TROUT-FLIES. IO] 
are best for worm fishing, will also be found most favour- 
able for the creeper. The stone-fly usually remains in 
its larval or “creeper” condition until the middle of May, 
and from early in April until this time heavy baskets 
may often be made with it. When in season, the 
creeper is commonly from an inch to an inch anda 
quarter long. 
The rod, line, and hooks recommended for worm- 
fishing, and described in the following chapter, omitting 
the shot or sinkers, and setting the hooks a little 
closer together, will be found the best tackle for 
creeper-fishing. 
About the middle of May the creeper changes from 
the larval into the fly state, casting its tortoiseshell- 
like covering, and unsheathing its wings, of which, how- 
ever, it makes but little use. Mr. Stewart, whose ex- 
cellent chapter on the subject should be studied by 
all Border anglers, considers that the fly is even more 
deadly than the creeper. He advocates the use of two 
flies as the bait. Except, however, on very large rivers 
like the Tweed, I confess I think the large one is to be 
preferred, both because it is more easily put on and 
kept on the hooks, and because it presents a more 
natural appearance in the water. The fly is nearly the 
same length as the creeper, and the tackle used for one 
should be used for the other. In fact, when the creepers 
are changing the angler will often find it convenient to 
fish indiscriminately with either the one or the other. 
