Fig. 18. (left), Fig. 17. (center), Fig. 19. (right)
This foundation serves for any caterpillar. Tie it at the tail whatever is to be used for ribbing the body, and the body material if it is not to be spun on the tying silk. Then wind on the body material, tie it in, wind on the ribbing, finishoff at the head, and cut off the projecting piece of quill.
The caterpillar when finished should appear as shown in the illustrations onPlate III.
Green Caterpillar.—1. Emerald green wool spun on tying-silk, ribbed with light yellow silk.
2. Emerald green wool spun on tying-silk, ribbed with scarlet silk.
3. Yellowish green wool spun on tying-silk, ribbed with narrow gold tinsel.
4. Olive green wool spun on tying-silk, ribbed with narrow gold tinsel.
(I have found Nos. 1 and 2 very successful when ribbed also with narrow gold tinsel, and Nos. 3 and 4 when ribbed with light yellow silk.)
Other Caterpillarsmade with a reddish-brown body, and ribbed with yellow or red, are also sometimes very successful, as are those also ribbed with red or Coch-y-bondhu hackles.
PLATE III
ARTIFICIAL FLIES
Swan Electric Engraving C⚬.
Drawn from flies tied by Mrs.J. R. Richardson, of Kingston-on-Thames (dressed from the Author’s models).
1.Sand-fly.2.Grannom.3.Cinnamon-fly.4.Welshman’s Button.5.Caperer.6.Red Sedge.7,8.Green Caterpillar.9,10.Corixa.11,12.Fresh-water Shrimp.
WET FLIES
[1]Rewritten from an article inThe Fieldunder the heading of “An Unorthodox View of Wet Fly Fishing.”
[1]Rewritten from an article inThe Fieldunder the heading of “An Unorthodox View of Wet Fly Fishing.”
That a trout or any other fish could possibly mistake a wet fly used in the regular wet fly way for the natural fly of which it is supposed to be an imitation, was always to my mind a very doubtful question; but now it is so no longer. I am sure the fish takes it for something else.
If we consider what would happen to a natural fly which had by some mishap become submerged, we can come to no other conclusion than that it would be carried along by the current, without any power of its own of altering the direction in which it was being moved by the water.Does this ever happen to the sunk fly? I think not. In fishing across and down stream it certainly does not; and even in up stream fishing, in order to keep his line straight, the fisherman must keep a certain amount of tension on it, and very probably draws it through the water with much the same sort of movement he would give it if not fishing up stream.
This movement through the water which is given to the artificial must be absolutely unlike any movement of the natural fly when under the surface; for in the natural fly, if it were not already drowned, the only possible movement would be that of its legs and wings, which, not being intended as a means of progression through the water, and being absolutely unsuitable for that object, would be most unlikely to enable it to do so.
But here a very natural question arises as to what, if not the natural fly, the fish takes the imitation to be? In a communication to theFieldin June, 1897, I described, under the heading of “A New Trout Fly,” the imitations of two Corixæ. This seems to be a key to the wholequestion. The number of insects living in fresh waters, and possessing the power of moving through it, is enormous.
There are between 220 and 230 different species of Water Beetles in our waters. There are also very many different sorts of Heteroptera, including the numerous family Notonectidæ. When we add to these the larvæ of flies and water beetles, the Crustaceans, Hydræ and Water Spiders, we must begin to realise that there are other things than a drowned natural fly for which the fish might mistake its imitation, with the materials of which it is made soaked in and drawn through the water.
The movement of many of these creatures through the water is fairly represented by the movement of the artificial fly in wet fly-fishing; and, when the shade and colour and size of the fly is the same as one of these aquatic creatures, I am sure that the fish takes it, not for a fly, but for one of them. Again, when the enormous number of these aquatic creatures is considered, it is most probable that one or other of the flies tried on any water bythe fisherman will come very near in shade, colour, and movement through the water, at any rate, to one of them.
If this conclusion at which I have arrived is correct, as I believe it to be, would it not be wiser to try to imitate, not the natural fly, but some of these numerous aquatic creatures? They are numerous enough, and a large number of them are easy to imitate; but as yet but little has been done, except with regard to the spiders, in this direction. I am also sure that the success of the so-called spider patterns used in wet fly-fishing has been due to quite a different cause to that which those who first used them and those who use them now believe, as these imitations are made from the insect as it appears when out of the water. The spider goes from its nest to the surface of the water and back again by a thread stretched between, and so would hardly move through the water, as its imitation is made to do by the fisherman. Those of the so-called spider-flies which are supposed to represent some of the Ephemeridæ, are, for the reasons I have givenbefore in speaking of flies in general, most unlikely to be mistaken for the natural insect by the trout.
A trout will undoubtedly sometimes take anything moving through the water which simulates life, if it be of a suitable size. This is shown by the manner in which they take the fancy flies; although here again, as one particular pattern of a fancy fly kills better than any other on one particular water, I think that very often this fancy fly is taken by the fish for some creature which is particularly numerous there. At any rate, if the fish only takes the artificial fly because it is apparently something alive and moving, I am sure that he would seize it with much more avidity if it represented one of his aquatic neighbours on which he has been feeding, and if its appearance reminded him of many previous pleasant meals. (Jan. 15, 1898.)[2]
[2]Since this article appeared inThe Field, some correspondence on the subject has taken place inThe Fishing GazetteandSt. James’s Gazette. Many of the arguments brought forward by some of the correspondents have led me to believe that I cannot have made myself sufficiently clear in the above article, so I have added some further explanations.
[2]Since this article appeared inThe Field, some correspondence on the subject has taken place inThe Fishing GazetteandSt. James’s Gazette. Many of the arguments brought forward by some of the correspondents have led me to believe that I cannot have made myself sufficiently clear in the above article, so I have added some further explanations.
My readers must not suppose that I intend to apply these remarks to any particular circumstances; I am only speaking of wet-flies in general. While it is probable that the natural fly does often sink under the surface, and may then be taken by the trout, the wet-fly of the fisherman does not as a rule behave as does the natural fly when under water. That the trout takes the wet-fly fished up stream, which is allowed to come down with the current without any drag and close to the surface, for the natural fly it represents, is also very probable; but these facts do not in any way tend to disprove my theory. This manner of wet-fly fishing is very much like dry-fly fishing, and is certainly not the way in which wet-fly fishing is practised in lakes, and is hardly the most general way in which it is practised on many rivers.
In dealing with this subject fully and to carry my theory to its necessary conclusion, it is of course necessary to find a probable explanation of what every form of wet-fly, fancy or supposed imitation of a natural fly, is taken for by the fish. This naturally leads us to believe that such atheory, if it approaches the truth, should include an explanation of why the salmon takes the fly.
We know but little of the world as it appears to the eye of the fish, but from the little that is known something may be deduced which carries this theory a little further. In the sea many and very various effects may be produced upon objects moving through the water when passing between the eye and the surface, by light, by the reflecting powers of the bottom of the water, and by the relative clearness of the water, all of which factors of the effect produced vary to an almost incalculable extent.
Given a bright sun, a light sandy bottom and clear water, a small crustacean swimming between the eye of the observer and the surface often will not appear to be like the creature when it is seen out of the water. The outline will be indistinct, and the whole will frequently appear to be brilliantly coloured. Not only is the body thus brilliantly coloured, but equally gaudy rays will be seen round it, probably produced by the moving legs and by refraction.
In this case the circumstances are all in favour of the production of an effect of brilliant colouration; but going to the other extreme, with a dull light, a dark bottom and cloudy water, we have the dullest-coloured fly accounted for, as the first conditions accounted for that which was most gaudy. This also explains the fact that the flies which go in various gradations of colour between these extremes are most suitable for various conditions of the weather, water, and locality.
In the case of the Salmon-fly, probably the salmon remembers, when he has reached fresh water, many an appetising morsel in the shape of a crustacean or small fish, and takes the fly for one of these.
In the case of the trout we know that crustaceans are very acceptable to them, and though probably fresh water will not produce the brilliant effect which is produced by salt water as I have described above, still, as fancy Trout-flies do not run to such gaudy colours as do Salmon-flies, still the effect should be sufficient to account for a fair amount of brilliant colour under similar conditions. No doubt someof the fancy Trout-flies are also taken for small fish.
In many waters, however, the effect could hardly be made brilliant, as shallow water, shade produced by weeds, &c., and muddy or dark bottoms would all militate against its being so, and in these waters probably only lures that imitate the actual colours of the object they represent would be of any use.
In fresh water and in the case of trout, as I have pointed out, there are many aquatic creatures which serve as food which have the power of swimming through the water.
My theory, stated briefly and more explicitly, I hope, than was the case in my article inThe Field, is that under circumstances in which the wet-fly behaves more as does some creature having the power of swimming through the water, it is better to imitate this creature than any natural fly on the water, which cannot in any case behave in such a manner; and what I wish to advocate is, that imitations of these aquatic creatures should be made and used.
[3]Rewritten from an article inThe Fieldunder the heading of “A New Trout Fly.”
[3]Rewritten from an article inThe Fieldunder the heading of “A New Trout Fly.”
While fishing in a water where the trout are very numerous in the spring of 1897, I found that I could hardly catch a single trout in the day with the fly. The weather was cold and windy, and showed no signs of mending. At last, one day, I opened a trout, one of the few that I had caught during my visit, and found the stomach full of some insects belonging to the family of Corixæ. These insects are very commonly called Water Beetles, or Water Boatmen. They, however, are not beetles but bugs (Heteroptera), and are not the same as the true water-boatmen, theNotonecta glauca, though they somewhat resemble it in appearance.
On finding these insects in the trout I took some of them home, and made imitations of them. With these the next day I caught a number of trout, though the weather was just as unfavourable. Since then I have improved somewhat upon the imitations I then used, and in waters which are inhabited by Corixæ. These imitations have met, both in my hands and in the hands of others, with greater success than any other form of wet fly.
It is an extraordinary thing, considering the number of men who have written on trout fishing, that it has apparently never occurred to one of them to describe an imitation of one of this large family of insects. Mr. Halford, in hisDry-fly Entomology, indeed states that he has frequently found them in the stomachs of trout, but he does not even suggest that an imitation of them might be made.
There are many species of Corixæ which inhabit our waters, but the commoner sorts are so similar in appearance that many of the species are very difficult to distinguish even by an expert, and but little work has been done with regard to them. ThereforeI have come to the conclusion that a similar dressing on different sized hooks will be quite sufficient to deceive the unscientific eye of the trout. This conclusion is corroborated by the fact that I have several times had an imitation Corixa seized by a trout when it was sinking, and before I began to draw it through the water, which is, I take it, a fairly severe test as to the accuracy of the imitation. Colonel Walker and Mr. Herbert Ash have also had the same thing happen to them when fishing with my imitation Corixæ.
Corixæ vary much in size, the largest and one of the commonest species being theCorixa geoffroyi, which is about half an inch long. In all Corixæ, the head is wide and is attached but slightly to the body. It is convex in front and concave behind, so as to fit the end of the thorax, and is as wide as the wings when folded and at rest. These insects possess four wings, which they frequently use, though they are somewhat clumsy in starting from the surface of the water. I have sometimes, however, seen them fly considerable distances. The anterior wings resemble the wing-cases ofa beetle; they are hard and shiny, brown in colour, with dark mottled markings upon them. The posterior pair are transparent. The abdomen is light yellow and fringed with hairs, and there are transverse lines on the dorsal surface of the thorax. As, however, these markings on the thorax and wings are hardly visible to the naked eye, they give the Corixa a generally brownish and shiny appearance. Of the legs, six in number, the hind pair are most used in swimming. They are somewhat flattened at their extremities to a paddle shape, and are fringed with hairs. I have seen the hind legs of the Corixæ when the insects have been suspended motionless in mid-water, standing out at right angles on each side of the body; and as in the imitation I am about to describe, the legs take this position when the fly is at rest or sinking in the water; this explains the fact of the trout taking them in the way I have mentioned above.
TheCorixa sahlbergi, which is almost as common as theCorixa geoffroyi, is about half its size, but is otherwise very similarin appearance, as are nearly all the other smaller species.
The Corixa frequently comes to the surface to breathe, and a number of small air bubbles attach themselves to its body. These, when the insect is swimming under water, give its body a brilliant silvery appearance, with the yellow showing through in places. This effect is accurately reproduced by ribbing the body with silver tinsel.
The size of the hooks used must depend upon the size of the species of Corixæ inhabiting the water to be fished, and varies from No. 1 to 3, new size.
The Corixæ in any particular water may easily be found in order to observe the size. They congregate in great numbers among the weeds, &c., on the bottom of the water. They are very numerous in most millponds, pools, back-waters, sluggish waters and ponds.
The body is made with light yellow Berlin wool, teazed up with fur from the hare’s face, and ribbed with silver tinsel. A good space of shank should be left above the body.
The only legs which make any show inthe water are the hind legs, and they are the only ones it is absolutely necessary to imitate; should, however, the fisherman wish to imitate the others, one turn of a ginger hackle may be used.
When I described the Corixa in theFieldI directed that the hind legs should be made with a strand of peacock herle. I have however found a better imitation of these legs since then, in the end of a quill feather from a starling’s wing. This keeps up its spring even when soaked for a long period in the water, while the peacock herle legs after a time adhered to the body of the fly, and did not stand out on each side when the fly was at rest. The tip of the feather should be completely cleared of fibres on one side, and nearly so on the other, leaving however a few short stumps at the end, as shown in illustrations of imitation inPlate III., to represent the paddle-shape of the legs. These legs are then tied in at right angles to the body. I have found the best way of accomplishing this is to tie the legs in straight to the side, with the buts pointing towards the tail of the fly. Then bendthem down, and put enough turns of the tying silk round the shank of the hook to keep them in the position shown in the illustration of the imitation.
The wings are made from the quill feathers of the woodcock, laid flat on the body one over the other, as described in the directions for tying Perlidæ, which have their wings lying one over the other. The head must be made large, and the whole fly when finished appear as shown in the illustration.
When used, this fly should be allowed to sink. The depth to which it must sink varying according to circumstances, and then drawn through the water in little jerks. Each of these movements through the water causes the legs, which stand out on each side of the body, to bend back; but at the end of the jerk, when the fly is momentarily stationary, these legs resume their original position. Thus the movement of the legs of the natural insect when swimming is accurately imitated. (June 12, 1897.)
This imitationCorixahas met with avery general condemnation as not being a lure which should be allowed on waters where the use of the fly only is permitted. As this child of my fancy has cost me many hours of careful thought and labour, I am inclined, with all due deference to these opinions, expressed by men of much greater experience than mine, to say a few words in its defence.
Corixæare insects which live in the water and are eaten by trout. They possess wings which they use frequently, sometimes flying a considerable distance, and I have seen trout take them just as they were trying to leave the surface of the water. The efficacy of the imitation, therefore, depends upon the skill of the fisherman, who must make it simulate in its movements the movements of the natural insect. Mr. G. A. B. Dewar, in hisBook of the Dry Fly, in speaking of “tailing” trout, which are probably feeding on "food of the shrimp and snail order,“ advises that they should be fished for "with a long line down stream, and the fly worked with a series of little jerks, somewhat as in salmon-fishing. The fly shouldbe cast just above where the head of the trout is adjudged to be, and worked into the angler’s bank, and it must never be kept still, otherwise the fish will at once perceive the deception and at once decline it.” Mr. Dewar then mentions a dry-fly angler of great skill who is very successful in fishing in this manner with a big Alder. It is more than probable that in these cases the Alder is taken for aCorixa, or something very like it, as the colour, size, and movements are somewhat similar.
The Marquis of Granby, in the preface to Mr. Dewar’s book, also speaks highly of a sunk alder for “tailing” trout.
“To kill ‘tailers’ in broad daylight and in low water is quite an art in itself,” is another quotation fromThe Book of the Dry Flyupon this mode of fishing, and though the author points out that this is not true dry-fly fishing, still if the fisherman’s conscience allows him to use a sunk Alder down stream and worked in this manner, I think it should also allow him to use an imitationCorixaunder similar circumstances.
I should not have dragged the writingsof others into such a question as this, had not the criticisms upon my flies been an indirect attack upon myself, as what has been said about them practically means that they ought not to be used by any one who calls himself a sportsman. If this is true of the flies, what could not be said of their inventor? For this reason I take the best means I can find to defend myself, and what better defence could there be than the published practices of two men whose sportsmanlike qualities have never been doubted?
What is legitimate trout-fly has, I believe, never been clearly defined; but I hope I shall not be presuming too much in saying, that if the lure in question is the imitation of an insect which can and does fly, made of the ordinary materials used in fly-making upon one hook, this lure has a perfect right to be called alegitimate trout-fly.
It will be found that myCorixafulfils these conditions.
There is one thing that I wish particularly to impress upon my reader, and this is that, in using the imitations ofCorixæand Fresh-water Shrimps, he should find out whether these creatures inhabit the water he is fishing. If he does not do this and fishes with the imitations of either of them where they do not exist, he will probably meet with failure and disappointment.
[4]Rewritten from an article inThe Field, April 16, 1898, under the heading of “The Fresh-water Shrimp as a Wet Fly.”
[4]Rewritten from an article inThe Field, April 16, 1898, under the heading of “The Fresh-water Shrimp as a Wet Fly.”
Of all the forms of food partaken of by the trout the Crustacea are the best. When I say the best, I mean that trout fed upon Crustacea seem to thrive better than trout fed on anything else. In this case, at any rate, the most wholesome form of food seems also to be the most welcome; for though I have tried feeding trout with almost every form of food, I have never come across another form which they have taken with anything approaching the voracity with which they take Crustacea.
Fortunately, I can bring forward a case to show how trout thrive when fed upon Crustacea. In April, 1897, Colonel Walkerpresented some trout to the Brighton Aquarium. I myself caught some of these trout, which were put in a rearing pond to await their being transferred by rail to the Aquarium. As I also assisted in the operation of taking them from the rearing pond and putting them into the tanks in which they were to travel, I can vouch for their size at that time. They were all in rather bad condition, and, even had the largest been in good condition, it could not have weighed more than three-quarters of a pound. These trout have been fed entirely on Crustacea since they were introduced into the tank they now occupy; and at the time I am writing (January, 1898), the largest of these trout must be quite two pounds or more in weight, and there are others which are nearly as large.
The voracity with which these trout seize the Sandhoppers and Shrimps upon which they are fed is a perfect revelation. I have seen them leap out of the water to catch the Shrimps thrown to them before they reached the surface.
I have also found that young trout in rearing ponds take Fresh-water Shrimpswith the same greediness; and on considering these facts, I am surprised that there have not been more attempts to imitate the Fresh-water Shrimp.
TheGammarus pulexmay be found in almost all streams, especially where there is much vegetation. An illustration of it is given onPlate I. I have however found them abundant in streams where there were no weeds. They hide under stones at the bottom of the water and among the weeds, especially among watercress and starwort. Though they will live in still water, I have found them most numerous in streams; and notwithstanding that they are generally supposed only to inhabit somewhat sluggish streams, I have found them in fairly rapid ones, with a stony bed. The Shrimp is very prolific, and if protected increase very rapidly; thus it is a most excellent plan for those who breed and rear trout to cultivate them, as they are one of the most valuable forms of food.
These animals are very similar in shape to their well-known relation, the common Sandhopper. In colour they vary verymuch according to the water they inhabit. I have seen them a pale yellow colour in some streams, while in others they are almost black. The commonest colour is however a reddish-yellow.
I find that the general idea is that these Shrimps travel through the water in quick leaps by bending up their bodies and straightening them out again. I have however never seen them do this, though I have kept them in an aquarium and watched them very carefully.
What I have seen is, that they use their legs to swim with, moving them as though they were walking very rapidly. They cannot, however, walk when they are taken out of the water, but lie perfectly helpless upon their sides. In a stream where the Fresh-water Shrimp swims, it seems unable to progress up stream, or at any rate, if it does it moves very slowly; when they wish to go up stream they crawl along the bottom. They can, however, as a rule, maintain the same position against the current.
I have found the following to be the best way to dress an imitation of the Fresh-waterShrimp:—Choose a light ginger tackle, cut the tip off, and tie the tip on a hook (No. 1 or 2, new size), so that the fibres will project for between 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch at the tail. Tie in a thin strip of india-rubber and a piece of narrow silver tinsel.
The strip of india-rubber must be taken from a piece of the natural rubber, and cut so thin that when stretched it is transparent. When stretched it should be quite a sixteenth of an inch broad. A little piece of india-rubber tapered at each end and half as long as the shank of the hook, must now be fastened to the shank near the head of the fly, placing the piece of rubber on the shank and tying it in with the tying silk. Now bring back the tying silk to the tail of the fly, and spin the wool, of which the body is to be made, on to the tying silk and wind it on the shank. The wool may vary in colour, according to the colour of the Shrimps in the stream to be fished, from light yellow or reddish-yellow to a very dark brown. When the wool body is finished off, wind on the strip of india-rubber, so that the edge of one lap meets the edge of the other,thus covering the body entirely; tie in and cut off the remainder, and then rib the body with the tinsel.
In putting on the hackle, which is light ginger, it is necessary that some of the fibres should be made to project forwards, so the tying silk should be finished off behind these. When the fly is complete it should appear as shown in illustrations of imitation onPlate III.
In fishing this fly must be allowed to sink to mid-water, and then allowed to travel across and down stream in short stages; but should not be drawn towards the fisherman in any marked way, or it will not represent the movements of the natural Shrimp.
Whether any particular stream is inhabited by these Crustacea may be easily discovered. If the stream has a stony bottom they will be found under almost every large stone which is turned over. If, however, there bedébrisor mud at the bottom, they may easily be captured with a stout gauze net, mounted on a strong ring and handle. If this net be passed along the bottom, and some of the weedsanddébrisbrought up, the Shrimps will be found among the contents of the net. I should strongly advise any one possessing a trout stream which is not inhabited by the Fresh-water Shrimp to introduce them, for they are, as I have pointed out, one of the very best forms of trout food. I have been very successful with the imitation shrimp on waters which contain the fresh-water shrimp.
This imitation has also met with general condemnation of an even more decided character than that of the Corixa. In neither case, however, have any reasons been given for the condemnation.
As undoubtedly some of the hackle flies used wet must be very like a shrimp, and if the imitation shrimp is condemned, so also should these hackle flies.
Larvæ of Water-Insects, which have the power of swimming in the water, are best imitated by making a very taper body, with a large head. They are many of them small, and these should not be tied on a hook larger than No. 1, new size. There are, however, many larvæwhich are larger, but not many of these swim about much in the water. Some are brownish-yellow, and some nearly black. Some should have a tail made of two or three strands of hackle the same colour as the body. Some have appendages on the sides of the body, and in the imitations of these the hackle must be tied in at the tail, carried up over the body, and a couple of turns given at the shoulder. They may be made in various shades, from brownish-yellow to black. I have not yet had time to work out any proper scheme of imitations, but only write this as a suggestion.
On Casting
The fly must not be thrown directly on to the water, but should be allowed to drop there by gravitation. Thus the line should extend itself in a perfectly straight line in the air, at least a foot above the surface of the water, and then the fly will drop naturally upon it.
On Keeping the Line Floating
Unless the line be floating it is almost impossible to avoid a “drag,” which is, as a rule, absolutely fatal. The best way to make the line float is to rub the last twenty-five yards with vaseline, then go over the line with a lump of beeswax, and finish up by rubbing very gently with a rag with vaseline upon it. A rag should be carried when out fishing, with a small piece of beeswax in it. A small tin of vaseline must also be taken and then,when the line shows any signs of sinking, it must be rubbed with the rag which has been previously dipped in the vaseline. The small piece of beeswax should touch the line as it is being rubbed with the rag, and the wax will become soft on the surface as it mixes with the vaseline.
On Making the Fly Float
Many fishermen use odourless paraffin; but it takes some time for the paraffin to float off, and when a quick change of flies is necessary, this is a great disadvantage. If the finger be dipped very slightly in the tin of vaseline, so that there is just a suspicion of it on the skin, and the hackle of the fly be rubbed with it, the fly will float as well as it does with the odourless paraffin, and the vaseline will not float off. Personally I prefer not to use anything. This entails a small amount of extra labour in drying the fly; but the tints of the fly are not altered, as they often are if any form of grease is used to make the fly float.
RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY.
TRANSCRIBER NOTES:
Punctuation has been normalized without note.
Footnotes have been moved closer to their reference point in the text.
Page x: Page "72" changed to page "73" Chapter VIII, Winged Ants.
Page 10: "biassed" changed to "biased" (I must be naturally biased).
Page 100: "teased" changed to "teazed" for consistency (teazed up with fur).