bits of wood, gravel, stones, and floating 

 debris, forming retreats that surround 

 them as they swim or daintily walk; 

 spin of silken thread individual domi- 

 ciles that they guard from intruders 

 with the valor of soldiers, or bodily 

 and singly dash out in the current, 

 swimming with agile rapidity. These 

 are all fish food. But it is only when 

 they assume the perfect form, when 

 they cast aside their aquatic nature, 

 and with gossamer wings float in the 

 air, that they are of interest to the fly- 

 fisher — as he seeks to deceive the finny 

 tribe with their imitations, made of 

 feathers, tinsel, and mohair. Insects 

 are enfeebled at all changes in their 

 life, and at each successive moult, when 

 the pupa case is broken, too weak to 

 keep guard, they flutter and rest on the 

 water an instant before flitting away. 

 At this instant many are seized by the 

 wary fish. Insects leave the water 

 mornings and evenings, particularly 

 the latter, rarely at midday, never dur- 

 ing rain storms or heavy winds. It is 

 at these times, when they are leaving 

 the water, their imitations are used to 

 most advantage. It is that insect float- 

 ing off into a new element that the fish 

 are watching and waiting to feed on. 

 At other times you may cast with suc- 

 cess your favorite 'brown hackle' with 

 its golden ribs and steel backbone — 

 the bland professor, the modest queen 

 of the water, or the grizzly king with 

 his gray locks and flaming sword. 

 Things which resemble nothing in the 

 heavens above, the earth beneath, or 

 the waters under the earth— why fish 

 take these, whether from curiosity, or 

 by way of dessert, no one perhaps will 

 ever know, not fully understanding the 

 natureof the fish. But there is one thing 

 we do know, that when the countless 

 myriads of these tiny creatures are en- 

 tering a new life in untried regions, the 

 favorite flies will be thrown in vain. 

 The fish will regard with contemplative 

 indifference every other lure but a 

 close imitation of that particular in- 

 sect. 



" One evening we sat on the bank of 

 a creek, bug net in hand, watching the 

 trout and the birds of the air feeding 



on a neuropterous insect that is con- 

 stantly repeating the cycle of its life, 



As yet unknown to fame, 

 And guiltless of a Latin name.' 



The stream was in edd)'ing whirls of 

 ripples from the constant 'leaping' of 

 the trout. Now and then one bolder 

 than the rest would dash out of the 

 water its full length to seize its depart- 

 ing prey, which sometimes escaped to 

 become a precious morsel in the 

 mandibles of a watching bird. Many 

 of these insects would float on with the 

 current, never able to unfold their soft, 

 cream)- wings, and become easy 

 victims. On the opposite bank was an 

 angler. For an hour in patience he 

 whipped the stream, now up, now 

 down, with ' red hackles,' ' white 

 hackles,' 'black hackles;' he changed 

 fly after fly in vain. At length he 

 folded his rod and passed away among 

 the shadows of the night, without so 

 much as a bite, without so much as a 

 chance to tell of the big fish ' hooked ' 

 but lost. 



" There are many aquatic insects 

 double brooded, or under favorable 

 circumstances, of a succession of 

 broods. Imitations of such can be 

 used throughout the summer months. 

 There are many insects that do not 

 breed in water, yet are successful baits. 

 As a rule, insects that appear in large 

 numbers, whether they belong to land 

 or water, are the proper ones for 

 imitation. Solitary specimens, al- 

 though dear to the heart of an ento- 

 mologist, are eyed by the fish with 

 haughty indifference. Water is a great 

 attraction for all insect tribes. The 

 banks of streams constitute the favor- 

 ite hunting-ground for insect collectors, 

 where they compete with the fish, those 

 practical entomologists, in collecting. 

 Some insects come to drink, others in 

 search of prey, for insects are can- 

 nibals, while very many are the sport 

 of the winds. It is probably the bright 

 sheen of the water that draws the 

 fluttering moths into its depths. All 

 nocturnal insects have a strange infat- 

 uation for glistening light. What the 

 attraction is for some is beyond the 



138 



