HOW DIFFERENT FOODS AFFECT GAME-FISHES 57 



to both heat and cold. They won't and don't rise 

 on a cold day, nor do they on a hot day. They 

 patiently wait on hot days to rise over the water 

 in the cool shade of evening and night. 



The question arises, What are trout doing on 

 hot, sultry days? The answer is simply, they are 

 doing nothing except lying still, poised at the 

 bottom, where the water is coolest. With stomachs 

 jammed full taken in during the previous night, 

 they can be patient and await their evening meal. 

 Another question might be asked, If no insects 

 abound on sultry days, why don't trout rise to 

 the angler's perfect imitation, played dry-fly 

 fashion, just as the natural insect floats along 

 the surface ? Sometimes they do, but most often 

 they don't. Very often they swim up just to say, 

 "No, thank you." Trout are very cunning and 

 wary, especially old ones. There is no doubt what- ^ 



ever that trout prefer insects to minnows or other 

 food-fish. Whether it is because insects are easier 

 to capture or more palatable, the fact remains 

 that artificial flies are the best lure for trout dur- 

 ing the heavy rise of insects in late May and June. 

 I have never found a mixture of flies and minnows 

 in their stomachs at that period. It is either one 

 thing or the other. Before insects are very abun- 



