FLY FISHING IN THE SEA 179 



elongated Palmers, and was so successful with them that he 

 almost discarded the gurnard-skin fly, but later in the season 

 found he had to go back to it. 



The last fish of all possibly there are more, but I doubt it 

 are smelts ; and here again I must confess never to have 

 attempted their capture with flies. I need hardly say that 

 any fly used for the purpose should be extremely small. It 

 would be all the more killing if tipped with a fragment of 

 shrimp or lobster and allowed to sink a few inches under the 

 surface. Using a fly rod, I have killed a good many of these 

 fish on an ordinary cast, but in lieu of flies there were two 

 or three small roach hooks, each tipped with a fragment of 

 fish. This tackle requires casting with great care to avoid 

 whipping off the bait. 



A last word as to fly fishing for herrings. In the name 

 of Neptune, don't go for them with a huge salmon rod 

 and salmon cast. They are little fish, and should afford very 

 pretty sport indeed with an eleven-foot trout rod and a light 

 trout cast. 



