298 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



The period of time during which the strike may be 

 successfully delivered is very, very brief. Large fish do 

 not come to the fly with that " bounce " which is so de- 

 lightful a characteristic of their younger brethren ; they 

 feel the dignity of their years and experience, and move 

 with calmness and deliberation. He who there or else- 

 where expects to take the larger fish with the fly, with- 

 out patience, perseverance, and skill, will be disappointed. 

 My experience has been that the largest fish of a water, 

 whether scaling ten pounds or but half as many ounces, 

 is cautious, deliberate, and difficult to deceive, while any 

 one can take the smaller ones, be they fingerlings or 

 two-pounders ; and I believe this experience is general. 

 Smaller fish will come again and again to the fly, but riot 

 so the large ones. These may rise once, but if the op- 

 portunity is lost, it is seldom, indeed, that they can be 

 induced to make a second offer. 



The notion prevails among those whose knowledge of 

 the Rangely region is derived solely from guide-books 

 and newspapers, that there eight-pounders swarm, and 

 that any number of chances from such may be had in a 

 single day's fishing. This is a delusion. The large and 

 the small fish do not, as a general thing, frequent the 

 same localities, at least at the same time. The angler 

 must choose whether small fish will be sought, with rea- 

 sonable certainty of getting plenty of them, or large fish, 

 with very dubious prospects of success. It is to be re- 

 membered that it is only exceptionally good-luck which 

 is ever made matter of record ; it is human nature to be 

 silent as to its failures. 



The plain truth is, that if an angler there succeeds in 

 attracting one eight-pounder in eight days' fishing, his 

 luck is decidedly above the average. By trolling, the 



