SOME FANCIES SOME FACTS 199 



is less conspicuous than gut that has been 

 coloured to make it harmonise with the water. 

 Partial solutions of the problem may be had by 

 assuming certain controlling conditions to exist. 

 For instance, as the fish views the leader from 

 below, and against a background formed by 

 the sky, a light-blue leader to harmonise with 

 the background on a bright day, or, for a similar 

 reason, a grey one on a cloudy day, may be the 

 very thing. Of course, it is all very speculative, 

 because the main element of the problem what 

 the fish thinks is an unknown one. 



In my opinion, the floating, drifting leader, 

 with its wrinkles and its convolutions, consti- 

 tutes the worst possible form of "drag," which 

 must be avoided if trout are to be taken where 

 the water is slow and unruffled. The angler 

 should endeavour to have the fly float and the 

 leader sink obviously, by keeping one dry and 

 the other wet. He will find it even more difficult 

 to keep the leader wet than to keep the fly dry; 

 even when thoroughly saturated, the former will 

 not submerge readily when the fly is thrown as 

 lightly as it should be. 



In swifter water it is easier to keep the leader 

 under the surface, but here one encounters an- 

 other form of drag which, while in my opinion 



