INTRODUCTORY NOTE 



tating the natural insects. The question may pos- 

 sibly be asked, "If fancy flies entice trout, is not the 

 object for which they are intended attained?" My 

 reply is, good imitations of the insects that trout 

 take as food are sure to prove more effective and 

 make far more interesting sport. 



The great majority of expert anglers at the pres- 

 ent time rely on fly-makers of the British Isles for 

 their trout and salmon flies; moreover, we are 

 naively assured, "Some are tied especially for 

 American waters." In the various plates of col- 

 ored flies, the angler will see a much greater differ- 

 ence between the insects of the two countries than 

 is commonly supposed to exist; though in a few in- 

 stances there are species that are nearly alike — as 

 for instance the green and brown drake. It is 

 most essential that a true copy of our native in- 

 sects should be used as a guide for American 

 anglers. 



European entomologists have divided insects into 

 various orders ; each season finds them making new 

 classifications so conflicting as to bewilder the lay 

 mind. For the simple use of plain anglers, who 

 have neither the wish nor the time to enter into the 

 intricacies of entomology, the use of a common name 

 for each insect will, I think, be more acceptable. 

 Among the insects pictured will be found speci- 

 mens of browns, drakes, duns, spinners, beetles, 

 house-flies and ants. To enter into details concern- 



