a gentle-
man. He has returned it on my hands,
saying that he does not fancy its action.
If you like it, you can have it now."

The youth tried it, and, without hesita-
tion, instantly closed with the offer. That
youth (?) is now a grandfather, and is writing

1 these lines ; while he who sold me the rod,
(old Mr. Forrest, the founder of the firm,)
has long since joined the majority.

Mr. Stewart (the author of the " Practical
Angler ") considered that stiffness and light-
ness were the two great requisites in a fly-
rod. In this I am, personally, unable to
agree with Mr. Stewart, since I consider
that a rod which is "as stiff as a poker"
can never have much sweetness or delicacy
in casting the fly, and is not at all a
suitable style of rod, especially when 4X

L

146 Wet-Ply Fishing

or 5X drawn gut is used, and the trout
run of large size. There can be little or no
" give and take " in a very stiff rod.

One must remember that 4X and 5X,
and indeed all " drawn " gut was wholly
unknown in Mr. Stewart's day. Mr. Stewart
is perfectly right when he says that a very
weak, pliant rod, is useless for casting in the
teeth of the wind, a thing which I myself
seldom experience much difficulty in doing ;
for, although "The Tod Bod" is not built
on such a model as Stewart loved, it pos-
sesses backbone, which means that it has
good driving-power, whenever it is called
upon. Nevertheless, it likewise possesses
the delicacy, which is almost as essential.
" The Tod Bod," I may explain, is made
up thus. The butt and middle joints are
of hickory, and the top of greenheart. All
greenheart doubtless makes a splendid rod
for salmon-fishing, but it has certain objec-
tions in a fly-rod used for trout-fishing,
especially with very fine tackle. It is un-
deniably a heavy wood, and sometimes is
liable to brittleness.

Last, but not least, it does not yield
easily and gently to a plunging acrobatic
trout, as hickory does. An old Scotch fisher-
man (" Will Tait ") once described, in words

"The Angler's Equipment" 147

which I have never forgotten, such a rod.
" They are owre f steely' they greenheart
rods.'7 Anglice, "They are too steel-like
in their action. " And, as I was using at
the time a greenheart rod, built by an
English maker, whilst " Will" stood looking
on, I felt how exactly it conveyed to me
the idea then uppermost in my mind, and
as no word had ever done before. The
length and weight of a rod must necessarily
depend upon the power of the angler's wrist
and forearm, as also, doubtless, upon his
experience or non-experience as a fly-
fisher.

The beginner, let me remark, should
never begin with a rod which he cannot
wield with ease to himself. If he does, he
cannot expect to make rapid progress, nor
will he get into a good style of fishing;
for the man whose rod is too long and too
heavy for his comfortable use, is continually
scheming how he can ease his tired muscles,
a thing which is quite fatal to good casting,
and even more so to neat " striking." The
" strike " should come from the angler's
wrist, never from the arm. A man may
have a powerful arm, yet possess a weak
hand and wrist ; but, whoever strikes with
his arm, is certain to do it clumsily, and

148 Wet- Fly Fishing

will have a long list of casualties. There-
fore, I repeat, let the beginner be content
to begin with a shortish rod, light and
therefore easily managed, of say 10 foot.
In the course of time, when he feels equal
to it, let him then purchase a rod of 11
foot, or even of 11J foot, for the fishing of
large rivers; but, whatever rod he may
elect to use, he must be its master. If the
rod masters him, he loses rather than gains
by the heavier and longer weapon, seeing
that he cannot use it to advantage.

Of late years, the racks and showcases
of the fishing-tackle makers' shops exhibit
some fly-rods which seem very unlike the
rods which old Mrs. Hogg used to sell when
I was a young man. Fly-rods then used
to taper more or less gradually from the
reel-fittings. Now it often appears to me
as if the butt of the rod was getting cut
down too much, leaving only sufficient
substance for the grip and the reel-fittings :
and then it jumps at once, into attenuated
proportions. I have taken exception to
greenheart because of its " steely " action;
but, when this is the build of a rod (though
the thinning-down of the butt, I grant,
does bring the spring of the rod into the
hand, and makes the rod necessarily lighter,

"The Anglers Equipment" 149

by reason of the wood which has been,
removed), just consider the practical
effect, especially when you are using
extra fine drawn gut, and a good-sized
trout plunges and jiggers as he fights for
his freedom.

When playing a large trout with one of
the old rods (which I acknowledge were
often far too thick in the butt) by putting
the rod over your shoulder, you brought
into play the delicate mechanism of the
top and the upper portion of the middle
joints. Nowadays, with these thin green-
heart butts, this delicacy is much lost.
One feels the trout give his " knock, knock,"
down to the very hand, at every plunge or
kick; and I hold, that for greenheart rods
to be cut down so severely in the butt, is
a mistake. I do not question the casting
powers of these attenuated greenheart rods,
although I scout as absurd the idea that
they cast a better line. I hold that a rod
which possesses the requisite power, should
likewise be delicate in its action, when a
large trout is leaping about.

I will make my meaning clearer by
relating a somewhat old story.

I had borrowed a very soft and pliable
rod, and was fishing on the Teviot with

150 Wet- Fly Fishing

very fine though whole gut. I hooked
a fresh-run grilse of 6 or 7 Ibs., which
bolted past me. I hooked him when fish-
ing a rough stream up, and as he rushed
past me, he made the most extraordinary
somersaults that I ever saw a grilse make,
in my life. To meet the danger, I at once
ran down stream and got opposite to him.
I then put the pliant rod, back over my
shoulder, and observed how well it gave
to every spring of the fish. It was not a
powerful weapon, and for daily use I would
not have accepted it at any price, but it
saved the situation on that occasion.

In consequence of a recent correspond-
ence in the pages of the Fishing Gazette,
I am obliged to sandwich in a few lines
on " light rods." I am loathe to touch
upon the subject, as it is one upon which
many good fellows and fly-fishers seem to
be rather touchy about. I cannot see my
way to agree with the extremists.

I admit, none the less, that there is
much to be said in favour of light, easily
handled, and well-balanced fly-rods, so long
as the hobby is not driven to death.

Fly-rods, to satisfy me, must have driv-
ing power plus delicacy.

Given these two main features, I am

"The Anglers Equipment" 151

with the " light-rod " movement ; provided
that it be kept well in hand.

Whether I, personally, am with the
movement or no, little matters. What
really is of consequence is, whether these
extra-light rods will be run after, in ten
years' time, as much as they appear to be,
at the present moment.

For the benefit of those who may fancy
that they are doing a smart thing in pur-
chasing a cheaper rod than their friends,
and which looks almost as well, permit me,
as an old fisherman, to say a few words.
When rods are fashioned from wood (as all
my own rods happen to be), the first thing
a rod-maker should look to, after the wise
selection of the various forms of timber
used, is to make sure that his wood is
thoroughly seasoned before a single rod is
cut out of it. This being done, the next
best thing is to select the pieces and com-
mence the work. Grant me your attention
now.

In planing down a rod ; knots and other
flaws are apt to discover themselves. Now,
any rod-maker who is jealous of his reputa-
tion discards all doubtful, not to mention
bad, pieces of wood. Thus it happens that
nothing save picked and seasoned wood is

152 Wet- Fly Fishing

permitted to be used, in the manufacture of
any rod bearing the name of a first-class
maker.

Contrast this with the habit of the man
who has got " to push a trade " by under-
selling his brother in the same line of
business* Here it would not pay to pick
the half-seasoned wood out of which cheap
rods are so often fashioned. Knots and
other defects are winked at, a good coat
of varnish covers up everything, and who
is the wiser ? Cheap joints are equally open
to criticism, perhaps even more so.

But I think I have said quite enough, to
prove that a cheap rod is, more or less, a
mere lottery. The man to employ, is he
who charges a fair, honest, and remunera-
tive price, and who is like the builder I
have read of somewhere, " who put his
conscience into every stone that he laid."

I have never regretted dealing with a
firm which carries these principles into
practice. Cane-built, otherwise split-cane
rods, I have a limited knowledge of. I
am able to say, however, that unless they
are made with the greatest nicety and care,
and the pieces fitted together with scientific
exactness, and then glued together skilfully,
they are nothing short of miserable frauds,

41 The Anglers Equipment" 153

mere traps for the unwary, or the lover of
bargains. You will find this cheap rubbish
often advertised, but never will you hear
any good fisherman singing their praises,
save when he does so, by blessing them,
backwards.

The rings which are most in favour
at present are, I fancy, up-right and snake
rings.

For myself, I confess that I see no
reason for changing the old-fashioned
ordinary rings and keepers. Indeed, I once
had one of my own rods fitted with snake
rings, and afterwards had them removed.
Here again it is very much a matter of
individual taste, and it is not one of over-
powering importance. I own that long
habit makes me somewhat conservative in
such matters.

Now as to reel fittings : the double-
brazed and slide-reel fittings, or " The
Universal" are surely good enough for the
most fastidious of men and of anglers.

Again, as to " Joints." The old-fashioned
joints are still much used, which are tied
together with thread, after the rod is put
up. They have stood the test ever since
I can remember anything, and are most
serviceable.

154 Wet- Fly Fishing

Messrs. Hardy Brothers sell a patented
joint named The Lock-fast, which I myself
have used, and can speak of as a thoroughly
serviceable invention. It does not, I think,
add to the appearance of a rod, but is, not-
withstanding, simple and effective, and is
one of the best joints I have ever fished
with.

The last rod which Mr. Forrest built
for me was fitted with " suction " joints,
and I have pleasure in stating that in my
own hand, they have fulfilled all require-
ments.

No duffer of a rod-maker (and there
are many such) can turn out suction joints
satisfactorily.

With rods, as with joints, the best are
invariably the cheapest in the end.

Messrs. Turnbull of 60, Princes Street,
Edinburgh, whose names I have already
mentioned (and who, probably, will not
agree with half of what I have written), have
also invented and patented a joint which
appears to me so practical and useful, that
I now attempt to give a description of it.
It is named " TurnbulTs Victoria Joint,'*
and was invented by Mr. Turnbull, senior,
himself.

At the very bottom of the upper joint

"The Angler's Equipment" 155

he has placed a T-shaped brass key, and
corresponding to this, is what is equiva-
lent to the key-hole, placed at the bottom
of the socket of the ferrule, of the lower
joint.

The joint is simply pushed home, until
the key enters the key-hole, (the illustration
is my own, but it will enable any one to
understand the principle of the thing in a
second, for it is as near as may be, on the
plan of the key and the keyhole). Once
home, the upper joint is twisted half a
turn to the right, and, when it can go
no further, the rod rings will be found
exactly opposite to one another. It seems
as strong as it is simple, and I can see
no earthly reason why it should not last
for many years.

I think it will be found in practice a
very durable, and it certainly is an ex-
tremely neat, fixture, as no part of it shows
externally.

Mr. Turnbull will, I am sure, be happy
to explain it to any one who will call upon
him, or he will forward his catalogue by
post, which contains a sketch of the joint,
and explains its working.

Having now explained the sort of rod
which I myself prefer ; the reel fittings, rod

156 Wet- Fly Fishing

joints, and rings ; nothing seems left to
write about save the varnish.

A good deal of scribbling, I consider,
has been thrown away over the so-called
flashing in the sun of a highly varnished
rod, and the need for giving to rods a dull
finish. I cannot say that I ever found any
really first-rate fly-fisherman complain that
he had failed to score because of the flashing
of his rod, and I think it is somewhat of
an armchair theory.

Did no one ever observe, when another
angler is throwing a long line in a calm,
bright, sunshiny day — especially a thick
and heavy line — that if you happen to be
standing at the proper angle, "the glare,"
as the line is being lifted off the water, has
at times all the vividness of flash, of the
heliograph itself? I saw it strikingly on
one occasion while I was calmly sitting
down, doing nothing in particular, and I
thought how such a flash must scare the
trout. But I reflected that, after all, it
was not so absolutely certain that the trout
would see it, simply because I, who
happened to be seated at the angle of
reflection, did. Fortunately, it is a thing
not very often observed, and by the angler
himself (so far as I am aware), never. I see

"The Anglers Equipment" 157

no harm in a dull finish to a fly-rod, which,
if it be but a fad, is one on the right side.

The main point for fishermen to be
particular about, is not to fish with the fly
when the sun is shining on his back, throw-
ing the shadow of his rod and his figure in
front of him.

If a man remembers to avoid this, I do
not think he need trouble, because his rod
is highly varnished.

And now as to reels. Let me remark
that I prefer gun-metal and brass-bronzed
reels to all others. Vulcanite reels break,
if they happen to fall upon a stone ; and I
know nothing to the advantage of aluminium,
save lightness. There are many patented
reels about : of which the " Moscrop,"
seems to be a good sample.

I do not desire a reel to be excessively
light, since it helps to balance the rod, placed
as it is behind the " grip," not in front of
it, as of old : and I regard as unnecessary,
many of the so-called improvements in
reels. My own opinion is, that the very
best quality of brass or gun-metal " check "
reels with revolving plates, are hard to
beat. To give them a fair chance, they
should frequently be taken to pieces, the
plate removed, the interior thoroughly

158 Wet-Fly Fishing

cleansed, and the spindle delicately oiled.
If this is not done, the sand works its
way in under the revolving plate, and will
wear the reel out, long before its time.

How often does it occur that some
angling friend will confide in you how fre-
quently he gets " smashed up," especially
when fishing a large and somewhat rapid
river. Let us suppose a case ! The angler
is casting up stream, in the teeth of the
breeze, and is using very fine-drawn gut.
The force needed to cast the fine gut line
necessitates the point of the rod often
coming very near the water, and now and
then, even touching it. As the line alights,
a large trout seizes the fly and makes a wild
dash for liberty. Then follows a heavy
pull, with the inevitable smash. This is
often put down to " bad luck," that flatter-
ing excuse for every loss under the sun,
from bad investments down to broken gut
casts (or "collars"). I boldly affirm that
a considerable percentage of these losses
are preventable, and not only is this so, but
I hold that the reel, not the rod, is generally
at fault.

Men will pay the greatest attention to
the delicacy of the rod, who will use a reel
just as it comes from the manufacturer's

"The Anglers Equipment" 159

hands, and bestow no more thought on it
than would a little child.

Even when fishing with "whole gut,"
a reel that needs a hard pull to start it, is,
believe me, a very frequent cause of pre-
ventable disasters. When one is using fine-
drawn gut, the reel-line should " pay out "
very easily indeed.

All that is required of the " check " upon
a reel is to prevent overrunning.

The wiser plan to follow when getting
a new " rig out " is, I think, the following : —

Have your reel-line put into the reel,
while you are in the shop, and see how your
reel works, yourself. Make perfectly sure
that too much line is not foolishly crammed
in. This is a danger in actual practice, for
when a large trout is being wound in, he
may make a bolt of it, just as the landing-
net is being placed under him. If he does,
and your reel chokes, down goes the point of
the rod and " all is over but the shouting. "

Therefore I advise the learner strongly
not to crowd his reel. When you place
the reel into the fittings, you will soon
perceive how the new reel " pays out " the
line.

If grudgingly, get your rod-maker to
weaken the spring.

160 Wei-Fly Fishing

This " tip " is very well worth recording.

He who will not take note of it, deserves
to lose his largest trout.

I have frequently found men using a
reel (originally an excellent one) so clogged
by reason of neglect, dirt, and verdigris,
that it was no wonder they frequently lost,
and complained of losing, trout.

Let any one take a dozen reels, in daily
use at a fishing club or inn, and if he does
not find some one of them so stiff that it
requires a small donkey-engine to haul the
line out at all, I shall be pleasantly surprised.
So long as a reel does not overrun (and the
" ratchet7' or " check " is there for that
very purpose), it can hardly " pay out " too
freely.

Lines (like reels) should also be of the
best ; for, indeed, " cheap and nasty " are
many of the lines which are sold at the
present day. There is one kind of prepared
line which I simply dislike. If the line -be
suddenly bent back upon itself, or if it
" kinks,71 the outer waterproof "cake'7
cracks, very much as does an ordinary com-
posite candle.

Any dressing which has this defect is
indeed faulty, and for wet-fly work is to be
avoided. The best dressing, in my opinion,

"The Anglers Equipment" 161

is one which is thoroughly rubbed into, and
incorporated with, the line itself.

"When finished, it will have little or
nothing of the " wax- taper- style-of-line "
about it.

This is what I prefer for my own use.

Certain very carefully prepared lines are
dressed under the air-pump. They are very
costly, but whether they are proportionately
good I cannot say, as I have never used
one myself.

I am very favourably impressed with
what I have heard and read of them.

I think that most men like to fish with
a tapered line. Well, it has its advantages ;
but the thin portion is sometimes made very
long, so that, when throwing a quite short
line, you are rather handicapped, if you
have to cast against the wind.

Knowing this, I often cut off one or
two yards, from the extreme end. This
I need hardly say, should be done with
judgment.

As for silk-worm gut, and the gut
collars that are made from it, I do not
think I can do better than advise the learner
to place himself unreservedly in the hands
of any first-rate fishing-tackle maker, in
order to insure getting reliable hanks of gut,

M

1 62 Wet- Fly Fishing

either as it comes from Spain, or, after it
has been drawn through the machine.

In the early spring months, the very
finest whole-gut, may at times be used.
As a rule, I use drawn gut.

Three yards is the usual length of the
fine fly casts, sold in the shops. I in-
variably add two, at times three, short
links of whole-gut, tapered. I fancy that it
casts better ; and anyhow, I have adopted
the custom for many long years. I am not
very much taken with tapered reel-lines,
and would quite as soon fish with a really
good level line, if it be of a thickness
suitable to the rod I am using.

I have no desire to preach this as
a creed. Let me add that the novice
should not begin with fine 4X or 5X drawn
gut.

If he does, he will find it very hard to
cast, and he will prove a very profitable
customer to the fishing-tackle makers.

Let him begin with a cast made of
whole gat, tapered down to medium drawn
gut.

When he can make a clean cast with
this, he can then increase the fineness of
his gut collar. Home was not built in a
day, and the man who thinks he can learn

"The Anglers Equipment" 163

all that there is to know about fly-fishing
in a few hours will find that he is mistaken.
It is quite astonishing what fine gut an
expert can throw against the wind, provided
that he has a strong wrist, and is free from
rheumatism ; for rheumatism makes the
strongest wrist useless while the attack lasts :
a thing that many an old fisherman finds out
to his cost.

FISHING-BASKETS.

They are broadly of two kinds, French
and the English. I prefer the French, and
I always use it. There are two great faults
with all wicker fishing-baskets, and the first
is this. If you are fishing in a very keen
and drying wind and have only taken a
few trout ; still worse if you have caught
but one or two very fine specimen fish, it is
surely very aggravating to find them, at the
end of the day, withered and robbed of
their beautiful colours, the tail and the fins
being especially ruined, and past all hope
of setting up satisfactorily. To obviate all
this, I many years ago, devised the following
plan.

Just inside the creel, and near to the top,
I take a piece of an ordinary penny cane, or,

164 Wet-Fly Fishing

as a substitute, a piece of split willow, (a
length of zinc or copper-wire makes a good
substitute.) The basket-maker now tacks
this, at intervals, to the inside and near
to the top of the fishing-basket itself. I
now take my creel to a waterproof-maker
and have an indiarubber cloth-lining or bag,
cut carefully to pattern, till it fits exactly to
the shape of the creel. The glazed surface
of the rubber cloth is of course placed inside
it and next to the fish. The top portion is
doubled over in order to give strength, and
several large-sized hooks, such as are used
to fasten ladies sealskin jackets and other
like garments, added. These hooks are
firmly stitched on, but are also held in
position by pieces of indiarubber cloth,
smeared over by the solution usually em-
ployed, (pure indiarubber dissolved in
naptha) when mending waders or water-
proof coats. But the exact position must
be obtained, before these hooks are fixed
on at all. It is obtained thus.

The indiarubber lining is held inside
the creel by the one hand, it being mean-
while marked carefully, by the other ; and,
if this is properly carried out, once the
hooks are permanently fixed on the lining,
not only will it be found in situ, but,

"The Angler's Equipment" 165

each individual hook will slip over the split-
cane (or willow) support, exactly half-way
between each spot where the split-cane
support has been tacked on, by the.
basket-maker. It takes very little time to
do, it must not be done in a slovenly manner.'
I have just said that I prefer French wicker
baskets, since on these I can easily have
sewn, by any saddler (or cobbler, for the
matter of that,) the two simple brass rings,
in which I sling my landing-net ; and from
one of which, I always land my trout, when
I am wading, in the middle of a stream, or
pool.

The reasons which prompted me to line
my creel with an indiarubber bag in this
way, were two : and the second is,
that on any long angling holiday, the pres-
sure of the large quantities of trout taken,
day after day, forces the slime of the fish
into the interstices of the wicker-work ;
where no amount of washing can effect its
complete dislodgment.

In hot weather, the slime soon decom-
poses ; and I have before now, entered a
railway carriage (when off for a day's fish-
ing) to find that my creel, attracted atten-
tion. Even the guard's van must have
frequently become decidedly mal-odorous,

1 66 Wet-Fly Fishing

when I placed my creel therein, on some
quiet line of railway. Eeally the smell, at
times, was beyond a joke. Now, no such
state of affairs need be possible ; as the
indiarubber lining is removed so easily by
the servant, who washes it with a wet sponge,
and dries it in the fresh air, hanging it inside
out, on a fence or peg. A little "sanitas,"
or failing that, well diluted carbolic acid,
keeps the bag perfectly sweet and whole-
some. It is replaced in a couple of minutes.

You see, the basket needs no scrubbing,
and, as a consequence, lasts twice as long.

I also carry, a removable inner lid,
made by cementing together two pieces of
indiarubber-cloth, so as to leave the glazed
surface outside.

This is cut roughly, to the size and
shape of the creel, and is placed over each
trout, or over each fresh layer of trout ; as
they keep tumbling into the basket. The
usual wicker-lid on all fishing-baskets, with
its hole for passing the trout through, admits
of sufficient ventilation for all purposes.

I have used this lining for many years ;
and my friend Mr. K. B. Marston, the
editor of the Fishing Gazette, uses it con-
stantly, and so do sundry other of my friends,
some of whom swear by it.

"The Anglers Equipment" 167

For myself, I declare, with the greatest
emphasis, that it has given me every satis-
faction. Of course it increases the weight
of the creel, by some ounces, and also the
cost; but its advantages far outweigh any
such drawbacks.

Looking over Messrs. Hardy Brothers'
excellent catalogue, I find that they have
taken up the idea of the indiarubber lining
of the creel, which I am sure their patrons
will appreciate.

Several years ago, I sent my fishing-
basket to Mr. J. J. Hardy, that he might
see the indiarubber lining : the rings in
which I carry my landing-net, and " the
Tod safety buckle." I allude to "the
Houghton Creel ;" of which, with its lid
open, I am glad to see that a capital photo-
graph is given, showing the lining, with
its cane, willow, or any other support.

I regret that I am unable to add that I
like new-fangled creels, which are fitted up
with such a close resemblance to a lady's
dressing-case, with trays and such-like
things, to hold the flybook, the lunch,
flask, pipe, etc. I prefer to carry a small
bag over my other shoulder, in which I
hold my lunch and my flybook.

I must say that I rather like the little

1 68 Wet- Fly Fishing

indiarubber bags, which are attached by
straps to the outside and front of the creel.
These are very handy, and are to be recom-
mended accordingly, since they do not pre-
vent the angler filling his creel with trout,
if he happens to be in luck's way, which I
trust he will often be.

I am no faddist in fishing-gear, and, if
I have invented a few things, I have proved
them, up to the hilt, to be of real practical
utility to myself, long before I have ventured
to give them to the angling world. I may
add that I have never patented an inven-
tion, and that any one is at liberty to make
use of mine. It is always well to avoid
rushing into print till one's invention has
been tested — a thing young fishermen
should remember.

For shoulder strap, the usual one made
of leather and webbing is as good as any-
thing I know. I need hardly add that I
always use attached to it, my other inven-
tion, "Tod's safety buckle." '

A description of my buckle appeared
in the Fishing Gazette, many years ago, and
also in the number for December 6, 1902,
in the reprint of a paper which I read
before the members of the Trout Anglers'
Club, Edinburgh, in January of that year.

" The Angler s Equipment" 169

Therefore I shall not now explain it in
detail.

Suffice to say, it is so constructed that,
if the angler was to .miss his footing in a
flooded river, when his creel was Ml of
trout, and he himself in danger of being
drowned, he could get rid of his creel in
a moment, without having to push the

MB. B. M. TOD'S BUCKLE FOB CBEEL STRAP.

shoulder strap over his head at all. In
fact, all he has to do is to pull a piece of
brass, which liberates the strap and basket,
almost as rapidly as the trigger of a rifle
acts. If the wet-fly fisher, or his wife,
does not think that this is a matter worth
considering, I, who nearly came to grief on
more than one occasion, am quite unable
to agree with him, or her. Let me assure
anglers that, having never profited in my

170 Wet-Fly Fishing

life by the sale of my inventions, I have
no hesitation in recommending those who
fish our Scottish rivers to use one of my
" Safety" buckles, which are sold by Mr.
Gillett, of Fetter Lane, London, E.G.

FLYBOOKS AND BOXES.

I have little inclination to enlarge upon
this subject. Many years ago, I gave it a
certain amount of consideration, and, acting
upon my suggestions, Mr. Francis Walbran,
of Leeds, brought out and christened " The
Tod Flybook."

The book is covered with solid calf-
leather, the cover pockets being also of
leather. Instead of being fitted with parch-
ment leaves, I had pockets of parchment
used to interleave the whole book, which
makes it extremely commodious. It has,
moreover, got two most useful felt pads,
instead of flannel or serge leaves, for
holding droppers and other odds and ends.
Of course, it has the usual places for
scissors, etc. It is a serviceable and per-
fectly plain flybook ; but whether it is for
sale still, I do not really know.

There is one small and quite inexpensive
fly and gut-cast carrier, which I advise every

" The Anglers Equipment" 171

wet-fly fisherman to purchase : I mean
" Paley's Flypouch." Its cost is trifling,
in comparison to its value. It takes up
no room in the pocket, and yet it holds
sufficient flies for a day's, or even for a
week's, fishing. I recommend it as a good
thing. In giving this piece of advice, I
am very unlike that dear old gentleman, of
hygone days, who remarked to a guest at
his own table, " Try the sherry; my wine
merchant says it is good. / recommend
the port, because 1 made it myself I "

I am inclined to say, " Get a Tod Fly-
book if you like, you will find it a good,
useful article; but do not forget to pur-
chase one of Paley's Flypouches." I have
carried the handy little affair for many
years, and I look on it as indispensable.
Of inventing boxes to hold flies, there
seems to be no limit ; but these are chiefly,
if not entirely, meant for holding eyed fly-
hooks. Those who, as wet-fly fishermen,
prefer the eyed hook, will find a bewildering
assortment of little boxes sold for this
purpose all over the kingdom. I myself
possess a few, but they are of such a simple
and practical character, that I can only say,
like the old gentleman just mentioned, that
I feel inclined to recommend them because

172 Wet- Fly Fishing

I made them myself. Pick out any little
box which comes in your way, and line the
bottom with a sheet of cork. Stick this
into place by glue, and what better box does
an ordinary fisherman require ? I may add
that Mr. Turnbull, of 60, Princes Street,
Edinburgh, sells a book identical with the
Tod flybook. I was surprised to find it
only a few days ago, in his new, and
handsome premises.

LANDING-NETS, ETC.

For many years I have discarded all
but the simplest and least expensive of
landing-nets, as I find that I can do better
work with them than with the more elabo-
rate ones, using, as I always do, the " carry-
ing-rings'' and the " Ian ding-rings" attached
to my own creel, than which, in my humble
opinion, no landing-net I have ever seen,
works so rapidly and certainly, when one
is fishing and wading in the middle of a
river, as mine. Let me describe it.

It has a plain : thin rather than thick,
steel or iron ring, without a single joint of
any kind, furnished with a screw, to secure
it to the landing-net handle. This handle
is constructed of plain bamboo, with a brass

" The Angler's Equipment" 173

ferrule at each end, the top ferrule to take
the screw of the net ring. I consider that
the best nets are those that are tanned —
provided only that they are made of thin
and hard, rather than of loose and soft,
cord ; provided, also, that the knots them-
selves are tightly and closely pulled together,
and are quite small. It is a great point to
have small, hard knots, as the flyhooks do
not stick into them so readily. Next to
these are the prepared silk nets.

I attach my net to the ring, with copper
or zinc wire, ribbing it regularly along till,
at last, I have got the net hanging quite
evenly all round the ring itself. It makes a
very neat fastening. Long ago I discarded
jointed folding rings as being unsuitable for
my plan of carrying the net, and I have
never regretted doing so. I do not expect
all the world to adopt my method of landing
trout in midstream, etc.

Let me now enter into a detailed
description of the method I have alluded
to.

I am, as I mention in the preface, much
indebted to my friend Mr. Andrew Smith,
W.S., President of the Trout Anglers' Club,
Edinburgh, and who at one time (as a hobby)
edited that excellent monthly the Scots

174 Wet-Fly Fishing

Angler (which is no longer published), for
his courteous permission to reproduce an
article which I contributed to that journal
in May, 1897, the substance of which had
already appeared in the columns of the
Fishing Gazette, of which I am now such
an old contributor. It may well be included
in my book. I named the essay —

"HOW TO LAND TROUT EXPEDITIOUS!/? WHEN
WADING.

" Nearly all landing-nets used when
wading, are defective when in use. If my
object was merely to invent a landing-net
which was easy to carry, several of those
in use fill that requirement better than my
own. Let this point be clearly stated and
understood, before I go any further.

"Nay, more; in rivers where all the
fishing is done dryshod from the bank, I
again say that some other landing-nets,
with slings, etc., are preferable to my own.

" But when the river is one which
demands wading, and deep wading — a river
where to wade ashore with each trout is
not only a loss of time, but a great dis-
turbance of good water — then I know of no
arrangement so good as the following.

"The Anglers Equipment" 175

"It has been also described in the Sew
Francisco Breeder and Sportsman, the editor
of which was delighted with it, for his own
use. It is easily described when one can
illustrate it by photographs, without which
aids it is not quite so easy.

" My first idea was to avoid the con-
fused condition so many get into when
landing a trout in mid-water in the usual
way.

" When the important moment arrives,
the fisherman has at last got to free his
landing-net from its sling, or whatever may
be the method of carrying it; and now,
having the net as well as the rod to
manage, if the trout be large and makes
a bolt for freedom, he is sadly hampered
by reason of the landing-net being in his
left hand ; for, of course, he has got to use
both hands in order to play a trout properly
— one hand for his reel. Well, this is so
evident that practical fishermen will at
once see what I mean. But I have not
finished yet. At last the trout is netted.
What follows ? The rod must be disposed
of, and the landing - net then becomes
a regular nuisance. You must tuck the
handle under your left arm, and, ham-
pered still with your rod, you have to kill

176 Wet- Fly Fishing

and basket the trout fettered by rod and
landing-net the while.

" Now, I conceived a very simple plan
remedying all this in 1877, 1 had a harness-
ring sewn on my basket, and passed the
landing-net handle through this, working
my landing-net almost entirely from this
ring. It did admirably; but I found that
the handle was apt to get between my legs.
By degrees I adopted three rings — two for
'carrying' the landing - net,, and one for
' working ' the net from, when I am wading ;
and, further, I now have a strap, which I
find an invaluable auxiliary.

' ' There is a tendency for the ring and
handle to become unscrewed, while one is
carrying the landing-net attached to the
basket ; and I have often had to walk back
half a mile or so, only to find my net and
handle lying quite close to each other. To
avoid all this, I first screw the ring of the
net into the brass socket of the handle;
and then, when it is firmly home, I have
a hole drilled through both. My next step
is to form a 'thread* for the reception of
an ordinary screw-nail. This makes every-
thing secure. You can thus fish for any
length of time without any risk of the net
becoming detached from the handle; and

"The Anglers Equipment" 177

when your trip is over, all that you have
got to do is to remove the screw-nail, and
to disjoint the ring from the handle, for
convenience in travelling and in packing.
And now for my plan of using the net when
wading mid-stream — its chief advantage.

"If the water (and, as a consequence,
the wading) is deep, and I have to use
wading trousers, I place the net through
the top ring — the ' landing ring/ as I
have named, it — A. But if the water is
shallow, I place the handle of the net
through the lower ring C for convenience
of working it.

"Now there is a third, the large D-
shaped saddler's ring B on the opposite
side of the basket, near to the bottom, and
yet close to the edge. This is meant for
carrying the net-handle, which has, mean-
while, been thrust through the top at A.
A glance at the sketch of the basket will
suffice to make this quite clear. When
fairly at work, and the trout are taking the
fly well, time is too important a matter to
admit of one's fumbling about, trying to
find the ring at B (the D-shaped ring afore-
said, the carrying ring).

" Most anglers, I presume, are familiar
with the coat-straps on the back of the

N

178 Wet-Fly Fishing

creel, to strap" on the waterproof coat, or to
hold, when travelling to one's fishing-ground,
the wading stockings when going to or
coming from the fishing-ground. Well, one
day I was very busy amongst good, keen-
rising trout; so I took off my creel, and
loosely buckled the strap on the right side,
leaving the one on my left unbuckled. The

BACK VIEW OF MB. TOD'S CREEL.

buckled strap thus formed a loose leathern
loop, and, the landing-net handle being
already through the upper or landing-ring
A, I found it could very easily be tucked
into this loop by the aid of the right hand ;
and that so quickly, too, that there was
absolutely no loss of time.

" When trout are feeding hard and fast
in April, who can overestimate the value

"The Angler's Equipment" 179

of utilizing, and making capital out of,
every moment of the golden hour of ' the
rise ? ' Nothing marks the duffer so much
as waste of time during this brief but
valuable hour. Again, there is the timid
angler, who plays every good trout as if
he was a salmon.

" It does not matter how good a line a
man throws (many men who can throw a
good-enough line are extremely poor fly-
fishermen), such anglers will always be
found wanting at the close of the day.
Another man 'collars' his trout when
they are rising freely.

" He does not mind if he loses a few, for
others are soon hooked, and he who plays
a bold game, fills his creel the fastest. Of
course, I do not skull-drag a fish ; for, to
begin with, I use very fine-drawn gut;
but once a trout has had his first rush or
so, I endeavour to ' collar ' him as soon as
possible, and I lose very few trout in the
process. So much for the value of time
as a factor of importance, in filling the
creel. And now to see how my system
economizes time.

" Suppose I have waded into deep water,
and have hooked a pound trout, I ' work '
him till he is within a yard or so above me,

180 Wet- Fly Fishing

and then I quietly slide the landing-net
out of the landing-ring with the left hand,
lower it, and in one second, scoop that trout
into the net, with a rapid twist of the hand,
never — unless absolutely compelled to do so
— taking the landing-net handle out of A
or C, the landing-rings, when wading mid-
stream. The trout is now in the net, and,
quite as easily as a sword is returned to its
scabbard, the left hand pushes the handle
home, till the ring of the landing-net rests
securely against the side of the creel.

" You can now tuck the rod into the top
of one of the wading-stockings, allowing it
to rest over the bend of the right arm, and,
both hands being thus perfectly free, you
can seize your trout and break its neck
while it is in the landing-net. It is a
dangerous game to play when the trout
is out of the net, and it accounts for the
loss of many a good fish. But, the fish
once dead, the hook is readily removed,
and the trout quickly creeled. The next
moment you are casting over another rising
fish.

" Surely this hint ' is better than a poke
in the eye with a sharp stick' to fellow-
anglers. In my own hands it works per-
fectly, and very smoothly.

Photographed by Donovan, Brighton."]

E. M. TOD SLIDING THE LANDING-NET BACK WITH THE NEWLY
CAUGHT TROUT.

NOTE.— A mackerel was used.

•vt,

ki.

[Photographed by Donovan, Brighton,

THE LANDING-NET COMFORTABLY HANGING AGAINST FISHING-BASKET,
BOTH HANDS BEING FREE TO UNHOOK THE TROUT.

It shows the process equally well.

[To be placed between pages 180 and 181.

"The Anglers Equipment" 181

"I once landed three half-pound trout
(on the Cumberland Eden), one on each
fly ; and this when I dared not take a step,
so fearfully slippery was the wading, and
so strong the current. Yet I basketed all
three, without moving an inch from the
spot, to the delight of the keeper, who
watched me the whole time, and waved his
hat to cheer me, as he knew that I could
hear nothing, wading in that turmoil of
rushing water. And when I had all three
safely in the creel, it was a veritable triumph
of my system, for I was able to kill each
trout (and basket it) quite easily and with
certainty, and was (without a minute's
delay) fishing again as if nothing had
happened. Yet such was the wading, that
I had to use a spike on my landing-net
handle, and make quite sure of each foot
being firmly planted, ere I dared to lift the
other.

" I was not sorry to leave that place and
go to a safer — but not till I had fished it
thoroughly.

"It looks rather complicated on paper.
In reality it is simplicity itself, and so in-
expensive, that the poorest angler can rig
his creel up with my rings and straps ; in
fact, the fishing-tackle shops look with but

1 82 Wet-Fly Fishing

little favour on this or on any invention,
unless they can say to themselves, ' There
is money in it.' If that is its only draw-
back, I trust that wet-fly fishermen will
take my hints kindly, and find them of
value. I have nothing to gain but their
kindly appreciation."

CHAPTEE VII.

CONCERNING FLIES.

THE study of Entomology taken up thoroughly
is not only a fascinating one, but is of real
value to the fly-fisherman. It ought to be
no less so to the truly artistic fly-dresser.

Especially is it of value to the other
school, whose fly is ever fished floating
and kept dry ; for I hold that, to the vision
of the trout, the only eye which the fly-
fisherman and the fly-dresser should en-
deavour to please, the appearance of an
artificial fly, floating withits wings " cocked,"
and that of a wet fly, tumbled about " head
over heels " underwater, can have little or
no comparison. The colour of the body, in
many of our artificial imitations, silk bodies
in particular, is not always preserved, when
the fly is thoroughly wet, as it is when
absolutely dry.

This is one of the advantages of any
non-porous substance for the body of flies,

184 Wet- Fly Fishing

such as quill and celluloid; but over and
above these things, a fly, when sunk, must
present to the trout's vision, a wholly
different spectacle, to " the thing of beauty "
which generally floats, with gauzy wings
over his head. It reminds me of the
" swell " of John Leech's period, as he
sallied forth to the banqueting-hall, the
dandy of dandies ; with not a single pin out
of place ; and that same individual when he
returns home, all " mops and brooms/7 his
hair disordered, and his dress sopping wet,
from walking home without his umbrella,
in a downpour of rain.

I do not know how to express my con-
victions regarding entomological knowledge,
in its relation to wet-fly fishing. Let me
hasten to acknowledge that I make no
claim whatever, to being an entomologist.
I am, however, in excellent company, for
how few of our best Scottish authorities
have united the study of entomology with
the practice of wet-fly fishing. In Scotland
this is, in a very marked degree, the case,
with some notable exceptions ; and as
Scotsmen are neither ignorant nor stupid,
surely there must be some hidden reason
for this. Shall I dig for its solution ?
Then, here goes 1 I think it is threefold.

Concerning Flies 185

First, that hitherto, we have had lots of
trout-fishing without having had to study
Entomology at all ; second, that our rivers
are rapid, and are not so well suited to
the dry fly ; and thirdly, that in England,
there are a far greater number of leisured
and wealthy fly-fishers, than there are in
Scotland.

When I look around me, I feel sure that
our best wet-fly fishermen in Scotland, are
chiefly professional and business men, who
have but little time or inclination for such
additional studies ; who take their annual
holiday, fly-fishing ; and, that over, have to
take up, once more, the more serious affairs
of life. Therefore, the man of leisure or
the scientist, is the one to whom we all
naturally look, for information upon such
matters. But a man may be a very good
fly-fisher and a poor entomologist, or he
may be a good entomologist and an in-
different fly -fisher. The man who combines
the two, and who also can fish well with
wet-fly and dry-fly alike, is king of fishermen
"for a1 that."

It is a matter of sincere regret to me,
that I did not study the science of ento-
mology in my youth.

The first work I took up haphazard was

1 86 Wet- Fly Fishing

the "The Scientific Angler/1 by old David
Foster, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Speaking
of the "Olive Dun," he remarks that "It
makes its first appearance in February,
when it presents a dead, leaden colour,
and is known as the 'Blue Dun/ A few
weeks later, if the weather be genial, it is a
shade lighter in the body, and is then
termed the ' Cock- winged Dun/ By the
beginning of April, it is of a general olive
colour, with a yellow ribbed body. It is
then known as the ' Yellow Dun ' of April.
In April, in the cold water close to springs
or to the sources of streams, the fly appears
of a light blue tint, and is designated the
'Pale Blue Dun,' and, in a few weeks
later, the ' Blue Dun ' of February appears
as the 'Yellow Dun' of May. In cold
weather, however, it appears as the ' Hares-
Ear Dun.' "

The "Yellow Dun" continues to be
plentiful through June, the action of the
sun's rays rendering it lighter in the body.
In July it is called the "Pale Evening
White," and then, he goes on to add, that
the weather causes the selfsame insect so
to change its colour, that it is known now
as the " Common Yellow Dun," and again
as the " Golden Dun/' and he affirms that

Concerning Flies 187

" all these varieties are the progeny of the
Bed Spinner."

Then I turn up a modern book of
scientific interest and value, namely, " Dry-
Fly Entomology/' by a gentleman whose
knowledge and information so well com-
bines all that is scientific and practical
in fly-fishing — the talented author of
"The Book of the Dry Fly," Mr. F. M.
Halford. Turning to page 158, I read as
follows : —

" The patterns (numbers 25 to 29 inclu-
sive), are imitations of the ' Blue Dun.'
From time immemorial the existence of
such a natural insect has been affirmed,
and in the face of so much accumulated
evidence, it must be included in the
category of ' Imitations of Natural Insects.'
It has never been my good fortune to find
or procure a specimen, nor can I find
among the list of British EphemeridaB any
corresponding to it in colour, etc. Two or
three of my friends have sent me what they
took to be individuals of the species, but
they have, on examination, all proved to
be sub-imagines of the 'Blue Dun' or of
the * Blue-winged Olive.' ' I have quoted
Mr. Halford's words verbatim. They are, I
confess, a surprise to me.

1 88 Wet-Fly Fishing

" A Handbook of Angling," by " Ephe-
mera " (of Bell's Life in London), pub-
lished in 1847, was the next work I con-
sulted. It is a charming book. I confess,
however, to finding it rather difficult to
understand what " Ephemera " means by
the "Early Blue Dun." Does he mean
the fly which is the subject of so much
ink-slinging — the common "Blue Dun"
— the very existence of which Mr. Half or d
questions? or does he mean the "Iron
Blue " ? Let us examine his own words.

" Of the true Dun ephemeral flies, the
variety is equally endless, from the early
'Blue Dun,' which may be considered as
the type, through all the gradations of
'Iron Blue/ 'Violet Blue/ 'Ashy Grey,1
and ' Pale Blue/ "

Old David Foster must surely have felt
that the " Iron Blue " was at least occasionally
confounded with the common " Blue Dun,"
when he wrote these significant words —

" ' The Iron Blue/ is a distinct species,
and is not to be confounded with the
' Olive Dun/ which is double the size."

And further on he adds this important
remark : " The metamorphosis of this fly
' the Iron Blue/ is the Jenny (or Jinney)
Spinner. "

Concerning Flies 189

" Francis Francis," in "A Book on
Angling n (page 170), remarks, concerning
the "Blue Dun," "It varies slightly in
colour, according to the temperature and
season. If the day be cold and bleak, it
has a darker tinge than in warmer and more
genial weather ; " and he also remarks that
"Ephemera," in his " March Flies," repro-
duces this fly under four different names,
namely, "The Early Dark Dun," "The
Olive Fly," " The Dark Hares-ear," and the
" Hares-ear and Yellow." A little variety of
shade is all the real difference that exists
between them.

I now turn to that well-known standard
work, " The Fly-Fisher's Entomology," by
Alfred Konalds, and I find (at page 62,
under the head of the "Blue Dun") these
remarks : " This fly lives for three or four
days in the state represented, and then
becomes the Eed Spinner" and so on;
he actually dismisses the "Blue Dun" in
a dozen lines — a circumstance which com-
pletely staggers me, since it is one of
the ephemeridae most interesting to the
scientist as well as the fisherman. Can
he, like Mr. Halford, have had doubts
regarding its existence? For he does not
devote a word to its many transformations

i go Wet-Fly Fishing

and hues, in marked contrast to some other
authorities, who dilate at length upon both.
I need no better proof, surely, that I shall
be acting wisely when, with the foregoing
remarks, I leave the subject of entomology
alone, and write simply as a practical wet-
fly fisherman, of nearly fifty years' standing.
If I understand the position, reduced to
actual practice, it comes to this—-
The scientific Angler-Entomologist goes
forth on his netting and dredging expedi-
tions, and with infinite patience collects his
delicate specimens.

These he takes home ; no easy task, as
so many die on the way, from a variety of
causes — change of temperature for one, a
thing I learned from a very interesting and
instructive lantern-lecture, given at " The
Trout Anglers Club," Edinburgh, a little
time back. He verifies what he has gained
by study, perchance detecting some errors,
when pursuing his own original researches.
Then he takes up his pen and writes a book
about it all. And now " look upon this
picture, and then on that ! "

The wet-fly fisherman (what else could
you expect of him ?) reads his book, sucks
his brains; and, picking up his scientific
information quickly, straightway compresses

Concerning Flies 191

it into a small and handy compass, very
easily carried about.

Then (the ingrate) when he next meets
the angler-scientist at the river-side, what
does he do, but use the very cudgel the
latter had made so beautifully, and breaks
his head with it; "pour encourager les autres!"

After all, is he not in the right of it when
all is said ? What seems to me to matter
most, in a day's fly-fishing, is not so much
the light of science thrown upon the struc-
ture, the development, and the habits of
the various forms of insect-life upon which
trout "live, move, and have their being,"
as to reduce this knowledge to practice, and
to make it really helpful to the average fly-
fisherman.

The angler should possess, at least,
sufficient scientific information to enable
him to recognize the flies as they appear in
their various seasons, and to anticipate
their advent with more or less accuracy.

Occasionally, in practice, he will find
(as I have done), that he will have to unlearn
all this ; and to grasp the fact, the indis-
putable fact, that on certain days, we wet-
fly fishermen, who use from two to three
flies on the gut casting line, sometimes
discover that the trout will have nothing

1 92 Wet- Fly Fishing

whatever to do with our closest imitations
of the natural fly, then on the water.

I have frequently observed them going
for a " dropper " wholly unlike the fly which
was " up " at the time ; and to this hour I
am unable to account for their preference,
on such occasions. It will, therefore, be in
keeping with the plan of my book, if I give
the names of the artificial flies, and their
various dressings, without troubling much
as to what "order," "family," "genus,"
or "species" they belong, or are supposed
to represent.

I have seen (in skilled hands, of course)
flies doing deadly execution, the dressing of
which was so rustic (save that they were
very lightly feathered, a most important
point in the wet-fly) that, to adapt the
well-known words of Hamlet when address-
ing the players — " You would have thought
some of Nature's (or Art's) journeymen had
made them, and not made them well, they
imitated the Ephemeridse so abominably."

Looking back upon my life as a wet-fly
fisherman, shall I venture to affirm that I
should have made heavier baskets of trout
had I been a more scientific angler? I
answer, " yes " and " no." " No " when in
the early spring (April and in the first half

Concerning Flies 193

of May) trout at times " gang fair daft " for
an hour, or perhaps two at most, during the
entire day ; but " yes," when the conditions
are such as all experienced fly-fishermen
will understand, without explanation ;
when trout are not rising fast and furious,
but where only a few large, well-fed trout
are feeding, one here, and another there,
and are sucking diligently down some tiny
insect, such as the Blue Dun, in one or
other of its forms, when the waters are
low, the wind but a slight zephyr, and
the skies bright with snow-white, cumulus
clouds.

At such times, I feel that one cannot
know too much of nature, so as to apply it
advantageously to our art, the art of fishing
under difficulties, with the wet-fly.

I am of opinion that to use three flies is
a mistake and a delusion, on such very
critical occasions as these. It is not merely
sufficient to have the correct fly — though
that is wisdom : it then becomes prudent
to remove at least the middle bob-fly or
dropper, keeping the other two flies quite
six feet apart. And if the trout are more
than usually shy and difficult of capture, a
single fly is best.

I cannot recall any wet-fly angling

o

194 Wet- Fly Fishing

authority who has even mentioned my
next point.

Suppose, upon a bright May or June
day, when the Iron-blue Dun figures on
the menu ; an old, large, wary trout, is ob-
served close to the surface, feeding upon
these delicate morsels.

The fisherman is wading below, and his
first cast brings the middle fly, right in front
of the trout's nose. What is the result ?
That old " fox " sees that the centre fly ip
supported by one on either side, and his
suspicions are instantly roused. He looks
again. He screws his eye-glass in tight for
a still better look. The three flies then look
what they are — confounded shams — when
viewed against that bank of white clouds.

Do you wonder that he languidly remarks
under his breath, " Oh ! this is c coming it
too thick/ you know ; what do these fellows
take me for ? " And, as he scuttles off, all
that is left of that ancient fish-torpedo, is
the wave which his retreating form leaves
on the placid surface of the pool.

Again, suppose you have removed all
but the tail fly; and that you send this,
with unerring accuracy, close to his blunt
nose; what is the use of all your skill, if
he sees 4 or 6 inches of gut before his

Concerning Flies 195

vision is enraptured by that fly of yours
with the sting in its tail ? Now, this is
how I personally should like to be able
to present my fly to that trout. It is
perhaps unique, but somewhat difficult of
attainment. Wading below, but well to
one side or other of the fish itself, I
should like to be able, at mil, to cause
the last 18 or 24 inches of gut, to curve
back upon itself, so that the fly would
point directly at the wary old trout ; and
if that would not take the fellow in, I do
not know what would. Some angler may
see in this advice, a proof of the superiority
of fishing down-stream with the fly; but
that is altogether another matter. No,
sir ! you forget that a trout always lies
with his head up-stream, so that to " stalk "
him skilfully, it is necessary to get behind
him : that is, to fish from below, never from
above the trout, if you can avoid it.

There is a quaint old Scottish proverb,
germane to the point, which runs thus:
" If you want to take advantage either of
man or beast, aye get to the blind side o1
him."

And I have continually felt that our
failures, when our best efforts are directed
towards some very desirable trout, are often

196 Wet-Fly Fishing

due to the presence of that tell-tale thread
of gut, which, however fine, remember, is
never strictly invisible ; and that our success
much depends on our being able to make
the fly alight softly, about six inches above
the said trout, to float down naturally to-
wards him, without the slightest drag ; but
also without any possibility of the gut being
visible, before the fly itself comes into
view.

If I am right (and I think I am), it
would be highly diverting to know how
often, when the fisherman has been throw-
ing his fly perfectly, and could get no sign
of life out of some tantalizing old trout, a
puff of wind, doubling back, in a curve,
about 18 inches of the extreme end of the
gut casting-line, has, accidentally, placed
the fly "just right/' with the desired prac-
tical result. I commend these words to
the careful consideration of all wet-fly
and other fishers.

I have elsewhere directed the reader's at-
tention to another possible cause of failure. I
mean the presence of the air-bubbles, which
afc times seem to cling to certain artificial
flies, especially when they are newly put
on. To other flies they scarcely seem to
cling at all, as the feathers apparently

Concerning Flies 197

become soaked, almost as soon as they are
immersed in the water.

I merely mention the fact, having my-
self tried the very simple experiment by
placing the flies in a tumbler of cold
spring water, which I placed in the bright
sunshine, or, still better, in the strong
white light of an incandescent Welsbach
burner.

Let any unprejudiced observer note the
singular appearance presented by diving
birds when they are being fed, as I have so
often seen them, in the Brighton Aquarium ;
and he will observe that their feathers, as
they dive to the bottom of the tank, time
after time, are frequently quite luminous,
and sparkle like the dew on a grass lawn,
in a bright spring morning. Sometimes it
seems as if the whole side of the bird was
coated by a glittering substance, and this,
too, despite the bird's vigorous exertions;
and I think that sufficient notice has not
been taken of this, by wet-fly fishermen.

I will, doubtless, make many an old
fisherman " cock his eye " when I say that,
when I am fishing any Scottish river while
it is low, and the water clear as crystal;
when, moreover, only the very lightest air
stirs the pools : I not unfrequently remove a

198 Wei-Fly Fishing

good deal from the wings and hackle of the
fly ; nor is this all.

I soak the fly in the water, and, while
it is thoroughly wet, I, as previously men-
tioned, deliberately ruh the wings together
between my forefinger and thumb, until I
have mixed up the fibres, and in this way,
doubtless, have got rid of much of their
natural oil. The fly then sinks readily, and
seldom, indeed, have I found it other than
a successful ruse under these exceptional
conditions.

I ask other fishermen to give it an
honest trial ; especially when they are using
a single or double-hooked midge fly, during
a drought.

It sometimes seems to act like a charm,
turning seeming defeat into victory.

I wish, further, to state my decided
opinion concerning the way in which all
winged flies for our particular use ought not
to be " dressed,'7 and the kind of broad lines
upon which they should not be modelled.

I am quite well aware that here I am
going out of my way to court criticism;
but, strong in my conviction, I do not
shrink from the critic's pen, believing, as
I firmly do, that my contentions in the
main, will be upheld, in the end.

Concerning Flies 199

What a wet fly ought not to be.

It should not be dressed heavily, with
stiff, solid, and too formal wings. If each
wing is double, still more objectionable is
the fly. It should not be too heavily hackled,
or too full-bodied. Finally, it should not
have much tinsel ; since there, in a nut-
shell, you have the kind of fly I would
rather run a mile from, than fish a minute
with.

Consequently ; the wings should be spare,
the hackle likewise; the body of the fly
thin, rather than stout ; and tinsel ; if it
be employed at all, always used very
sparingly.

N.B. — The wings of a fly should never
be longer than the hook. I go further, and
assure the reader that, for forty-five years,
I have appreciated the value of a wet fly
dressed with only one wing, tied in a bunch,
and placed upright.

The softer the feathers, of which both
the wings and hackle are composed, and,
consequently, the more the individual move-
ment the fibres are capable of, as the fly
is making its way quietly down stream, the
more attractive and killing is that artificial
wet fly.

I have seldom dressed river-trout flies

2OO Wet-Fly Fishing

in any other way; I see no harm in two
wings if they are only thin enough. As I
have generally held my own, I can venture
to speak confidently in favour of the single
wing.

The idea was not mine.

I copied it from my old preceptor, Mark
Aitken, who, I consider, was head and
shoulders my superior, as a wet-fly fisher-
man. He was, indeed, facile princeps. It
is about forty years since he died, and I
may truly say that, as a wet-fly fishev,
I have never seen his better. Peace to his
ashes !

I must now deal with the artificial fly
itself, but from the wet-fly fisher's pom'
of view exclusively. To begin at tho
beginning: one cannot do wrong to deai
first with the hook upon which the imita-
tion is dressed.

Since the days of Stewart, up till now,
I consider that better or more reliable
hooks are not made for wet-fly fishing
than are the ordinary round-bend, blue-
steel hooks made by Messrs. Hutchinson
& Sons of Kendal. Next to these, I am
inclined to place the " sneck-bend." I
wish it to be clearly understood, however,
that my choice in no way implies the

Concerning Flies 201

smallest slur upon the hooks of other
makers. It amounts simply to this : I
have found these hooks stand the test of
time, and, consequently, I believe in them.

I prefer hooks tied to gut — "blind
hooks," in fact, to eyed hooks.

I have a strong prejudice against black
japanned hooks, for delicate wet-fly work.

Let any one hold a japanned flyhook
between him and a bright (or any) sky, and
he will need no further argument to convince
him, that a black hook, is more glaringly
visible, than either blue or bronzed steel.

I now approach a subject of universal
importance to anglers, namely, the present
numbering of hooks by their respective
makers, and the urgent need there is for
reform in this respect.

I have always vowed that, if ever I
wrote a book on fly-fishing, there was
one subject I should not fail to bring pro-
minently forward — the one I have now
taken in hand. I am not going to cover
an acre of writing-paper with my remarks
all the same.

But what I have got to say let me say
firmly ; namely, that the present Babel-like
confusion should be, by universal consent,
put a stop to, and in its place, order, and

2O2 Wet- Fly Fishing

an International, i.e. universal scale of hooks
substituted.

I quite appreciate how delicate and
difficult a matter I am urging upon the
attention of the angling community.

Further, that conflicting interests, sel-
fish indifference, conservative prejudices,
and, perhaps, a certain amount of laziness,
will each have to be met — and overcome.

This confusion cannot go on indefinitely.

How could it be possible to tolerate it
for all time to come ? If it has to be done,
kindly remember that one "Now" is worth
a bushel of "to-morrows." Besides, it is
enormously in the interests of angler and
fishing-tackle dealer alike.

Just think, for one moment, how it
operates in daily life ; and if, after what I
am about to say, the angling fraternity still
prefers to sit down " and let things take
their course," I shall feel at least that I
have tried to do my best in the matter.

My contention amounts to a conviction.

It is that our hooks should be so num-
bered that, when a sportsman cables from
Canada or New Zealand an urgent order for
flies, stating the size of hook required, his
order should not, by any possibility, be
liable to be misunderstood. At present is

Concerning Flies 203

it an easy thing to know, with absolute
certainty, what is wanted, so that the
fishing-tackle maker can proceed with the
order, perfectly certain that the right size
of hook will eventually reach their distant
customer ? I say that it is not.

Take, per example, the scale of two
well-known old firms — Messrs. Hutchinson
& Sons* Limerick - bend hooks, and then
take Messrs. Bartleet & Son's Limerick-
bend hooks.

Observe that No. 1 of Messrs. Hut-
chinson & Sons7 " make " is the smallest
trout-fly on their advertised scale of sizes,
whereas the same number in Bartleet &
Son's scale of sizes, is a salmon hook, which
measures 1 j- inches in length.

With such a state of affairs staring us
in the face, the possibility of serious error
at any moment, is only too obvious.

Again, and yet again, I say that the
world is too progressive to permit such
a stupid state of things to remain for
ever.

Surely I shall have every one with me,
when I point out that few things in an
angler's pleasant and placid life are more
aggravating than when, on an angling
holiday, an urgent letter or "wire" to a

2O4 Wet- Fly Fishing

fishing-tackle maker for a fresh supply of
a particular fly, much in request at the
moment, results in a fiasco such as I have
already foreshadowed. But, when it comes
to an important order from a far country,
and that order gets misunderstood, because,
forsooth, the angler merely failed to wire
the particular maker or inventor's name,
or "scale of hook," such as Bartleet, Hut-
chinson, Pennell, etc., the result of such
an error, may mean nothing short of ruin
to a fishing-trip, and the loss of much time,
temper, and money into the bargain.

I have not touched upon the "eyed"
fly, of course, because I generally use
"blind" hooks — that is, hooks attached to
gut for wet-fly work.

Many years ago, I invented a plan
whereby the fly plays, not merely on one
slender thread of 4X gut, but on three
strands of gut. I do not propose, however,
to take up time in describing it in detail.
It has been already described, in the pages
of the Fishing Gazette and elsewhere. In
my own hands, it does admirably, so long
as I dress the fly myself, or have it dressed
with exceeding carefulness. But fishing-
tackle makers and fly-dressers " canna be
fashed with such new-fangled inventions; "

Concerning Flies 205

and, recognizing this fact, I think I shall
do well to say no more upon the subject.
Here is the idea.

MB. E. M. TOD'S TRIPLE GUT HINGE, FOB FLIES.

Last upon my list, are the deadly little
double-hooked midge-flies, so well tied by
Messrs. Forrest & Sons, of Kelso and
London, and also by Messrs. Turnbull &
Co., of 60, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

Two round-bend hooks (" Hutchinson's,"
size 00) are simply tied together, side by
side, in the ordinary process of dressing the
fly itself.

When the fly is about to be used, the
two hooks must be opened out, by means
of the finger or thumb nails, till they are
at an angle slightly greater than that of

206 Wet-Fly Fishing

an ordinary salmon fly, when dressed on
double, " brazed" hooks.

There is absolutely no question of the
value of these tiny " doubles," when used
with judgment and skill.

My friend, Mr. R. B. Marston, editor of
the Fishing Gazette, acting on hints given
by me in some wet-fly articles in his valuable
paper, could a tale unfold regarding their
value amongst abnormally shy trout. Alas,
his modesty will probably keep him
silent.

While I was resident in England, where
I have spent nearly thirty years of my life,
one way and another, Mr. John Forrest,
fishing-tackle maker, of 24, Thomas Street,
Grosvenor Square, London, W., in writing to
me, once remarked that he was beginning
to sell these " doubles " very well, even in
the south. But, he added, that English
customers had expressed the wish that they
could be also had, as eyed hooks.

Now, such tiny delicate hooks brazed
together, would prove in actual practice, a
complete failure, for reasons too many to
explain in extenso.

His letter set me thinking, and I sent
him up a very simple little invention to
meet the needs of these eyed-fly fishermen.

Concerning Flies 207

It consists of one eyed hook whipped to
an ordinary " blind " hook of the same size,
and Mr. Forrest took to it at once. When
finished, the flies look, what they really are ;
quite a little success.

Above all things, these small " doubles "
must be movable, else, when one of the
hooks gets fixed in the upper jaw and the
other hook in the lower jaw, they would
frequently snap. As they are held together,
however, only by the silk thread, there is a
great deal of "give and take;" and this
saves the 'situation. I seldom find them
break.

Before I close this paper, I wish to add,
in connection with the appeal which I have
just made for a universal numbering of
hooks : another much-needed Keform.

I allude to the different dressings (and
each one different) confidently given as
" the correct pattern " of any of the natural
flies.

This opens up rather a large field for
speculation. Many men, as has been
proved, are quite colour-blind; whilst even
more are partially so. Again, men may be
able to recognize all the primary colours —
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, etc., who
would be wholly at sea if examined upon

208 Wet- Fly Fishing

the gradations with which chemistry has
of late years made us all so familiar.

I suggest that this fact has possibly got
something to do with the many and varied
hues which are occasionally given to the
" body," " wings," or " legs," of the various
artificial imitations of any one fly.

But it does not stop here. It goes
much further than this; and I think that
the day is not very far off — and the sooner
it comes the better — when fly-dressers will
be compelled to possess more than a mere
rule-of-thumb knowledge, so as to direct
their beautiful operations with something
approaching to scientific accuracy. Those,
in particular, who dress "floating" flies
ought to be obliged to pass a judiciously
restricted examination in entomology, before
they are considered recognized experts,
capable of imitating with precision, the
natural ephemeridae.

How to set about such a reform, I really
do not know. It seems a problem far more
difficult to bring to a practical solution,
than the renumbering of the hooks upon
which our artificial imitations are dressed.
In fact, it seems to be simply honeycombed
with difficulties. As a matter of course,
the candidate would be tested as to colour-

Concerning Flies 209

blindness — which, I imagine, is a compara-
tively simple matter, in the hands of a
specialist.

I prophecy that these are the directions
in which Progress will make her inevitable
advances, in the near or distant future.

2io Wet-Fly Fishing.

TABLE I.

SOME USEFUL WINGED FLIES FOE WET-FLY FISHING,
AND HOW THEY ARE DRESSED.

I. GKEENWELL'S GLORY.

Body. — The yellow tying silk, waxed with cobbler's wax,
to impart to the body a greenish-yellow hue. This is ribbed
over with yellow gimp, or finest gold wire.

Hackle. — Coch-y-Bonddhu.

Wings. — Blackbird, tied in a bunch, and split.

Season. — April, May, June, and September ; in fact, it is
the most valuable and generally useful of all the wet flies
known to the author, who obtained the pattern direct from
the Rev. Canon Greenwell himself, so that it is authentic.

II. MARCH BROWN.

(MALE AND FEMALE.)

Male.

Body. — Hare's ear, ribbed with yellow gimp.
Tail. — Two strands of mallard feather.
Hackle. — Dark partridge feather.
Wings. — Taken from the tail of the pheasant
Season. — April.

Concerning Flies 211

Female.

Body.— Light fur of hare's ear, ribbed with yellow gimp.
Tail.— Two strands of cock's hackle,
Hackle.— A red hen's hackle.
Season.— April chiefly.

III. RED SPINNER.

Body. — Reddish-brown silk, ribbed with yellow gimp.

Tail — Two strands of red hackle.

Hackle.— Red hen's hackle.

Wings. — Taken from the wing of the starling.

Season. — April and May.

IV. THE COW-DUNG FLY.

Body. — Olive-green wool.
Tail.— Two strands of red hackle.
Hackle. — Red hen's hackle.
Wings. — From the snipe.
Season. — April and May.

V. THE BLUE DUN.

Body.— From the fur of a rat, ribbed with silver gimp or
wire.

Tail. — Two strands of dun hackle.

Hackle. — Blue-dun hen hackle.

Wings. — From the snipe.

Season. — March, April, and May.

This is the pattern generally used in Scotland, and
pretty nearly resembles the natural insect when it first
makes its appearance.

212 Wet- Fly Fishing

VI. THE OLIVE DUN.

Body.— Pale yellowish-olive floss-silk, or a quill dyed the
same colour.

Tail. — Two rabbit's whiskers.

Hackle. — Stained olive.

Wings. — Taken from the wing of the starling.

Season. — April and May.

This fly is by entomologists said to be identical with the
Blue Dun, and only a later gradation of that fly.

VII. THE YELLOW DUN.

Body. — Lemon-coloured silk, waxed with cobbler's wax,
and then untwisted so as to show alternate dark and light
ribbing.

Hackle. — Stained olive.

Wings. — From a young starling's quill-feather.

Season. — May and June.

This is Jackson's dressing, which Mr. Walbran seems to
have copied in his good little book, " The British Angler."
It is only one more gradation of the Blue Dun.

VIH. THE IRON BLUE.

Body. — Mole's fur, spun on with reddish-brown silk.
Tail. — Two strands of Yellow Dun hackle.
Hackle. — Small Yellow Dun hackle.
Wings. — From the breast of the water-hen ; some prefer
the tail of the tomtit.

Season. — April and May.

This, on the whole, is the best dressing I know.

Concerning Flies 213

IX. THE QUILL-GNAT.

Body. — Dark peacock quill from moon-feather of peacock.

Tail. — Two strands of red hackle.

Hackle. — A red hen's hackle.

Wings. — Snipe.

Season. — April, May, and June.

This is a grand fly on the Deveron and Tummel, and is
Mr. Forrest's own pattern, from which he has always dressed
the fly for me.

X. THE GINGER QUILL.

Body. — Quill from moon-feather of peacock.

Tail. — Two strands of red cock's hackle.

Hackle. — Ginger-coloured hen's hackle.

Wings.— From starling's wing.

Season. — May and June.

I found it an excellent fly on the Deveron and elsewhere.

XL THE SAND-FLY, OR "GRAVEL-BED."

Body.— Reddish fur from a hare's neck, ribbed with
brown silk.

Hackle. — Ginger hen's hackle.

Wings. — From the ruddy mottled feather inside of the
hen pheasant's wing. Some authorities dress it with corn-
crake wing.

Season. — April and May.

This is Jackson's dressing of the fly.

214 Wei-Fly Fishing

XII. "WOODCOCK AND HARE'S-EAR."

Body. — Dubbed from the speckled grey part of a hare's
ear, picked out with a needle so as to form the legs of
the fly.

Tail. — Two strands of mallard wing.

Wings. — Inside of woodcock wing-feather.

Season. — April and May. A generally useful fly.

N.B.— The " Woodcock Wing," dressed with the body of
" Greenwell's Glory," is a very killing fly, but must never
be named " Greenwell's Glory." The same wing is not un-
frequently dressed with black or red hen hackle. It is
regarded as a good all-round fly for Scotch rivers and
"waters.'

XIII. BLACK-GNAT.

Body. — Black silk.

Tail. — Two strands from black hen's hackle.

Hackle. — Small black hen's hackle.

Wings. — From the wing feather of the starling.

Season. — April, May, and June.

Jackson gives the dressing of this fly. Mr. Forrest, I
see, almost repeats his dressing. It is a capital fly for
border rivers.

XIV. YELLOW SALLY.

Body. — Pale yellow silk.

Tail. — Strands of dun hackle.

Hackle. — Olive or buff-coloured hen hackle.

Wings. — Pale yellow dyed starling feathers.

Season.— May and June.

Many years ago, on the Tummel, I found that a " Yellow
Wing " was not taken so well as the buff colour to be found
on the inside of a fieldfare's wing.

Fieldfare is a fly of my own dressing, which is worth a
trial when the " Yellow Sally " is about.

Concerning Flies 215

XV. GRANNOM.

Body.— The light fur from a hare's face or ear, tipped
with green silk.

Hackle. — A ginger hen's hackle.

Wings. — Taken from the partridge wing, and made
rather full.

Season. — April and May.

I give the dressing of this fly because it is a favourite
well known. I very seldom use it myself.

XVI. THE RED QUILL.

Body. — Quill dyed in Crawshy's No. 9 dye (see Mr. Hal-
ford's work, " Floating Flies, and how to dress them ").

Tail. — Two strands of game-cock's hackle.

Hackle. — Red game-cock's hackle-feather.

Wings. — Starling, but somewhat pale.

Season. — May and June.

Mr. Walbran's dressing. I found it a favourite at Bad
Boll, when fishing the Wutach.

XVII. AUGUST. BROWN.

Body. — Of brown floss-silk, which must be ribbed dis-
tinctly with yellow silk thread.

Tail— Two rabbit's whiskers.

Hackle. — Red hackle stained brown.

Wings. — Feather from a brown hen's wing.

Season.— August and September.

This is a good September fly in Scotland, and is recom-
mended by the authors of "How to catch Trout," by
Three Anglers.

216 Wet-Fly Fishing

XVIII. THE PARTRIDGE TAIL, OR "FROG-
HOPPER."

Body. — Yellow tying silk.

Hackle. — Hen's hackle light ginger.

Wings. — The mottled feather from the tail of the part-
ridge.

Season. — June.

A good fly on the Clyde, and given by Webster in his
book, "The Angler and the Loop Rod."

XIX. THE TOD-FLY.

Body. — Striped quill from the moon-feather of the pea-
cock, not dyed.

Tail. — Two strands of game-cock's hackle.

Hackle. — The soft and somewhat light mottled feather
taken from the inside of the wing of the woodcock.

Wings. — Mavis wing, inside of feather.

Season. — I look upon it as a good, generally useful fly,
and an excellent companion to Greenwell's Glory, to which
it forms a nice contrast.

Concerning Flies 217

TABLE II.

Acting upon second thoughts, I have felt it desir-
able to change my plan, giving four tables of artificial
flies instead of three, as I had originally intended.

Before doing so, I desire to record my sincere
indebtedness to Mr. George Forrest, of Kelso, as well
as to his sons, for so kindly and readily sending me
the dressings of the various flies I asked them to
furnish me with. I am also much indebted to Mr.
Turnbull, of 60, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The following patterns, with a detailed descrip-
tion of each, Messrs. Forrest & Sons have supplied,
in the kindest and most obliging manner.

I. HOFLANDS' FANCY.
(AN OLD FAVOURITE ON THE TWEED.)

Body.— Light claret floss silk.

Tail— Two strands of red hackle.

Hackle. — Red hen hackle.

Wings.— From the inside of the woodcock wing feather.

HOFLANDS' OWN DRESSING OF THE FLY.

Body. — Reddish dark brown silk.

Tail- — Two or three strands of a red hackle.

Hackle.— Red hackle.

Wings. — Woodcock's tail.

218 Wet-Fly Fishing

II. PATERSON'S FAVOURITE.

Body. — Brown tying silk, dubbed with the fur of the
water-rat.

Tail. — Two strands of red hackle.

Hackle. — Red hen's hackle.

Wings. — From the quill feather of the water-hen.

III. OAK FLY (OR DOWN-LOOKER).

Before I give the dressing of this fly, I desire to
make a few observations thereon.

The first pattern which I ever remember having
in my fly-book, I got a good many years ago from
Messrs. Carter & Peek, of London. It had a straw-
coloured silk body, and has occasionally done good
work. During a few days on the Cumberland Eden,
the trout took it so well as a dropper, that I placed
a second on my cast, to my very great advantage.
I find it in the stock-book of Messrs. Turnbull & Co.
dressed in this way. Now, Mr. Forrest gives it with
the orange silk body. It would seem as if he had
good authority for so doing, since he is supported by
Francis Francis, whose book was published in 1867,
and also by Ronalds, in 1832. I confess that I
prefer the body to be straw-coloured, as given by
Messrs. Carter & Peek, and Messrs. Turnbull & Co.
And now I shall give Mr. Forrest's dressing of the
fly, which would seem more like the insect.

Body.— Orange floss silk.
Tail. — Two strands of red hackle.
Hackle. — Cock-y-bonddhu hackle.
Wings. — "Woodcock, wing feather.

Concerning Flies 219

IV. DIGBY CALEY.
(A GOOD SPRING PATTERN ON THE TWEED.)

Body.— One-third of yellow wool to two- thirds of rat
fur intermixed, and ribbed with yellow tying silk.
Tail. — Two strands of olive dun hackle.
Wings. — From the hen pheasant.
Hackle. — Blue dun hen hackle.

V. THE PROFESSOR.

Body. — Yellow silk ribbed with brown tying silk.

Tail. — Two strands of red hackle.

Hackle.— Red hen hackle.

Wings. — Mottled feather of the mallard.

VI, FLIES FOR NIGHT FISHING ON THE
TWEED.

Mr. Forrest says that the bustard wing, with the " Pro-
fessor" body and hackle, is very popular as a night fly.

He also furnished me with another, and the last fly,
upon this list. It is ages since I fished at night, so I am
quite out of it there.

VII. THE CORNCRAKE.
(A VERY FAVOURITE NIGHT FLY.)

Body.— Brown fur, tipped with gold lace.
Tail. — Two strands of red hackle.
Hackle.— Red hen.
Wings.— Wing of the landrail.

220 We I- Fly Fishing

TABLE III.

SOME SIMPLY-DRESSED SINGLE-WINGED FLIES.

This style of fly, my preceptor, Mark Aitken, made
me familiar with well over forty years ago. They
are nameless flies, known amongst fishermen merely
by the description of their various and very simple
dressings, which I am naturally familiar with, and
the method of dressing which, I found quite recently
described in that valuable work, " Blacker's Art of
Fly-making," published in London in the year 1855,
and headed (at page 3) thus : " An Easy Method to
make the Trout Fly." His mode of dressing such
flies is almost identical with mine, save that Blacker
dressed his fly with two wings, which neither I nor
old Mark Aitken ever thought it necessary to do,
finding as we did, that flies tied with a single wing,
in a bunch, but sparely, and set upright, killed quite
as well as the most elaborate flies in any fishing-
tackle shop. I shall begin with a few of " Mark's "
simple patterns.

Permit me to say that the " body " (unless I
specially name it) will be neither more nor less than
the tying silk, used in making the fly itself, and that
I for one prefer yellow to any other colour, especially
when it is waxed, more or less, with cobbler's wax,
for the body of a wet fly.

Concerning Flies 221

Hackle. — From any small dun feather, taken from the
lark. " Mark " called it " the Laverock Hackle." At times
a cock-y-bonddhu hen hackle is used instead.

Wing. — Corn-bunting.
Season. — April and May.

II.

Body and Hackle. — Formed by hare's ear spun round
with the thread, and then picked out with a needle to form
the "legs "of the fly.

Wing. — Inside of the woodcock wing.

Season. — April, and for general use.

m.

Hackle. — Cinnamon hen hackle.

Wing. — From the back of the hen pheasant.

Season. — May.

IV.

Hackle. — Soft black hen starling, or dun hackles from
the feathers of small birds.

Wing. — Inside woodcock wing.
Season.—A generally useful and killing fly.

V.

Hackle. — Neck feather of cock starling.
Wing. — Wing feather of starling.
Season. — March, April, and May.

VI.

Hackle.— Hen (red or black).
Wing. — Mavis.

222 Wet-Fly Fishing

ra

Hackle. — Dun hackle, or cock-y-bonddhu.
Wing. — Inside of quill feather of chaffinch.
Reason.— April, May, June, and September.

VIII.

Hackle. — Black, or cock-y-bonddhu.

Wing. — Inside of feather, blackbird's wing.

Season. — April, May, June, September.

When this simple fly is dressed with a cock-y-bonddhu
hackle, it is so near to Canon Greenwell's famous fly, that
I feel almost inclined to withdraw it, and to apologize.

IX.

Hackle. — Black hen ; the body formed of black tying silk.
Wing. — The speckled feather of a teal drake.
Season. — A good April and May fly on some rivers.

Hackle. — Corncrake ; the body dressed with dark brown
silk.

Wing.— Dark portion of mavis wing, or the corncrake's
wing.

Season. — A good all-round fly.

XL

Hackle. — Badger like, grizzled hen hackle.
Wing. — Inside of woodcock wing feather.
Very useful fly, especially in dark weather.

Concerning Flies 223

XII.

Hackle. — This hackle, which is my own suggestion, is
taken from the beautifully tapered hackle feathers on the
head and cheeks of the Himalayan pheasant, the green-
sheen feathers being more killing than those with the
beautiful red-bronze sheen, in my experience.

Wing. — Inside of starling or water-hen wing.

Remarks.— These simple flies may be regarded as general
"types" of the various ephemeridae, etc., without in any
way posing to be close imitations of any single one of them.
I may add that, with the assortment of flies given here, I
myself would feel confident to go all over Scotland and hold
my own. Much of their virtue, in my humble opinion,
consists in their extreme simplicity, and also in the fact
that they are feathered with a sparing hand. There would
not seem to be much need, in our wet-fly work, for dressing
our flies in an elaborate way and with two wings, if, as I
maintain, flies dressed with a single upright wing kill quite
as well.

I have noticed, whenever I gave my old preceptor a few
flies, dressed in Edinburgh by the late Mrs. Hogg, the
wings tied in a bunch, but divided into two by means of
the silk thread used while tying the fly, that he would give
vent to his opinions by muttering to himself, " One-half
owre muckle wing ; " and off one of these two wings would
go before he would use the fly.

He was never tired of preaching the superior virtues of
soft feathers as against hard hackles, such as are usually
associated with the barndoor cock, and above all other
feathers, he seemed to be of opinion that the small feathers
sometimes taken from the outside of the wing, sometimes
from the inside, were the best feathers that could possibly
be used for the legs of a fly, and, when you think of it, he
was right, for they have infinitely more movement ; which
surely is an important matter. Try the experiment of
placing two flies, one dressed with a hard cock hackle, and

224 Wet- Fly Fishing

the other dressed with a hackle such as I have described j
in a tumbler of water, and then move them up and down.
The cock hackle remains unsympathetic and rigid, while
there is decided "movement" in the softer hackle. The
only objection to the soft hackle that I can see, is, that
it does not last long ; and the man who makes this objec-
tion, need not expect my sympathy, if he is not so successful
as he might be, when trout need some catching.

Finally ; the thinness of the body, consisting as it does
only of the tying silk, is a feature vastly in its favour, in
wet-fly fishing.

Concerning Flies 225

TABLE IV.

SOME USEFUL HACKLED FLIES (" SPIDERS ").

I. WATER-HEN BLOA (SCOTTICE "BLAE").

Body.— The yellow tying silk, dubbed with water-rat (or
mouse) fur, sparingly put on and ribbed over with the same
silk.

Hackle. —From the inside of wing feather of water-hen.

Season. — A generally useful fly all through the season,
and the best fly of its kind, in my opinion, for the fishing
of " Waters." Very valuable also in river fishing.

II. STEWART'S BLACK HACKLE (OR "SPIDER").

Body. — The brown tying silk with which the fly is
dressed. A reddish-orange silk makes a capital body.

Hackle. — The small tapered feather from neck of cock
starling.

Season. — Generally useful all the season.

III. STEWART'S RED HACKLE (OR "SPIDER").

Body. — The yellow silk with which the fly is dressed.

Hackle. — From small feathers outside wing of the land-
rail.

Season. — A specially good fly when the water is dis-
coloured.

226 Wet-Fly Fishing

IV. PARTRIDGE HACKLE (OR "SPIDER"),

Body. — Orange silk. When dressed with this colour, it
is known as the " Orange Partridge." Likewise, when with
yellow, it is called the "Yellow Partridge." One of the
very best bodies, however, is the striped peacock quill.

Hackle. — Taken from the brown mottled feather from
back of a partridge.

It is indeed, with its various bodies, a fly of the greatest
importance in the fishing of " Waters," and even of rivers.

V. "LIGHT PARTRIDGE" (OR "GREY
PARTRIDGE").

Body.— Yellow tying silk, waxed with colourless wax,
and tipped with flat tinsel or gold lace.

Hackle. — A light (almost white) feather, with narrow
black bars across it, taken from the breast of the partridge.

Season. — I have frequently done excellent work with this
fly, particularly in April and May. It is one of my favourites.

VI. "THE TOD FLY" HACKLE.

Body.— The striped quill from moon feather of peacock.

Hackle. — The soft, pale, mottled feather from the inside
of a woodcock's wing.

Remarks. — This will be found generally useful, but
especially so in dull, cloudy weather.

VII. DARK SNIPE AND PURPLE.

Body. — Purple floss silk.

Hackle.— Small feather from outside wing of the snipe.
Season. — A good fly, especially in early spring.
One of Pritt's patterns.

Concerning Flies 227

VIII. DARK NEEDLE.

Body. — Orange tying silk.

Hackle. — A small feather taken from the darkest portion
of the wing of a brown owl.

Season. — Especially good in cold and windy days.
One of Mr. Walbran's patterns.

IX. SNIPE BLOA OR BLAE.

Body. — Straw-coloured silk.

Hackle. — A feather taken from the inside of a snipe's
wing.

Pritt's pattern.

X. GROUSE AND ORANGE.

Body.— Orange tying silk.

Hackle.— Freckled brown feather from the grouse.
A useful fly always, but especially so in a dark " porter-
colour water."

XI. CURLEW.

Body. — Orange or yellow tying silk.
Hackle. — A small feather taken from the outside of a
curlew's wing.

Especially good in a clear and low state of river.

XII. HIMALAYAN HACKLE.

Body. — Yellow tying silk, ribbed with yellow gimp or
extremely fine gold wire.

Hackle. — Taken from the green feathers on the head
and top of neck of the Himalayan pheasant.

This fly was unknown till I introduced it, many years,
ago, in the pages of the Fishing Gazette. I have found it>
at times, an excellent fly.

228 Wet-Fly Fishing

XIII. SEA SWALLOW AND YELLOW.

Body. — Pale yellow silk, waxed with colourless wax.

Hackle. — The pale and delicate feather from the outside
of a sea-swallow's wing.

This fly may be used when the skies are full of dazzling
white clouds, and fishing requires skill.

Mr. Pritt and Mr. Walbran give somewhat similar

XIV. DOTTEREL AND OEANGE.

Body. — The orange tying silk.

Hackle. — A small feather from outside of the male
dotterel's wing.

Concerning Flies 229

SOME GENERAL EEMABKS ON " HACKLED "

FLIES.

When dealing with the fishing of
"Waters" with the wet fly, had I been
asked to name one particular class more
suitable than any other for this purpose, I
should certainly have named hackled flies,
the " Spiders " of Stewart's book. I do
not mean for a moment that in doing so I
should have necessarily excluded winged flies
altogether. But, if I were asked to choose
between the exclusive use of " winged " or
" hackled" flies, I should then give my
vote in favour of wingless artificials (call
them how you like) for the fishing of tribu-
tary streams — that is, Waters. They are
very often deadly, even in large rivers, and,
I need hardly say, are particularly suitable
for the fishing of burns, but in the fishing
of Scottish " Waters," from the time of
Stewart, down to the present day, these
"hackled" flies "take a lot of beating."
Even before Stewart wrote his book, the

230 Wet- Fly Fishing

value of the " hackled " fly was known and
appreciated.

I will now suppose that I am asked
which of all the hackled flies I would place
at the head of the list for general wet-fly
work?

If I were asked the same question in
connection with well-known winged flies, I
should name " Greenwell's Glory " without
a moment's consideration; so I shall now
name a " hackled " fly which is at present
not so universally known in Scotland as it
deserves to be, I mean the " Waterhen-
bloa." The Yorkshire word " bloa," is the
equivalent of our good old Scottish word
blae. The " Water-hen Bloa " is, as I have
remarked, a Yorkshire fly, but is fast find-
ing its way into Scotland. Many years
ago, I gave the pattern to Mr. Forrest of
Kelso, and urged him to get his clients to
try it. I also asked his sons, who are,
of course, good fishermen; to give it a
practical trial.

Since I have named " Greenwell's
Glory " as the best all-round winged fly
for wet-fly work that I have ever used, and
have likewise named the " Water-hen Bloa "
as probably the best for the fishing of
Scottish or North of England " Waters,"

Concerning Flies 231

I think it will be interesting to see, if we
cannot discover why it is that these two
flies take such a very prominent position
on my lists of "winged'' and " hackled"
flies.

Just let us examine these two flies in
detail, with the view of comparing their
respective dressings, their " buskings," as
it used to be called in Scotland, and still
is by old-fashioned people.

I begin with " GreenwelTs Glory." The
wings are made from the quill feather
of a blackbird, tied in a bunch and
split — that is, they are divided by the
thread used in tying the fly itself. A soft
hen's hackle of the kind known to fly
dressers everywhere as a " Cock-y-bonddhu,"
forms the " legs " of the fly. The " body "
is quite simple, and is formed of the yellow
tying silk with which Canon Greenwell
always got the late old Jamie Wright, of
Sprouston, to dress the fly. The yellow
tying silk is waxed with cobbler's wax,
which imparts to it a greenish-yellow look.
Finally, the body is ribbed over with the
thin wire which can easily be unrolled
from a piece of ordinary yellow gimp, and,
failing that, with very thin gold wire. That
is the correct dressing of " Greenwell's

232 Wei-Fly Fishing

Glory." Many use the wing of the water-
hen instead of that of the blackbird. It
makes an excellent fly, and I have never
discovered that the trout are sufficiently
educated to notice the difference.

Now let us examine the dressing of the
"Water-hen Bloa," that splendid hackled

fly.

I see that some angling authorities,
when describing the hackled varieties of
artificial flies, gravely put down the dress-
ing of each fly thus — Wings, and here
the name of that particular hackled fly is
given. Body, so and so. Now, this is
ridiculous ! One might as well (in a Police
Court case) describe a prisoner who had
been caught red-handed in his shirt-
sleeves as "wearing a frock coat of gray"
(or blue).

I propose to adopt another plan, the
plan of calling a spade a spade, and a hackle
a hackle.

The body of the "Water-hen Bloa" is
made thus.

It is tied with yellow tying silk,
waxed with colourless wax, dubbed very
sparingly with fur from the water-rat or
the water-mouse. Even the fur of the
mole may be used when the other is not

Concerning Flies 233

procurable. The two main points are, To
lay on the fur with a very sparing hand,
and if you do this, the second point almost
follows as a natural consequence, that you
always can see plainly the yellow tying
silk, running in ribs down the body of the
fly. It makes a unique and splendid body.
In fact, without the body, I should regard
the fly itself, as being less worthy of the
high place I have accorded it in my list
of " hackled flies, " misnamed spiders in
Scotland.

The Hackle.

This is taken from the small soft feathers
inside the wing of the water-hen.

Practical fishermen and fly dressers will
see at a glance, that there is a great deal
in common between these two flies, and I
think that you have only got to look at the
natural " Blue Dun " when it first makes
its appearance, leaden and dull of hue ;
and, again, when the little "Iron Blue"
puts in an appearance, to account for the
fact that, as during the whole fly-fishing
season, one or other of these flies are
generally to be found on our " Waters "
and " Eivers ; " these imitations, therefore,
should always have a place on the fly-cast
of every practical wet-fly fisherman. If

234 Wet- Fly Fishing

this be done, the result will not be found
disappointing, provided, of course, that the
lure is presented to the trout with skill,
and that the angler possesses " watercraft,"
a most essential element in the making-up
of any wet-fly fisherman.

Having named the " hackled " fly which,
I think on the whole, probably deserves
the topmost place, I will now name its
formidable rival, which is much better
known and more frequently used in Scot-
land. I mean the black Spider of Stewart's
book, and which that most famous fisher of
Scottish " Waters'7 thus describes.

" The Black spider."

" This is made from the small neck
feather of the cock starling, dressed with
brown silk;" and, he adds, "it is, upon
the whole, the most killing imitation we
know."

Pritt's "Dark Snipe and Purple" is
another fly of similar characteristics.

And here I would point out the sig-
nificance of the fact that, the last-named
are, all of them, dark flies ; and, that each
of them is more or less famous. How far
the trout are able to choose between these
flies, especially when they are used under
water, as wet flies are, who can say ?

Concerning Flies 235

When we try to speculate on such
matters, it is " but shrewd guessing."

My own feeling is, that trout take them
as imitations of one or other of the insects
I have named already, viz. the Blue Dun,
as it at first appears, with leaden-coloured
wings : the Iron Blue. I have frequently
felt, though it is impossible to prove, that
trout may occasionally feed upon the natural
flyy as it is ascending to the surface. At other
times I have imagined — for who can observe
what is invisible to himself ? — that, in early
spring, when the temperature of the water
is nearly down to freezing-point, and the
wind seems blowing from an iceberg, that
the flies may make an honest effort to rise
to the surface ; but, losing vitality through
becoming benumbed, may be carried help-
lessly down stream, being thus picked up by
any hungry trout.

My reasons for thinking so are, that,
many and many a day, when no flies have
been visible on the surface — and, as a direct
consequence, few or no trout break the
surface in the welcome " rise " — a fisher-
man, if he only understands the secret of
fishing with a sunk fly, can, even then, often
get a large basket of trout.

Under such circumstances a "pull,"

236 Wet- Fly Fishing

instead of a "rise," is what the fly-fisher-
man looks out for — and receives.

During the first week of May, in 1877,
I was busily fishing " the Tummel," with
frost and snow all round me, and I experi-
enced this in a very notable degree.

Curiously, even now, I remember that
my best fly was one I dressed with the
neck hackle-feather of the cock starling,
but with the addition of a mere dot of
" peacock herl," placed immediately under
the hackle itself. I presume that it gives
additional lustre to this imitation, and so
attracts the trout, especially in cold dark
days, when he is not inclined to show his
nose on the surface of the water.

For the fishing of " waters," Hackled
flies (spiders) are proverbally valuable. But
they fill a very useful place, at times, in the
fishing of larger rivers.

CHAPTEE VIII.

CONCLUSION.

WHEN I look back, I thank the good fortune
which made me a wet-fly fisherman, in my
early youth. Over and above its pleasures,
who can ignore the value of a recreation,
so wholesome, in every way.

My angling holidays have been more
than delightful — and their retrospect ever
makes me grateful.

This may seem to be nothing, and yet
it means much.

To me, a holiday spent in a country
where good river fishing was not possible,
was like some flavourless dish, pleasant to
the eye; but, a thing wherein we know
there is some hidden want : as Shelley
puts it.

For many years I had to be gladly con-
tented with one yearly holiday of (say) three

238 Wet- Fly Fishing

weeks or so, and I was lucky to be able
to take it, angling for trout !

I could imagine nothing more aimless
and uninteresting than my holidays would
have been had I spent them otherwise.

Of course, I write, not only as an angler,
but as a professed enthusiast.

The interest — the keen interest — which
fly-fishing has always aroused in me, has
often given me fresh life — when run down
by ill-health — and, I am bound to add,
that I owe a debt to it, which I can barely
appreciate, and, certainly, never can
repay.

But I must say no more of this.

I have touched upon the fascinations of
burn fishing — I have written about waters,
and rivers; and, I have endeavoured to
show how much interest there is to be got
from the patient study of fishing with the
wet fly.

I hope, and I believe, that I have not
laboured wholly in vain.

At times I have felt a consciousness of
not always being able to recall the little
one knows, a gentle reminder that a man's
memory "hath bounds and stays " at sixty-
four !

The more we know of any subject we

Conclusion 239

seem to appreciate how much more there
is still hidden from our ken.

We pride ourselves on knowledge,

Yet the little that we know
Seems like the mist ascending

From the great world below ;
Which storms, with voice of thunder,

Sweep onward into space.
The Earth stands fast — its vapour,

Once scattered — who can trace !

I have now placed the flies under four
separate Tables, hoping in this way to
avoid confusion. A few words of explana-
tion will, I think, be advisable.

Table I. contains all the flies which I
think will be found necessary, and especially
for the fishing of Eivers. Most of them
belong to my own select list.

Table II. contains a list of seven flies,
some of them of famous repute ; and I
should fail in my duty did I not give their
respective names and dressings.

Table III. contains a list of winged flies,
without any particular name, or designation.
They are dressed in the very simplest way.
I do not wish it to be thought, that I
place them above the winged flies in
Tables I. and II., but, I maintain that
they are (in capable hands) able to take

240 Wei- Fly Fishing

care of themselves, when it comes to the
only real test.

Table IV. contains a comprehensive
list of " hackled " flies (spiders). These
are specially recommended for the fishing
of "Waters/7 but they are not a bit "out
of it," when our larger Eivers get low.

I look forward to a day, which I myself
shall never see ; and I am full of pathetic
wonderment as to what it may bring forth.

Thank Heaven ! I have lived to see a
close time for trout throughout Scotland.
Yet this is only (in my opinion) the first
stage, in a much-needed and far-reaching
reform.

And now I must conclude, for " Time is
up."

INDEX

AIR-BUBBLES, how they cling to

feathers under water, 196,

197, 198
Aitken, Mark, 26, 27, 129, 130,

131
"Amateur Angler," The, on

striking, 41, 42

u g » grasps the situation ; a

lesson in brief, 53, 54.
" Bad form " in wet-fly fishing,

described, 82, 83
Baillie, James(the professional),

24
Black spiderfly.The (Stewart's),

234
"Blind" hooks, preferred, for

wet-fly fishing, 204, 205
Bondage of fixed rules, when

to free one's self, 103
Broken water, The fishing of,

47, 48, 49
Burn fishing. See Chapter II.,

11 to 21
Burns (the poet), his mistaken

words, 18

CHEAP rod, A, and its dearncss,

139, 151, 152

Clothing briefly referred to, 3G
Coquet, The, 68, et seq.
Critics, The, reference to, 52
Cumberland Eden, The, 125,

126

" DEVERON, The delights of the,"

essay, 74, et seq.
Dochart, The, sluggish portion

of, described, 67

Don, The (my last fishing trip
at Alford in 1864), 136

Double-hooked, midge-sized
flies, 205, 206, 207

Dryden, Adam (the profes-
sional), 24, 47

ENERGY, an essential to success,

128, 129
Entomological knowledge, no

claim to, 184, 185
" Ephemera " on the Blue Dun,

188
Equipinent,The Angler's, Chap.

VI., 139 to 182
Essay from Fishing Gazette,

" Fishing with the Wet Fly,*'

63

FLIES, Concerning, 183 to 209
Flies, Four separate tables of,

etc., 210 to 236
Forrest & Sons, Messrs., my own

rod-makers, 140, 141, 144
Foster, David, on the Blue Dun,

186, 187
Francis Francis on the Blue

Dun, 189

GALE of wind, During; where

to fish, 102, 103
Golden hour of the rise (or

"hatch") 178,179
"Good form," Preaching the

doctrine of, 85, 86
Greenheart rods, and their

" steely " action, 147, 148, 149
" Green well's Glory " fly, 230,

231, 232

R

242

Index

Griam, Loch (a narrow escape),

109
" Gumption," in relation to

wet-fly fishing, 53

HALFORD, F. M., Mr., on the

Blue Dun, 187
« Hang," The, or « The Hing,"

43, 117, 118, 119, 120
Hardy Brothers, Messrs., 140
Hog-backed (or rather bottomed)

pool, A., 81, 82
Hogg, Mrs. (the late), 141, 142,

148
How I captured a five-pound

Tweed trout, 116
"How to Catch Trout," by

three Anglers, 27, 28, 43
"How to land trout expedi-

tiously while wading," 174,

et seq.
Hutchinson and Sons, Messrs.,

round-bend hooks, 200

IDEAL way, An, of presenting

the fly to a shy old trout, 195,

196
Incident worth recording, An,

97 to 102
International (Universal) scale

of hooks advised, 201 to 204
Isla, The, at Meigle and Glen-

isla

JAPANNED hooks condemned,

and why, 201
Jed, The, a woodland Scottish

water, 28, 29

LINES, various, 160, 161
Listening to the silence, 15

MALLOCH, P. D., Mr., 142
Marston, K. B., Mr. ; his letter

to E. M. Tod, 8, 9, 10
Mechanical fly-fishing con-
demned, 117

" NORTH Country Fly-fishing " ;
a Fishing Gazette essay, 59
to 63

PATTERNS, far too varied; of

any one fly. Reform much

needed, 207, 20S, 209
Playing a trout timidly, bad

form, 57
Pollution, River, especially

during a drought, 73, 74

RAIN, the trout acting as a

barometer, 122, 123
Really good " rise," or " hatch,"

A, 104
Reels, far too many fads ; a good

reel, 157 to 160
" Reminiscences of an old

Angler," Fishing Gazette, 126
Rivers and streams generally ;

fished by the author, Chap.

V., 136, 137, 138
Rivers, Fishing of, Chap. IV., 65

to 135
Rivers not all quite alike, 84,

et seq.
Rods, Light ; controversy in the

Fishing Gazette, 150, 151
Ronald's fly-fishers' entomology.

The " Blue Dun," 189
Rubbing out the air-bubbles :

"A tip" for occasional use,

198

SHAKESPEARE'S words applied

to injudicious wading, 56, 57
Sky, " a grey day," etc., 55
Sluggish Scottish streams,

remarks upon, 35 to 38
Sneck-bend hooks, 200
Sport versus murder, 19
Stewart's " day," humorously

described by a keeper, 126
Stewart, W. C., Mr., 23, 24, 25
Suetonius M. Tod's "Trout

Fishing Guide," Isle of Man,

133, 134
Sunk or drowned fly, fishing

with, 89, et seq.

Index

243

TENDENCY of a submerged fly is

always with the current, 93,

118, 119
Theories as to early v. late

rivers, 57, 58, 59
"There's the rub." A low

dodge in a low water, 112,

113
Three half-pound trout, one on

each fly, 181
Tod fly, 216
" Tod " fly book, The, and Paley 's

flypouch, 170, 171
Tod landing-net, The, and

fixtures to "work" it, 72, et

" Tcxl " rod, The, 141 to 146
Tod's double-hooked midge,

dressed as an eyed fly, 206,

207
Tod's indiarubber lining for

creels; 163 to 167
Tod's, Mr. E. M., essay entitled

"How to land Trout expe-

ditiously while wading," 174,

et seq., from Scots Angler and

Fishing Gazette.
Tod's safety buckle, 168 to 170
Tod's "triple gut hinge," for

flies, 204, 205

Trollope, Anthony, quoted, 7
Trout-flies, Hackled (spiders),

Table IV., 225 to 228
Trout-flies, not named, dressed

with a single wing, 220 to

224
Trout- flies (winged), named

patterns. Table I., 210 to

216
Trout-flies (winged), extra

patterns. Table II, 217 to

219
Trout rising at, and feeding on,

seeds, 130, 131, 132
Trout sometimes strangely ca-
pricious, 192
Tummel, The, at Rannoch, 68,

et seq.

Turnbull & Co., Messrs., 141,

142, 154, 155
Tweed and Teviot, sometimes

fickle, 125
Tweedsmuir and St. Boswells,

34,35

Tweed, The, 71, et seq.
Tweed, wading its lower waters

upwards, hard work, 110
Typical Scottish waters, 39, et

seq.

UP-STUEAM fishing. A homely
explanatory diagram, 78, et
seq.

WAR of wits, one of the charms

of wet-fly fishing, 105
"Water," A, the term ex-
plained, 22, 23
" Waterhen Bloa," a splendid

hackled fly, 232, 233
Waters, Chap. III., 22 to 64
Weather often made the excuse

for failure, 121, 122
\Vebster,David, Author of "The

Angler and the Loop Rod," 25
Wet fly, A, and how it should

not be dressed, 199
Wet fly, how it should (broadly)

be dressed, 199, 200
Wet fly, The, compared to the

sunk fly, 106
When two flies are preferable

to the traditional three, 193
Wisdom of the serpent, when

to imitate it, 36

Words of warning to inex-
perienced waders, 107 to 109
Wrist, strong, A, makes the

most delicate fly-fisher, 135
Wutach, The (in the Black

Forest), 70

ZONE of calm just under the
river bank, 115

PBISTED Bf WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLE8.

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