Blacker's Art of Fly Making Part 13

[Footnote G: The mansion is roofless, says "Rory O'More."]

LOCH AWE AND RIVER.

This celebrated lake, on the western side of Scotland, may be conveniently reached from Glasgow. There are steam boats sail two or three times a week up Loch Fine to Inverary, where there can be every information gained respecting conveyances to the inn at Loch Awe, where boats and men are to be had. It is a long and narrow lake in places, and in summer most cheering and pleasant to the fly fishers resorting there.

Good angling may be found in the river running by Glenorchy into the lake, where it again issues out of it, and is called the River Awe.

It runs with a full and rapid stream, has but a short course, falling into the salt water lake, or estuary, called "Etive," opposite the island of Mull.

There could be no better river or lake in the kingdom for salmon, were it not for the "cruives," that, of course, "weed them all away," the proprietor of which is most obliging to grant permission to gentlemen anglers who visit it. The purity of these waters facilitates the propagation of the salmon wonderfully, were they allowed ingress and egress. When the fis.h.i.+ng laws are altered, and a reformation made, there will be grand fly fis.h.i.+ng, as good as can be found in Norway. In the neighbourhood of good salmon and trout fis.h.i.+ng rivers, the people, whom the anglers employ, are very much benefited, and particularly innkeepers, on their banks, and in towns where there is not much traffic. The angler's heart is "in fis.h.i.+ng" wherever he goes.

The salmon and trout flies to suit Loch Awe and river (my memoranda are generally correct).

No. 1. An original and most killing fly for salmon:--Body black ostrich harl, ribbed with gold, a tag of yellow mohair at the tail, tail a very short topping, a rich black-red hackle rolled over the black sparingly, and a mallard wing, made to stand well up and apart. Hook BB, or No. 9.

C for lake trout.

No. 2. A brown body, black hackle ribbed with gold, and grouse wings.

Hook CC.

No. 3. Bronze peac.o.c.k body, ribbed with gold twist, black-red c.o.c.k's hackle, and dark brown grouse rump feather mixed with turkey tail for wings. Hook BB. C for trout in the lake.

No. 4. A cinnamon fly, with glede wings mixed with jungle c.o.c.k, and ribbed with gold. B hook. No. 9 for the river.

No. 5. A black body, silver tinsel, black hackle, full teal wings, yellow head, and tail. Hook B.

No. 6. A dark green fly ribbed with gold, silver pheasant tail mixed with mallard for wings, a small topping in tail, and orange head. Hook BB, or C.

A blue fly with teal wings and blue hackle ribbed with silver, topping in the tail, and red head of mohair, hook B, or BB; and a fly with peac.o.c.k harl body, black hackle, hen pheasant tail wings mixed, and the tail of the c.o.c.k bird. Hook B, or C for trout.

The large trout flies in my list for the season are excellent ones for the lake, and Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 11, for salmon.

There is good salmon fis.h.i.+ng to be had in Islay, south of Mull. The steam boat from Glasgow calls there twice a week. Mr. Campbell, the laird, resides in the island, who gives permission, unhesitatingly, to gentlemen making application to him.

The river is at the landing place of the steamer; the salmon, which are numerous in it, take small gaudy flies--blue body and hackle, brown, claret, red, black, and green flies.

There is also salmon fis.h.i.+ng to be had in "Jura Isle," a little to the north of Islay.

THE RIVERS IRVINE, GIRVAN, AND STINCHER, IN AYRs.h.i.+RE.

In this westerly quarter may be found excellent Salmon and Trout fis.h.i.+ng in the spring and autumn in these beautiful streams, which can be reached from the city of Glasgow every day by rail.

The Stincher is the best for salmon, the flies for which are browns, blacks, reds, and greys, all plainly dressed ones. I will describe one here, a great favourite of a gentleman friend of mine, Mr.

Murdoch,--Stephen Blair, &c. At Glasgow, some years ago, on my stay in that city; I give his name, as he used to call my flies "mest n.o.ble flees," and laughed heartily to see the manoeuvring of the hook in my fingers.

The body of Mr. Murdoch's fly was in joints of pig hair picked out, and at the head a black-red hackle; first, there was a tip of gold, a tag of yellow hair, then a joint of orange, a joint of fiery brown, a joint of claret, and a joint of black pig hair or mohair, spaniel hair is best; the wings a light brown turkey tail feather with white tips, tied on topping a little longer than the bend of the hook, a very small topping in the tail. Hook No. 8 for high water.

Mr. Murdoch was a native of Ayr, and a keen fisher, and used to speak much of his angling in the "waters o' Doon."

From Ayr, the angler may proceed to the lakes of c.u.mberland, _via_ Carlisle, Keswick, and Bowness.

RIVERS OF WALES.--THE CONWAY.

There would be excellent salmon fis.h.i.+ng in Wales were the rivers properly preserved. The Conway (North Wales) is a beautiful stream, and it is a great pity it should be neglected; however, I believe it will be very soon protected from the nets, &c., as there are a few spirited gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Llanwrist and Aberconway, who will rent and preserve it for fly fis.h.i.+ng only, all the way up from the town of Conway to Capel Curig. The salmon flies in my list, made on small size hooks, will suit it well, varied according to the state of the water; and my list of trout flies will be found admirable for it.

Information respecting season tickets, and rules of the fis.h.i.+ng, may be obtained at the Inn at Llanwrist.

THE RIVER DOVEY.

The Dovey is a nice stream, but runs off very soon, like all others descending from the mountains. The salmon would be, nevertheless, very plentiful in it, as there are many capital large pools for them to haunt, if they were allowed to reach them. It is so very much netted at its mouth that it cannot be possible for fly fis.h.i.+ng to be good. The neighbourhood of Machynlleth is the best place to fly fish it. In the spring and autumn the salmon flies in the plates will be found admirable for it, made on CC hooks, and C for low water. The furnace and black-red hackles are excellent local flies, made on C hooks, for summer. Sewen take small duns, and the Cochybonddu.

RIVER TIVEY.

The Tivey is considered the very best and most prolific river in all Wales. It has a long and winding course to Cardigan, and before it reaches this place, at Newcastle Emlyn, it is a picture of a river for salmon fis.h.i.+ng. Lampeter, higher up, is a very good station, near to which place are the "Tivey Pools," where the fish lie in low water. My list of both salmon and trout flies would be excellent for the Tivey, dressed on small hooks.

THE WYE, MONMOUTH.

The Wye, at the town of Monmouth, and up towards Leominster, is an excellent river for salmon; and the Usk, in the same quarter, is also good for salmon and fine trout. The latter river is a very short way from the Wye, and may be conveniently reached from Monmouth to Abergavenny, close to which town it pa.s.ses, and enters the mouth of the Severn at Newport; the Wye falls into it higher up, at Chepstow. The painted flies in the plates will be just the sort for the Wye made smaller, and will suit the Usk admirably, dressed smaller still.

There is a local fly or two which I will give, viz.--Body yellow mohair bordering on orange, a red ginger c.o.c.k's hackle long in the fibre rolled over it, ribbed with plate gold, a red tail, and light brown turkey tail feather with white tips for the wings. Hook No. 9.

Another fly with the same body, and wings of the bittern's neck, two feathers should be tied in, and the whole to stand well up.

Another fly, with brown body, brown hackle, brown wings, and tail, ribbed with gold. The Dun Palmer, in the Plate No. 7, and the Dun Salmon fly, No. 6, made on smaller size hooks, will be found excellent ones. Nos. 4, 5, and 10, are also good, the latter for high water. Never were there better flies seen for the Welsh rivers in general than these, made to suit the state of the water.