NORTH-COUNTRY FLIES. 55 



quite enough. Corpulent people require a long handle to their 

 landing-nets. This seriously. 



"Waders, which are very useful, I have already referred to 

 on page 26; the remarks on the subject in Chapter IX. 

 should be noted. See that the material is not too thin, if 

 you have to wade in very cold water. Long, indiarubber boots 

 are not to be recommended for rough wear. 



Flies for Moorland Streams. — Almost any of the flies 

 described in the last chapter will kill, if not dressed too large ; 

 and the angler will never go wrong if he imitates as nearly as 

 possible in size and colour the fly on the water. Unfortunately, 

 it happens more often than not that there is no fly to be seen on 

 moorland streams. Notwithstanding this calamitous state of 

 affairs, anglers have devised little arrangements of fur and 

 feather which kill well, worked wet, whether the natural fly is on 

 the water or not. I may mention particularly the spider-flies 

 of Northern England. In Yorkshire, and in some parts of 

 Scotland, the trout seem to like flies with little hackle and less 

 body. Probably, many of the North-country flies, which are 

 usually worked just below the surface, are taken by the fish for 

 water insects, strange or familiar. As I have a considerable 

 opinion of the killing powers of these flies, I asked two well- 

 known Yorkshire anglers — Mr. T. E. Pritt, Author of " North 

 Country Trout Flies," and Mr. Francis Walbran, Editor of 

 Theakston's " British Angling Flies " — to give me their opinion 

 as to which are the best killers. Both Mr. Pritt and Mr. 

 Walbran were most kind, and not only sent me a list, but 

 patterns as well. Mr. Pritt gave me three casts (one for 

 each season) : — For early spring (from March to end of April), 

 Broughton's Point* (tail fly), a splendid killer anywhere ; Water- 

 hen Bloa;t Woodcock ; J and Dark Snipe,§ which, says Mr. 

 Pritt, is " out and out the best spring fly at any time." 



* Wings, from a starling's quill. Body, dark blue silk. Legs, a black hackle, 

 with a few red strands interspersed. 



t Body of yellow silk, dubbed with fur from a water-rat, hackled with a feather 

 from the inside of a waterhen's wing. 



X Hackled with a mottled feather from the outside of a woodcock's wing. Body 

 of orange silk, dubbed sparsely with hare's ear. 



§ Hackled with a feather from the outside of a snipe's wing. Body of purple 

 silk. 



