SOME DRY FLY MAXIMS. 17 



of which the human hand is capable and, as you watch the fish fade 

 slowly down into the depths in disgust at the evident deception, you 

 will realise the hopelessness of your endeavour. 



It is an old accusation against fishermen that they are apt to overload 

 themselves with multitudinous flies, of which perhaps they never try 

 half; and in this accusation there is a good deal of truth. I recollect 

 one occasion in particular, when five men sallied forth to fish, and on 

 their return all more or less bewailed the shyness of the trout, and 

 each declared that, though he had tried many changes of fly, he had 

 only found one to succeed. Oddly enough, each man had pitched on 

 a different fly: they were the Driffield dun, the pale olive, the hare's 

 ear and yellow, the ginger quill, and the red quill. In each case the 

 size was similar, viz., 000; but the fact is, that most men have a favourite 

 fly to which they pin their faith, and to which they give ten chances 

 for one to the others. There are occasions, of course, where one fly 

 and only one will succeed. 



I well remember one day, on the Tichbourne water on the Itchen, 

 when that fine stretch of water was simply alive with olives, coming 

 in droves and batches over the fish, and when it seemed, hopeless for 

 one's poor imitation to succeed, even when put correctly cocked in front 

 of a batch, or behind a drove, or by itself. The trout were rising 

 slowly and methodically, letting many flies pass scatheless, but now 

 and then picking out one without moving an inch from their position. 

 I tried vainly to discover the method of their madness, and at last 

 realised that they were selecting from amongst the myriads of toothsome 

 ephemeridcB floating over their heads a redder-looking fly. I could not 

 wade, I could not manage to get one with my landing net, so I put 

 on at hazard a small red quill, with no response; then a Hawker's 

 yellow got a rise or two, and even deluded a brace of fish into my 

 creel, and then the glorious rise was over. Next morning, when 

 whirling back to town, I found myself in a carriage with four or 

 five anglers who had been fishing the next beat, and the murder 

 was out. One fortunate man had ascertained that they were taking 

 the ginger quills, which were very sparsely scattered amongst the 

 olives, and that information resulted in his taking nine brace of 

 beautiful fish. 



D 



