136 Trout Flies. 



Charles Cotton gives a number of flies for each 

 month, but with all his flies he considers that the 

 Green Drake and Stone fly are " the matadores 

 for trout and grayling, and in their season kill more 

 fish in our Derbyshire rivers than all the rest past, 

 to come, or the whole year besides." ^ 



In later editions of the " Complete Angler " the 

 list of flies is greatly increased. In the seventh 

 for instance, published by Samuel Baxter, 1 803, a 

 very long list is given of every imaginable fly under 

 every imaginable name, — Sooty Duns, large foetid 

 Browns, Haggard, Yellow Miller, Pismire, Spring 

 Black, Blue Herl, and the like— but all these early 

 writers agree in one recommendation, never to be 

 without the Palmers or Hackle flies, and always to 

 try them when first fishing a strange river before 

 any other fly. 



Venables ("The Experienced Angler," 1662), 

 gives no list of flies, but advises procuring all sorts of 

 hair — bears', foxes', cows', hogs', dogs', mocado-ends, 

 and dyed wools of all colours, and feathers of cocks, 

 capons, hens, teals, mallards, widgeon, pheasant, 

 partridges, kites, and generally of all birds, and 

 then he gives some cautions or directions as to fly- 

 fishing, some of which are very good, others very 

 bad ; for an instance of the latter he advises you 



' Under Grayling Fishing we shall again refer to Cotton's 

 list of flies. 



