SOME FANCIES SOME FACTS 191 



lief of those who have unbounded faith in a 

 particular pattern of fly. There are wet fly 

 fishermen on the Beaverkill who never make up 

 their cast of three flies without including the 

 Royal Coachman; and at least one of these, 

 whom I know, uses this fly, dry, in preference 

 to any other. While the pattern has no place 

 in my book, I respect the faith others have 

 in it, which faith, however, is often rudely 

 shaken for a short period, at least. After 

 fishing carefully for hours with his favourite fly 

 without response, the angler meets a brother 

 angler who displays two or three nice fish taken 

 on the Queen, the Bumble, or what not, and 

 passes on. For the nonce the favourite is dis- 

 carded, the Queen or Bumble is knotted on, but 

 the result is the same nothing. Another pat- 

 tern is tried same result. Again the fly is 

 changed, and again, and still again. In his 

 anxiety our friend uses little skill, less judgment, 

 and lacks entirely the great essential faith. 



Many times an angler, stepping quietly into 

 the stream at the beginning of his day's sport, 

 casts his fly to a spot where his experience tells 

 him a trout may be, and meets with response 

 almost immediately. His next cast is accepted 

 quite as quickly, and in these few delicious mo- 



