Flies and Fly-fishing. 337 



CHAPTER X. 



FLIES AND FLY-FISHING. 



DIRECTIONS for fly-making have been given in nearly 

 every book on angling. I can add nothing new to what 

 has already been said time and again on the subject, and 

 therefore pass it by. 



Considerable difference of opinion exists as to how 

 closely the artificial fly should resemble the actual in- 

 sect. At best the similarity is by no means striking ; 

 still the question remains, is it worth while to strive for 

 it at the increased cost of money or labor necessarily in- 

 volved. On this point fly-fishermen of experience are 

 pretty equally divided. 



In my opinion both parties are correct; sometimes and 

 in some localities it being advisable, while in others it is 

 not. This is fairly debatable ground, for our only ap- 

 peal seems to be to experience, or, in other words, to the 

 individual opinion which each angler may have formed 

 from the experience he has had. The circumstances un- 

 der which experience is gained are so important an ele- 

 ment in determining the value and the applicable limit 

 of the teachings derived therefrom, that divergent opin- 

 ion must necessarily follow. It may well be conceived 

 that he whose angling has been confined to much fished 

 waters, and he who habitually fishes far from the haunts 

 of men, where trout are both numerous and uneducated, 

 would differ in experience, and consequently in opinion. 



