BLAGDON 295 



sisted of the large green-bodied gnats already men- 

 tioned, which were round the lake in myriads on some 

 days, and at times pretty thick on the water, of green 

 larvae, which were presumably the nymphs of the said 

 gnats, of the little beetles mentioned before, and of a 

 fly which I took to be a Silverhorn. This fly is very 

 plentiful, and lasts most of the summer. The green 

 gnat would be fairly well imitated by grass-green body, 

 sparse but long, white hackle, and whitish hackle-point 

 wings. The other would be more difficult, but a lightly 

 dressed March brown would not be a bad rendering, 

 and a grannom might be better still, since the female 

 carries a green egg-sac like the grannom. A No. 2 

 hook should be small enough for either fly. We also 

 saw a few black gnats and ants on the water, but no 

 great quantity of either, and a good many daddy-long- 

 legs, which are no doubt taken freely by the fish. 



Doubtless on most days an angler would catch three 

 fish in a boat for one that he would get on the bank, 

 and probably the salmon-flies would persuade more 

 fish than would small patterns. But it costs twice as 

 much to fish from a boat, and one can have very 

 excellent fun from the bank, more especially in favour- 

 able weather. On a really good day I am sure one 

 could have thrilling sport with the dry fly, and it is 

 quite on the cards that one might get into one of the 

 real monsters ; there are plenty left, though they have 

 not been caught lately. I fancy they are fairly well- 

 informed on the subject of salmon-flies, which probably 

 accounts for it. They would not be so suspicious of 

 small flies on finer gut. An ordinary dry-fly rod of 

 from ten to eleven feet, a reel holding at least eighty 



