WHAT THE FISH SEES 



preaches the surface the real fly and the reflection 

 come together, and at one time the fly appears 

 just double size. Perhaps this is the point at 

 which the fly is most often taken. When the fly 

 breaks the surface the little waves form light con- 

 densers and a brilliant flash or series of flashes 

 results. This must be a great stimulus to the fish 

 and he can no doubt see it a long distance off. It 

 seems to me that the light effects of flies both at 

 the surface and below are much more important 

 in fishing than the design or color of the fly. I 

 have certainly found this to be the case with salmon 

 and have made it a practice to observe the direc- 

 tion and intensity of the light while fishing. I 

 know of one pool on the Upsalquitch where I can 

 always get a rise at 3.20 P. M. in early August 

 because at this time the shadow of the mountain 

 passes, and the light is such that the fly suddenly 

 becomes brilliantly visible to the fish located in 

 rather deep water. We have all seen pools which 

 yield fish if the cast is made from one side and 

 never if it is made from the other, except at cer- 

 tain times of the day. This is, no doubt, due to 

 the lighting of the fly more than to its direction 

 of motion past the fish. 



This summer one of my friends was fishing a 

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