AMERICAN TROUT-STREAM INSECTS 



gain its flight. It is a solitary insect, never travel- 

 ing in pairs or in groups. It is taken with great 

 avidity by trout; though I have never had a rise 

 on the artificial fly as now tied. The imitations all 

 show bright yellow wings, erect or cocked, whereas 

 the wings should be light blue-gray and lie nearly 

 flat over the body, with the hackle, horns and tail 

 of a deep yellow. 



No. 11. Flathead. One of the numerous stone- 

 flies seen in May. It is large enough to use in its 

 natural state if empaled by the thorax on a No. 6 

 hook and carefully manipulated with a fine nine- 

 foot leader, as you would a worm, in various run- 

 ways or pools where trout lie. But I have had ex- 

 cellent results, in both June and July, from the imi- 

 tations I have made in various sizes; as these flies 

 appear to rise in goodly numbers every month of 

 the season. 



Stone flies vary in size and color, according to 

 genus, and are found in greater abundance near the 

 part of the river which has a stony or rocky bottom. 

 When the creeper is ready to change into the insect, 

 it seeks the edge of the stream and attaches itself 

 by a glue-like substance to the under side of a stone. 

 It then crawls to the upper side of the stone, or to 

 the stem of an aquatic plant, where the skin splits 

 open, permitting the winged or "perfect fly" to es- 

 cape. 



The stone-fly prefers to come out at dark, or on 



44, 



