FLY FISHING IN THE SEA 177 



fly, but I heard of them acting in a similar way on the East 

 coast, particularly at Filey and Dovercourt. 



It will doubtless surprise a good many people to learn that 

 the larger sand-eels take the fly greedily on some parts of our 

 coast. I have never attempted to catch them in this way 

 myself, but Mr. J. W. Blakey, the editor of the 'Angler.' who 

 used to fish a good deal for them on the Northumberland 

 and Durham coasts, has kindly sent me some very interesting 

 information on the subject. 



It appears to be delicate and artistic work ; not over-profit- 

 able, but a pleasant pastime on a calm summer's day. When 

 the sea is smooth and glassy, the sand-eels come inshore in 

 large shoals. They may be seen swimming about the mouths 

 of harbours and amongst rocks, provided the water is still and 

 clear, and they rather affect a racing current. The larger launce 

 feeds a good deal on the young of other fish, which in turn 

 consume sand-eels on attaining maturity. 



The best fly for sand-eels, if it can be strictly called a fly at 

 all, is a piece of dried fish-skin (the grey gurnard yields the best 

 material for the purpose) to which are attached three small 

 hooks. The gurnard should be split down the back, the skin 

 torn off, stretched on a piece of glass and put in the sun to dry. 

 Any particles of flesh which are clinging to the inside of the 

 skin should be scraped away. The result is a piece of kid-like 

 substance, white in the centre, and deepening in colour some- 

 what at the sides. On some days a strip of white skin kills 

 best, but on others the fish appear to prefer a darker shade, 

 why or w r herefore no man knows. 



In the illustration is a piece of skin cut to the right shape 

 and size mounted on three hooks in fact the fly complete ; it 

 will be noticed that two hooks are not attached to the bait 

 proper. For casting this lure there is nothing better than an 

 ordinary single-handed trout rod, a fine dressed tapering line, 



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