of feathers.]

TYING SILK: Ordinary sewing silk is too coarse for ordinary fly-tying
and it doesn't seem to have the strength. Size 00 is a good size for all
flies including bucktails and streamers. For dry flies and small wet
flies a gossamer silk size 000 and 0000 is the best to {14} use.
Although the strength of this fine silk is much less than the size 00,
it has the advantage that more turns can be used, and the heads can be
made much smaller.

{15}

BUCKTAIL STREAMERS

{16}

[Illustration: Diagram 3. Page sized diagram showing drawings of bucktail
construction.]

Place a hook in the vise and start waxed tying silk (See Diagram 3, page
15) (A) 1/8" from eye of hook Fig. 1. Take five or six turns and cut off
end (B) Fig. 2. Wind tying silk (A) closely and smoothly down hook shank
as Fig 3. (A complete understanding of the next step will have a great
deal to do with the success of the beginner's greatest difficulty, that
is, putting on the wings; the procedure is the same for all flies, study
Fig. 4.) Hold tail material (C) between thumb and finger of the left
hand, slide the fingers down over the hook, so that the tail material
rests on top of the hook, with the hook held firmly between thumb and
finger as Fig. 4. Now loosen grip just enough to allow tying silk (A) to
pass up between thumb and tail material, form a loose loop over
material, and down, between finger and material on the other side. Now
tighten grip with thumb and finger and pull loop down tight; repeat once
more, see Fig. 5. (This knack of holding the material and hook firmly
together, until the loose loop is drawn down tightly keeps the tail, or
wings, on top of the {17} hook, and at the same time keeps them from
splitting or turning sidewise.) Now that the tail is in place, with two
turns of the tying silk (A) tie in ribbing (D) Fig. 6. Now take six or
eight close tight turns with the tying silk towards the eye of the hook,
with two more turns tie in the body material (E) Fig. 7. IF USING TINSEL
FOR BODY MATERIAL, BE SURE AND CUT THE END TO A TAPER BEFORE TYING IN as
(E) Fig. 7; this tends to make a smoother body and prevents a bunch
where the body material is tied in. Next wind tying silk (A) back to the
starting point, take a half hitch and let it hang. Now wind body
material (E) clockwise (all windings are clockwise) tightly and smoothly
back towards the barb, to the extreme rear end of the body, pull tight
and wind forward to withi