TROUT FLIES IN APRIL 



in dead earnest; they live only to eat — much more 

 so than animals and birds, whose habits require time 

 to bathe, trim feathers and fur, and time to spend 

 in building and preparing a home. No creature 

 living on land has nothing to do but feed continu- 

 ously day and night, as do trout during May and 

 June. I have opened many fish, caught on the fly 

 or with worms, that were stuffed full of food, yet 

 ravenous for more. 



Trout are forced to fast in winter because nature 

 is dormant in the very cold months. Minnows and 

 other small food fishes lie hidden under rocks or 

 embedded in mud and sand; insect life is the same. 

 But immediately the ice moves and floats away, the 

 creepers stir about the river bed, and they furnish 

 the very first food of trout at the beginning of the 

 season. 



The warm rays of the sun rapidly gain power 

 during the first part of April, and the most hardy 

 creepers begin to rise at the surface in sheltered 

 spots. Small, dark-colored duns and some browns 

 are the first to appear. It was not till the 28th of 

 April, a fair, warm day, I observed the first brown 

 drake (March brown) , the largest and most impor- 

 tant fly in April; a week later drakes were fairly 

 plentiful, and trout were visibly feeding on them 

 as they fearlessly sailed like little brown yachts 

 down the stream. 



In the higher mountain altitudes you can safely 



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