62 



Chapter III. 



CREEPER AND STONE FLY FISHING. 



T^HERE are not many streams in the North that 

 have a distinct rise of May Fly or Green Drake, 

 and for that reason the writers have not given any 

 dressings of that fly, nor do they propose to devote 

 space to a consideration of May Fly fishing. To make 

 up for the loss of that beautiful Ephemera there is 

 on most of these rivers the sober-hued Stone Fly, whose 

 season almost coincides with that of the May Fly. 



The flies are very different. The one, elegant and 

 dainty, is to be seen one moment floating with wings up- 

 right upon the surface, then drifting in the breeze, while 

 the other, dark coloured and of unprepossessing aspect, 

 merges from the Creeper stage only to scuttle under the 

 stones and remain quietly in darkness till nightfall, 

 making off once more for obscurity if by chance its 

 whereabouts is revealed. 



The Stone Fly has four wings, which in repose are 

 folded flat over the back. It passes the greater part 

 of its existence in the Creeper state, in which it can 



