220 SALMONIA. 



any thing like it before — and it is, in fact, 

 not like any thing in nature. 



Hal. — You are right, they never have 

 seen any thing like it before; but, in its 

 motion, it is like a large fly, and this is the 

 season for large flies. The stone fly and 

 the May fly, you see, occasionally drop upon 

 the water, and the colour of your large fly 

 is not unlike that of the stone fly; but if, 

 instead of being here in the beginning of 

 July, you had visited this spot, as I once 

 did, in the beginning of June, you would 

 have found more difficulty in catching gray- 

 ling here, though not as much as in our 

 English rivers — in the Test, the Derwent, 

 or the Dove. 



Poiet. — How could this be ? 



Hal. — At this season the large flies had 

 not yet appeared; the small blue dun was 

 on the water, and I was obliged to use a fly 

 the same as that which suits our spring and 

 late autumnal fishing. The fish refused all 

 large flies, but took greedily small ones ; 

 and, as usually happens when small flies are 

 used, more fish escaped after being hooked 



