i?8 MODERN SEA FISHING 



and a tapered three-yard cast. It is well to be prepared with 

 flies varying from white to grey. Sand-eels are not the only 

 kind of fish which will take these flies, for sea trout, smolts, and 

 billet by no means despise them. On a fine summer's day ten or 

 eleven o'clock is about the hour to start operations. Should 

 there be the least sea on, or the water thickened by river floods 

 or other causes, it is little use fly fishing for sand-eels. 



The fly is worked very much like the salmon fly, cast across 

 and rather down stream, allowed to swing round, and then 

 drawn up against the tide in short jerks, but it is important to 

 keep it on the surface of the water. Sooner or later it will 

 attract one of the silvery little creatures to the surface, which 



GURNARD-SKIN FLY FOR SAND-EELS (FULL SIZE) 



will follow the fly a yard or more and then make a dash with 

 open mouth, taking it from behind, when the angler strikes. 

 Should the fish miss the fly, it disappears for a second, but very 

 likely comes up again and seizes it by the head. Owing to these 

 little creatures having most delicate mouths, they have to 

 be played very carefully, and a small meshed landing-net is a 

 decided advantage. One day, Mr. Blakey tells me, he saw a 

 number of sand-eels in pools among the rocks, rushing about, 

 seizing floating particles of food. He tried the gurnard fly 

 without avail, but noticed that now and again the fish would fly 

 at the frayed end of the casting line. This gave him an idea ; 

 he cut off an inch of line, frayed out all the fibres, attached this 

 curious bait to a hook, and with it caught a number of fish. 

 After this experience he tied some small flies in the nature of 



