164 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



continuing a different series for each month of 

 the season. The theory is based, of course, 

 upon the imitation of those insects which pre- 

 vail in the particular months. "Routine" an- 

 glers of the past probably had opinions as 

 firmly fixed as those of anglers of to-day, and 

 it is very likely that there were a few who per- 

 sistently clung to the prescribed flies for May, 

 when fishing that month, and used no others 

 fish or no fish. 



Whatever effect the colour of the artificial fly 

 may have upon trout, and however necessary 

 the proper shade may be felt to be when cast- 

 ing to fish that are feeding upon some particular 

 species of insect, it is quite certain that the 

 angler cannot rely upon this form of imitation 

 alone to take fish. In fishing with the floating 

 fly the imitation of the form of the natural in- 

 sect, in my opinion, is quite as essential as that 

 of its colour, and frequently size will be found 

 to be even more important than either. My 

 own experiences have convinced me that imita- 

 tion of the natural insect is absolutely neces- 

 sary, and I put the forms this should take 

 in the following order the order of their im- 

 portance: 



ist Position of the fly upon the water. 



