AMERICAN TROUT-STREAM INSECTS 



If you are fortunate enough to see a trout feed- 

 ing on a certain species of fly, it is easy enough to 

 imitate it and offer your fly to the fish. I always 

 keep a sharp lookout on those insects most abundant 

 over the water, and imitate them as nearly as pos- 

 sible. 



Insects rapidly increase during the last few days 

 in April, both in variety and numbers ; so that when 

 May comes in, the number is three or four times 

 greater. 



The more I study the subject, the more certain I 

 am of the wisdom of confining my attention to and 

 being thoroughly acquainted with those flies best 

 calculated to kill trout, be they rainbows, speckled, 

 or browns. Fortunately the same flies lure equally 

 well all three species of trout. 



It is natural to suppose that if trout do not re- 

 spond to your flies they are feeding on creepers at 

 the bottom, to rise occasionally when a tempting 

 titbit floats by overhead. Trout undoubtedly must 

 be feeding continually on these creepers, both on 

 the bottom and while they are ascending to the sur- 

 face for the change into the imago state, even be- 

 fore the short time it takes to form the wings per- 

 fect enough for flight. Thus vast numbers of 

 them are devoured. 



No. 1. Needle-tail dun. This active little ant- 

 like fly runs along rapidly, and just as quickly it 

 wriggles over the water's surface. It is similar to 



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