35 The Trouts of America 



and with wings of fish scales for the same pur- 

 pose. An English writer thus sums up the 

 merits of dry-fly fishing : 



" It is certain that no more delicate and skil- 

 ful method of capturing a created thing, no more 

 difficult exercise, has ever existed, than that of dry- 

 fly fishing. It is not only the nicety of the opera- 

 tion at the time of casting a single fly so that it 

 alights, whatever may be the difficulties of place 

 or wind, in a particular spot with complete cer- 

 tainty and proceeds to float down over a rising 

 trout with wings erect and natural motion, but 

 there is also the beautiful perfection with which 

 the insect is imitated by the fly-dresser, and the 

 lightness of the tackle to which it is attached." 



Fishing for trout with the fly at night has be- 

 come quite a fad with many anglers, and, as a 

 rule, so killing is the practice in the East that the 

 laws of New Jersey prohibit it from 9 P.M. to day- 

 light. Dark nights produce the best results, but 

 before the moon rises and after it sets are also 

 likely hours. The methods followed are similar 

 to those used in day fishing, although, strange to 

 note, dark flies are equally as fruitful in scores 

 as light ones, particularly when casting into the 

 foam of a fall or dam. When the stream is 



