ARTIFICIAL FLIES 45 



of tobacco, and various other objects thrown 

 upon the water. Some of these things a fish 

 will take into its mouth and then spit out 

 again ; so it is not exactly surprising that 

 they accept our crudely tied flies, under the 

 impression that they are genuine. Seen 

 through the medium of a certain volume of 

 water, and particularly if the water is in 

 motion, an artificial fly must appear as a 

 kind of blur, or as a silhouette against a back- 

 ground of sky. The fly may indeed show a 

 certain amount of iridescence, but the actual 

 colour or colours of the dressing are lost. For 

 this reason we are of the opinion, having 

 practically tested the matter on the river 

 again and again, that colour, like minor 

 details of construction, has little or nothing 

 to do with the efficiency of an artificial trout 

 fly. When we come to size and shape, how- 

 ever, we must use discretion, for though a 

 fish sees a fly as a silhouette, he is quite 

 capable of distinguishing between the normal 

 and the abnormal in shape and magnitude. 

 Even then, if the abnormally large fly is used 

 in a manner so that it may be taken for some- 

 thing else, the trout will not refuse it. Sink 

 a fly like the Alexandra, or in fact any large 

 fly, work it along with short jerks, and ten 

 to one it will be seized by a trout, under the 



