CREEPER AND STONE FLY FISHING 65 



The fishing should be done upstream and the Creeper 

 cast gently, with an avoidance of jerk. The fly fisherman 

 will soon instinctively feel the amount of power he can 

 put into his casts. The rod point must be raised 

 slowly as the bait trundles down, so that there is no 

 drag. When the line stops or draws away, the angler 

 tightens at once ; otherwise the fish may eject the 

 bait. 



The most productive places in Creeper fishing are 

 usually the edges of the streams, but rougher water 

 and the necks of streams will often yield fish ; and all 

 places where trout are known or expected to be should 

 be tried, particularly about boulders and where a 

 current in the river is contracted into a narrow run. 



About the last week in May the Creepers will be 

 found to be quitting the water and fastening them- 

 selves to the rocks and stones on the river's brim, to 

 the buttresses of bridges, and to those rocks which 

 stand out above the water. Here it is possible at 

 times to watch the Stone Fly emerge through the 

 slit in the back of the Creeper, leaving the perfectly- 

 shaped skin rigid behind it, although in general Stone 

 Flies hatch during the night. 



Once the Fly is hatching in numbers, the carnival 

 begins, although very few are to be seen unless they 

 are searched for. An odd fly may be seen occasionally 

 being carried down the stream or paddling across a 

 shallow, but for the most part the Stone Flies lie very 



