CHAPTER XVIII. 

 THE INSECTS. 



A CAREFUL study and close observation of the various 

 forms of insect life found either in, or on, or about the 

 water is of the greatest interest to those who frequent the 

 river-side for the purpose of fly-fishing, as it is chiefly 

 by the successful imitation of many of those beautiful and 

 minute denizens of the air and water that they are enabled 

 to capture their prey. The difficulty of making an identical 

 imitation of many of these is extremely great it even may 

 be doubted if an exact copy of the prototype could ever be 

 produced. 



In almost all imitations of the natural insect the 

 number of legs, and sometimes of the wings, are not in 

 accordance with nature, and it must be borne in mind that 

 trout are daily becoming more educated in their perceptive 

 faculties. There is still, however, some chance for the 

 angler. 



All fly-fishers know that trout and grayling will at times 

 not only refuse the natural fly floating over them, and its 

 artificial similar, but will at once greedily take some fancy 

 fly. Do they take it for some juicy morsel, or do they at 

 times follow the example of their cousins, the salmon and 

 sea-trout, and take flies which have none of the characters 

 and colours of those usually found on the river? That 

 trout do take all kinds of things into their mouths as they 

 float over them there is no question. We were watching 

 some big trout at the tail of a mill-stream, and whilst doing 

 so we lighted our pipe and threw the fusee into the 

 water ; as it sank, a great trout (at least 3 Ibs. in weight) 



at once took it into his mouth. He soon rejected it, but 



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