NATURAL FLIES FOR TROUT. 



65 



and a small pistol-bullet placed above the knot, between the gut 

 and line. The fly being impaled on the hook, the line is reeled 

 up until the bullet comes against the point of the rod. The 

 tackle should be put through a hole in bushes by the river, so 

 that it overhangs the water. The line is then released, and is 

 earned out by the weight of the bullet until the fly touches the 

 water, when the reel is checked. On open streams this plan is 

 not very deadly. In no place is it deemed very sportsmanlike ; 

 much more artistic is it to cast the natural fly. 



The fly which is, perhaps, most used in the natural state, is the 

 Stone-fly. It is better known in the Midlands and the North, 

 where it is often called the May-fly, than in the South of 

 England. The male and female flies differ somewhat in 



Male. 



Fig. 44. Stone-flies. 



Female. 



appearance (see Fig. 44). Both are used, and anglers differ as 

 to which is the most killing. The trout may like the large fly 

 best, but fewer fish are missed when small baits are used. The 

 hook should be put in at the thorax of the male, and brought 

 out at the tail. Two hooks are commonly used for the large, 

 female fly, which is placed on them in the same manner as the 

 Creeper (see page 66). The Stone-fly makes its appearance in 

 May, and remains until the middle of June, or later. There 

 are no particular directions to be observed in its use. It is most 

 killing — as, indeed, all flies are — when the water is a little high and 

 coloured. On some days it kills best on the surface, on others if 

 sunk a little; and the trout always take it more freely — as, indeed, 

 they will any flies — if it is cast close to the bank, or by stones or 

 rocks. The Stone-fly requires very delicate casting, and the 



