120 ROD AND RIVER 



of this fly, during the month of April, that the 

 Northern fishermen make their heaviest baskets. 

 The creeper is fished with under water, being 

 sunk by means of a small split shot or two ; it is 

 one of the most deadly baits which can be em- 

 ployed to catch fish. To my way of thinking, all 

 such baits savour very much of the wriggling 

 worm, and I have little or no sympathy with such 

 a style of fishing. Nevertheless, I do not desire 

 to run down those who differ with me : ' Chacun a 

 son gout,' and there is no accounting for tastes ; 

 but, as we have seen, even a creeper is a thing of 

 life, and possesses a certain amount of intelli- 

 gence, though hideous to behold, and it must 

 experience but a sorry time of it when impaled on 

 a hook. 



Like many other flies, the male of the stone-fly 

 is smaller and darker than the female. Fish 

 generally prefer the latter sex in the case of all 

 flies, by reason of the extra nutriment to be ob- 

 tained from the eggs with which they are laden. 



The wings of this fly are four in number, and 

 are coarser and stronger than those of the mayfly. 

 The under wings are very much larger in propor- 

 tion than is the case with those of the latter fly, 

 which are singularly small as compared with the 

 over wings. 



The motion of the stone-fly on the water is 

 peculiar, and markedly different to that of the 



