ANGLING NOTES

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14758, 30 August 1913, Page 13

ANGLING NOTES

FLY-TYING VOll HtMNNiiHS. tSFECIALI.Y WRITTEN FO« '"THK PIIE^S.") (Isv "Ir.ON oi.uk.") 111. For tlu- at loast. our "thirdly ar.-d iasiiy" on tin.- subject of flics, may take tho form ol a :i\v dirottioty for making various floatirl; jwttvrris, and one or two other.s. which are. particularly and generally ust nil. Mich as uymphs, «r special -N*.-w Zealand du-6. Oiteii wo may havo heard that some doatiny fly is a perfect copy oi the natural insoot; bat piaco the two and it wi.l bo (juite. easy to s-tc that many tiiiuxenCes exist. The perfect imitation of a turn or spinner never has been uwl; so ior all that yet is possible we try to nuu;o an artiiu:ai winch is passably like ttie real Di.inu, and in uoini; tlii.s we inu.->i particularly con&idor ttiu points, of sizo anil coiimr. Si:aj>e soonu. of k-ss importanco, for a ciio-.mini; Miinner may lie upon tho surlace in various attitudes! and accordingly we find that mc trout wia take the* proixr fly oven '.viieii it hcu> become battered and much tho wor&o for wear. iSomo liihernu'ii believe it is chiefly Decenary to work an exact sha-de of colour into the of a dry Hy ; but ii these are- made trom feathers which

«!•(♦ op.i'iuf I (!o not think their colour matters iiroatiy. i'or wen tho iky any opaque .substance —oven <i .sikw flake— looks black. it i.s evident that wo inu.'t not negu-et t!u* quality ol transpivroiicy in the ivinus, ami to pot a colour effect also v loose-fibrod feather must be used ; so in tho toMovviim method tackle points are taken instead of a of starling, which wo havo tied already in another fiy.

To tie a hackle point spinuor—"'Atn-lophk-bia dontata," the white-winged spinner —we require only threo white cock liarklos and a loiujth of lignt blown bilk. Set in the .silk a third of the way down tho hook shank, continue tho wliinping to tho bond, and secure with a half-hitch knot. Next piill off three or tour of the longest fibres at tho butt of a. hackle, to form the whisk or tail; lay them lengthways along the ton of "the shank, so that they proj«t we'! beyond the bond, and Lap* closely back over the ends to the .starting olace. Here tie in one of tho ha.ckk\s by the tip, secure with several turns, and let the silk | end hang in ono of the artery forceps, j to keep it from slipping. Now snip out about half an inch of the other two hackle points, for the wings, and placo them ono on each side and flatways to the hook, with the points sticking out forward well in front of the eye. Fasten them on by somo turns of silk over tho stumps, arid let the silk drop as before. Take tho wings between tho thumb and forefinger of the left hand, pull them backwards into an upright position on tho hook, and wind a few turns of silk very closely in front, which will cause the* wings "to remain upright. Secure all by a half hitch, and then take the long'pieco of hackle and twist it forwards in two or three turns behind and ono in front of the wings. Tio down tho hackle with a couple of turns and j two half-latches, just at the back of the J eye; snip off tho hackle, the wiDg stumps, and tho tip of tho first hacklo whore it was tied in, and a iloating fly is finished. When the trout aro lying out near the edge on a warm afternoon, I have found this a most deadly fly, which can bo tied by anybody in a very few minutes. Most fishermen liavo witnessed tho strange performance known as "a mad rise," when the trout seem ip be cruising and roving all over tho river, sometimes feeding just below tho surface, often regularly wallowing at the top, generally refusing all Hies which aro shown to them, and then taking something an inch to right or left. Occasionally a mad rise is caused by swarms of a tiny black fly called a "fisherman!*, curse" ;*or it may happen that the trout aro taking ephemeral nymphs, which are ascending from the stones to tho surface, there to hatch into their perfect state. As one might suppose, it is not easy to tie a satisfactory "curse, , but it may be represented well enough to deceive sundry trout. Take a "000" hook, set in a piece of black silk at the bend, and lap round tho shank nearly to tho eye. Here tio in the point of tho shortest-fibred black hen hackle which can be procured ; bring this forward in two or throe turns to tho eye, finish off with two half knots, and snip away tho spare ends of hackle. A good hatch of duns, of course, must be preceded by the ascent of a multitude of nymphs to the top of tho water; and while this process continues, they are devoured ravenously by tho fish, which apparently prefer them to tho perfect flies. In tying a nymph, it is not necessary as a rulo that it should possess much floating power, for this lure is just as killing when worked below the surface. Sot in a length of dark brown or dark green silk at the bend of a No. 1 or 2 hook, tie in three fibres lof a brown feather for the tail, ami whip forward and back along the shank until you have a body tapering irom tail to" eye. At about a third of tho distance back from tho eye, tie in tho brown base of a strand of peacock lien, and tho middle piece of a brown hackle; carry the silk upwards for a few turns, and "let it hang in a clip. AVind the strand of her! round and round to make a thick thorax, and fasten down with a few turns and a half hitch, in front of tho thickness. Trim away the stumps of herl, bring forward the hackle in ono or two turns, and finish as usual, closo up to tho eye. Snip off most of tho hacklo fibres, leaving about half a ■ dozen, and shorten these to represent tho legs. I>o not fear to make the body of our own particular nymph too fat, for it must be remembered that it is an imitation of a swollen sort of creature; very much in tho tho same position as tho boy at the supper table, &o j frequently held out as a warning to I earliest youth. Tho beginner now has tried his hand at several flies representing different families, and soon wiil be able to tio many other patterns for himself; so finally I will try to describe a new in- | vention, a minnow-fly—inanga fly— I which I know to be a good thing. For j tho tying of this '•inanga fly." select a good largo hook, and knot three inches of thick gut to tho eye, in the ordinary way. Double back the gut so that tho ; unfixed end lies right along the hook I shnnk to the bend, and from thoro whip everything tightly together with waxed silk; leaving at the doubling placo a tiny loop, by which the fly is fastened on a cast. Then get somo of those soft. fluffy strips which are found at tho bases of big turkey feathers, and begin by tying one at the bend of the hook, f.o that it will stream out behind when the fly is in the water. Tie in a second just above the first, and on the opposite side; nnd so on until the whole is well covered, right up to tho gut loop. Next fasten in a light yellow hackie by its base, close to the loop or head, so that it lies lengthways down the back of tho fly, and finish by tying on some peacock herl points—throe on each sido—at the same place. The idea of the inanga fly. is that the turkey-down feathers work and wave about when in tho water, very ranch, like the swimming movements of a. little fish; so giving an appearance of life, whicih makes the thing most attractive. It should be a good estuaryfly;, and when tried on the Waikato, it proved much more successful than any of the salmon flies. In conclusion of our fly-tying, just a lino. If the beginner will nth during a whole day with flies ho has tied himself: and contrast- his feelings at the landing of eacli trout, with like sensations on previous occasions, I think he will bo quite satisfied that he has dono all for tho best. . , „