6 SALMON FLIES 



usually, more or less, an imitation of some 

 natural insect upon which trout feed. Whether 

 it achieves that object is a matter of opinion, 

 but at any rate the intention is there. The 

 salmon fly, however, imitates Heaven alone 

 knows what, and if it does in certain instances 

 bear a remote (and rather glorified) resem- 

 blance to some insect, the circumstance is the 

 result of accident and not intention. It is 

 true the general form of a salmon fly is that 

 of many trout flies, but this fact merely 

 indicates its genesis, so to speak, from the 

 latter, and does not necessarily convey any 

 intention that its interpretation by salmon 

 should be similar to that which is presumably 

 adopted by trout in regard to the trout fly 

 proper. 



It has been suggested as a convenient com- 

 promise that salmon flies should be called 

 " lures." But an artificial minnow or a spoon 

 are equally " lures," and the adoption of that 

 term would lead to misunderstandings at once. 

 On the whole, it seems best to adhere to the 

 old-established term salmon fly, with a mental 

 reservation that there is no analogy to the 

 trout fly. 



