THE MAY-FLY 51 



the floating fly under certain conditions 

 is no doubt true ; but the trout naturally 

 attain a larger size in the rivers where 

 such flies are used, and the anglers go 

 for big fish, and big fish only will they 

 take. Yet many a wet-fly fisherman 

 knows full well how, in the early weeks 

 of the season, some of his best catches are 

 often made with a diminutive sunken 

 spider the direct opposite to the but- 

 terfly type of lure. And this leads one 

 to wonder once again why some owners 

 of fishing rights should object to sunken 

 flies being used. Why should not the 

 angler who sinks his fly with a leaden 

 shot be every bit as honest a sportsman 

 as he who floats the larger imitation by 

 providing it with a body of cork and 

 anointing it with oil ? But rather than 

 indulge further in these controversial 

 questions, let us briefly observe the 

 ways of the dry-fly fisherman. 



It is a glorious morning in early June. 



