TROUT INSECTS FOR MAY 



ally, spinning round and round till seen by a trout, 

 when, flop! all is over. The artificial should be 

 fished wet on windy days. 



No. 21. Cowdung. This fly has always been 

 a favorite with anglers. It is, during May, ex- 

 ceedingly plentiful over the water on bright, breezy 

 days, and will drop and float for a short period; 

 but it seems to be unable to rise freely from the 

 surface like many of the purely aquatic insects. It 

 makes an excellent floating dry fly; and the same 

 may be said of it as a wet fly. 



The cowdung is now tied in many different ways 

 and colors, even showing the slight difference as to 

 size and color between the male and female. Some 

 fly-makers have even gone so far as to make a com- 

 bination of the two. Trout are much too wise, 

 when feeding, to have a preference for either sex 

 of any insect except when females are egg swollen. 

 Offer them a true imitation of an insect with which 

 they are familiar, and ten to one it will be taken, 

 no matter to which sex it supposedly belongs. 



I have never seen either an American or an Eng- 

 lish imitation that showed the tail copied true. It 

 should be much thicker at the end than near the 

 thorax. There also should be five bands of ffreen 

 on the tawny orange tail. 



No. 22. Yellow-horn. Another of the small 

 duns, so very abundant during the entire month. 

 The long yellow horns are used as feelers, being 



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