TROUT-FLIES. 93 



flies, as it loses all glossiness and strength of colour. 

 For convenience in tying them several different thick- 

 nesses of sewing silk are requisite, from ordinary sewing 

 silk — which is of the proper thickness for small flies — to 

 silk of about the substance of hoUand thread, which is 

 the size most suitable for lake flies. 



All flies should be carried in a box, instead of being 

 pressed together in a book, a process which robs them 

 of half their elasticity and play of hackle, and to which 

 they should never be subjected even for a moment. 

 This is a most important point. Tackle makers think 

 that the fly regains its full elasticity as soon as it is wet, 

 but I have convinced myself by repeated practical ex- 

 periments that this is not the case. 



Selection of Flies. 



SIZE. 



It is a curious fact, but nevertheless an indisputable 

 one, that the size of the flies to be used in any given 

 river or lake generally depends, within certain limits, not 

 upon the size of the fish, but upon the size of the water, 

 modified by the condition of the wind and sun. There 

 are occasional exceptions to this rule — as to most others 

 — but in the absence of local knowledge or guidance, 

 which on this point is often useful, the fisherman 

 acting upon it will find himself right in nineteen cases 

 out of twenty. 



In most Trout streams^ properly so called, in either 



