92 Rambles with a Fishing-Rod. 



better class of flies resembled an English May- 

 fly, and had all large light wings. The com- 

 mon kinds were all very gaudy, red and blue, 

 some palmers and others winged, but all quite 

 inferior to those of English make. Indeed 

 you scarcely ever see a fishing-tackle shop in 

 France, and these flies were quite an excep- 

 tional sight to me among the wares in an iron- 

 monger's shop. Where there is any fly-fishing 

 to speak of, there must be plenty of flies to be 

 sold ; and the fact that you seldom see arti- 

 ficial flies for sale in France is a kind of cir- 

 cumstantial evidence that fly-fishing is really 

 scarcely practised at all and therefore, that 

 anything which is said as to the best size of 

 flies by native fishermen, is probably based 

 on the merest prejudice, and should not weigh 

 in the balance against the judgment and the 

 experience of an English angler. 



