Flies For July
No. 25.--THE GREAT WHIRLING DUN.--The body is made of water-rat's fur,
mixed with yellow mohair, and ribbed with yellow silk; a reddish blue
dun hackle for legs; grey mallard wings, or starling--try both. No. 8
hook. There are two or three varieties of this fly, which make their
appearance in this month, and are very killing on fine, mild days, with
occasional showers; their colours run from a dark to a light sky-blue.
"Mr. Bowlker," in his "Art of Angling," an authority which I like, as he
was himself a fisherman, speaks thus of one of these beautiful flies:
"It comes on about the end of May, and continues till the middle of
July. It is a neat, curious, and beautiful fly; its wings are
transparent, stand upright on its back, and are of a fine blue colour,
its body is of a pale yellow, its tail forked, and the colour of its
wings. It is a fly that the fishes take extremely well from seven
o'clock in the evening till sun-set. The wings are made from the light
blue feather of a hen; the body is made with pale yellow mohair, mixed
with light blue fur, and ribbed with a fine cock's hackle, dyed yellow,
the hook, No. 8." This is taken from "Bowlker's" original work.
No. 26. THE LITTLE PEACOCK FLY.--The body is made of bright brown
peacock's harl, with a tip of gold at the tail, or gold colour floss
silk; a red hackle for legs, and a starling wing. This little fly comes
on about the middle of July, and continues till the end of August. It
may be used to advantage on fine days, with the blue dun, and cinnamon
brown. I have seen this latter fly on the river "Mole," in August, of a
fine brown colour, and plump in the body, about the size of the Great
Whirling Dun. The body was red brown, the legs an amber brown, the wings
were a mottled light brown, and the tail of the same colour as the
wings. I have seen the above fly some time after on the "Bann," in the
north of Ireland, a river six times the size of the Mole, not half the
size, in August. This circumstance of the difference in size, must be
the nature of the soil through which the rivers flow; the "Bann" is a
gravelly bed, full of large stones, with a very fall strong running
stream; the "Mole" not so. It is my opinion that in the summer months
there is more sport to be had with flies as small as can be made, than
with the general run, except late in the evening, then use a large
fly--a brown, or white moth, where a large fish shows himself.
No. 27. THE BLUE BLOW.--The body is made of mole's fur mixed with yellow
mohair, run very taper from the tail up; the wings are made of a
tom-tit's tail feather, or water hen; the tail is two hairs of a mouse's
whisker, or fibres of dark dun hackle; the body is picked out a little
at the head to imitate legs; the fly altogether to be made very small
and delicate, hook No. 13. These little flies may be seen on good size
rivers in hundreds, in the summer on sultry days; where there is a stone
projecting out of the water they gather round it, and with the motion
are carried up and down on the side of the stone, where large trout lie,
like ant bears, sucking them in by the dozen; the wing of the water-rail
is capital to imitate that of the fly. There is another excellent
killing fly that may be used with the above, made thus;--body, gold
colour mohair; tip of gold; woodcock or wren hackle for legs; grey
partridge tail for wrings; and two fibres of the same for tail; No. 10
hook. They are good where the river is low, and are excellent till the
end of August, used with the little brown fly, and ash fox.
There are also three little flies which are very good in this month and
the next, and although they are not very well known by name,
nevertheless they will be found killing. First, the "Orange Wren," with
orange mohair body, and wren tail hackle. Second, the "Golden Wren,"
with golden yellow mohair body, and wren tail hackle for legs. Third,
the "Green Wren," with green floss body, and wren tail for legs. The
Brown Wren, and the little Peacock Wren, are also good. No. 13 hook. The
latter little fly is called the "Shiner."
No. 28. THE YELLOW DUN.--The body is made of light buff-coloured fur,
white sable far dyed yellow, and a honey dun cock's hackle for legs; two
fibres of the same feather for tail; the wings are made of starling wing
feather. No. 12 hook. This pretty little fly is a great favourite with
the trout in the evenings of sultry days, till the end of August and
September.