SPINNERS 157 



noticed that, in addition to the other marked 

 differences which exist between the now per- 

 fect insect and its appearance before the skin 

 was laid aside, the tails are considerably 

 lengthened, and the body and wings are very 

 transparent. 



The motion of a spinner in the air is different 

 to the flight of the fly in its former state, when 

 it was somewhat slow and weakly. In its per- 

 fected condition it dances up and down, never 

 ceasing, never tiring, and seeming to revel in its 

 beauty and lightness, over-full of joy, and reckless 

 of its ' little day ' so soon to close, or of the 

 hungry trout which so eagerly await its down- 

 fall. 



Experienced fishermen are well aware that 

 when any of the Ephemera have been out in 

 force during the day, their spinners are almost 

 sure to be on the water during the evening rise, 

 and a red or orange spinner rarely fails to do 

 its duty on such occasions. I think it is Francis 

 Francis who, in his book on angling, quotes a 

 case where he was utterly nonplussed as to what 

 fly the fish were so eagerly rising at one evening 

 when it was growing too dark to ascertain. The 

 water was literally boiling with rising fish, and 

 he had tried one artificial after another, but to no 

 purpose. Eventually it transpired that it was a 

 small red spinner. Needless to remark, he made 



