74 FISHERMAN'S LURES 



Hiding by day in the shallow sand or mud, they 

 may be observed as soon as it is dusk moving 

 slowly around, and at night-time the larger fish 

 venture forth to roam about and hunt for food. 

 In some parts of the shallows, one may see in 

 the morning hours the sandy bed strewn with 

 claws and remnants of crawfish giving unmis- 

 takable signs that game-fish have been feeding. 

 Land insects and moths fly through the air in 

 great numbers at night, and the same is true of 

 aquatic insects, but only in warm weather. In 

 the higher altitudes during May, and sometimes 

 in early parts of June, the nights are cold, often 

 frosty, which drives the insects to shelter only 

 to resume flight when the warm sun appears. 

 That old adage, "The early angler gets the fish," 

 does not apply to fly-fishing in spring. All through 

 the month of May insects do not begin their morn- 

 ing flight before 10 A. M. For that reason, if any 

 night feeding goes on, it is upon bottom creepers 

 and minnows. Because of the darkness we cannot 

 of course say of a certainty that fish do feed 

 throughout the night, as we are unable to see 

 them, and the only clear proof that they do is an 

 examination of those fish captured shortly after 

 dawn to find undigested food, which I have often 



