IMITATION OF THE NATURAL INSECT 149 



anglers who are wedded to fishing the rise, and 

 who keep their fly absolutely dry until a fish is 

 seen feeding, but it is asking too much of those 

 who enjoy seeing their fly upon the water over 

 likely places. 



Although, in certain species of insects which 

 interest anglers, the difference in size and colour 

 between the sexes is not great, in others it is 

 quite marked; and some anglers are of the 

 opinion that an imitation of the female of a 

 species is a more killing pattern than one of the 

 male. A most ingenious explanation of the fish's 

 preference for the female insect was offered by 

 the Reverend J. G. Wood in his "Insects at 

 Home," published in 1871. He says: "Should 

 the reader be an angler, he will recognise in the 

 female pseudimago the 'Green Drake/ and in 

 the perfect insect the 'Grey Drake.' The angler 

 only cares for the female insects, because the 

 fish prefer them, laden as they are with eggs, to 

 the males, which have little in them but air." 

 The statement certainly endows the trout with 

 a fine sense of discrimination and taste. That 

 the female insects are preferred by the trout 

 may possibly be true, but it is to be regretted 

 that the author did not explain how he arrived at 

 the conclusion that they are preferred because 



