The wings are made of two golden pheasant neck feathers, with a broad strip of peacock wing feather on each side, and a strip of scarlet macaw tail feather, the latter to be a little longer than the other feathers, a black ostrich head with a full brilliant blue jay feather round the shoulder. The body is made thus:—a tip of silver twist, a yellow floss silk tag, two small toppings for tail, the body is of golden yellow pig hair or mohair, ribbed with silver twist, with two golden yellow dyed hackles with a black streak up the centre, rolled from the tail to the head. No. 9 hook, B, or BB.
No. 11 is a fly that will kill grilse or salmon in the light running rivers of the North of Scotland, and in all rivers where the salmon and its varieties haunt, and is made of different sizes. The wings are made of a few fibres of each of the following feathers: black and white small spotted bustard rump feather, teal, wood-duck, silver hen pheasant tail, and the silver cock pheasant tail black and white spotted feathers, the neck feather of the golden pheasant, and the red spear feather of the same bird, and at each side two small feathers of the black and white jungle cock, a black head, and topping. The body is made half yellow and half purple pig hair or mohair, the latter colour next the head, over which roll close up two black heron feathers off the crest; a tip of gold, and a small topping for tail, and over the yellow or purple body roll double gold twist. No. 7 hook, or BB.
The Sea-Trout Fly underneath No. 11 in the same plate, will be found a killer either for sea-trout or grilse, in the rivers in Scotland, and the South of Ireland. The wings are made of a dark brown grouse hackle that grows on the rump of the bird, just above the tail, mixed with a small quantity of light brown turkey tail, or kite tail, which is the salmon tail glede of the north, and two feelers of blue and yellow macaw; a black head; the body is made with a tip of silver twist at the tail, and a tag of black ostrich; the tail is a mixture of golden pheasant neck feather, and brown mallard, two or three fibres of each; the body is blue floss silk, rather light, with an old black cock's hackle rolled over it, ribbed with fine silver twist; round the shoulder roll a claret or scarlet hackle. The hook No. 10, or C, double CC, or B, for grilse. There may be three or four varieties of this fly made thus:—body blue, with blue jay, same wings, with a little neck feather of the golden pheasant; orange body, same coloured hackle, and same wings, blue jay at head; a dun body, with fiery brown hackle at the head; a claret body—a yellow body, and small grouse; blue body, and guinea hen; and a yellow body, with guinea hen; a black body, black hackle, and the same wings and tail; a black fly, with teal wings; a brown body, brown hackle, and "glede" wings, two fibres of the same for tail. All these are the choicest colours for sea-trout and grilse flies in every salmon river in the kingdom.
No. 12. Is a large Spring Fly used generally in the Shannon, and the Tweed, when the rivers are very high and rapid. It will be found a magnificent specimen of a gaudy salmon fly, and is the proper size for March and April, when the fulness of the stream prevents the fish from seeing smaller ones. This fly will be seen to perfection in the Plate. With this, I will describe three or four others of the same size, of different colours, which came into my possession from Castle Connell, on the Banks of the Shannon.
The wings of No. 12 are made of the small spotted brown Argus tail feather, golden pheasant tail, and the black and white peacock wing feather; scarlet and blue macaw, and in the centre an orange macaw feather whole, those that are tipped with blue and green—they are found on the shoulders of the red macaw and down the back; a tuft of broken neck feather of the golden pheasant at the head, and feelers of blue and yellow macaw; a black head; a tip of gold at the tail, a tag of blue, another of orange floss and black ostrich, a good sized topping in the tail, and at its root a tuft of red spear feather of the golden pheasant rump; there is about half an inch body at the tail end, made of yellow mohair, and yellow hackle over it, ribbed with gold, the remainder of the body is made of puce floss silk, with a dark wine-purple hackle struck over it, ribbed with silver twist and flat gold, and a yellow body feather of the macaw rolled round the shoulder. The hook, No. 2 or 3, large Salmon size.
SPRING FLIES.
The following fine large flies will be excellent killers in the Shannon, the Tweed, the Thurso, the Spey, and the Tay, in the spring season. The bodies to be made small, the wings large.
No. 1. The body is made of sky blue floss silk, ribbed with broad silver tinsel, tip of silver, and orange tag; a dark blue hackle from the tail up; two toppings in the tail, a large yellow pig hair or mohair head (white seal fur dyed yellow does well), a blue jay round the shoulder; the wings are a large yellow and a large blue feather of the macaw, which grows on the back and under the wings of that bird, two orange macaw feathers an inch shorter on each side of them, two toppings, a mixture of argus, bustard, scarlet and blue macaw, good size strips of each. No. 1 hook, full salmon size.