ur fly is made.
TO MAKE A WINGED FLY.
Have your materials ready, wings silk &c., of the colour you require,
then take a hook between the forefinger and thumb of your left hand,
with the point towards your forefinger, place the gut at the top of the
shank, and with the silk bind them tightly together, bind all tight
within two or three turns of the shank of the hook. Take the feather
for wings, lay the feather's point the proper length between your
finger and thumb along the hook, and take two or three turns over it
for the head of the fly, and bind the gut between the second and third
fingers of your left hand, and with the scissors clip off the root end
of the feather, wrap the silk back again once under the wings, setting
them upwards; with the point of the needle divide equally the wings
crossing the silk between them. Lay the hackle for legs, root end
towards the bend of the hook, wrap your silk over it and so make the
body of your fly, then take the fibre end of the hackle, rib the body
of the fly neatly with it, till you reach the silk hanging down, wind
the silk twice or thrice over the hackle, fasten with the usual knots,
and your fly is complete.
MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR MAKING WINGED AND HACKLE FLIES.
In the manufacture of winged flies a great variety of feathers are
required. Procure those of a Mallard, Teal, Partridge, especially the
tail feathers; also, the wings of a Starling, Jay, Landrail, Waterhen,
Blackbird, Fieldfare, Pheasant Hen, Pewitt's Topping, Peacock's Herl,
green and copper coloured, black Ostrich herl, Snipe, Dottrel, Woodcock
and golden Plover's wings, the tail feathers of the blue and brown
Titmouse, and also Heron's plumes. Dubbing is to be had from old Turkey
Carpet, Hare ears, Water Rat's fur, Squirrel, Mohair, old hair cast
from young cattle, of a red, blue, brown, black and fawn colour from
behind a Spaniel's ears, and from the fur of a Mouse, and note,
Martin's fur is the best yellow that can be had. In regard to Silks be
careful to suit the colour of the silk (at least as much so as you
possibly can,) to the hackle you select for dubbing with. Thus with a
Dun hackle, use yellow silk; a black hackle, sky blue; a brown or red
hackle, red or dark orange do.
The above selection of silks and dubbing are for Palmers and winged
flies generally. It is a good plan however to take and wet your dubbing
previous to making use of it, because when dry it may appear the exact
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