to find some enthusiastic boatman to bestow them upon. It is
needless to add, that a gift of this kind is usually very much
appreciated by the recipient. Tinsel is a very useful adjunct to a fly,
and should always be employed in those used in loch-fishing. If variety
is wanted in colouring, the least tip of Berlin or pig's wool of the
desired shade will be found very effective. Get your flies dressed on
Limerick-bend hooks, as the iron, should it chance not to be the best
tempered in the world, is not so liable to snap as the round bend. The
wings of the fly should be dressed so as to be distinctly apart both in
the water and out of it, thus--

[Illustration]

It gives the fly a much more life-like appearance, and makes it swim
better in the water. When you give orders for flies, see that they are
dressed up to your instructions, as it is quite certain you will fish
with much more confidence when you have faith in what you are using. Do
not have them dressed on too fine gut, as they are apt to get twisted
round the casting-line (usually called "riding the line"), and put you
to the trouble of straightening them out every few minutes. These
remarks may seem trifling; but trifles are very irritating in most
pursuits, and the gentle art is no exception. Flies suitable for salmon
and sea-trout fishing on almost any loch will be supplied at any shop in
the trade on asking for Loch Lomond patterns. These patterns are
well-known, and are without exception as fine flies as one could wish
for. They are usually made very full in the body, and dressed with
heron's hackle. The varieties are red and teal, green and teal, orange
and mallard, or turkey, and a few variations of these,--sometimes a
yellow tip to the red and green bodies, or a red tip to the yellow; but
a cast composed of red or green and teal with orange and mallard is
unsurpassable. For this class of fishing, the flies should be dressed
with loops, and the bob should be fixed to the casting-line by means of
a small strand of gut. Two flies on a cast are quite sufficient when big
fish are expected. We can hardly advise the angler to try fly-dressing
on his own account. It is hardly worth his while, as flies are to be had
very reasonably from any respectable tackle-maker; and they are much
better dressed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred than any amateur
performance.

* * * * *

_Casting-Lines._--Provide yourself with half a dozen e