ADVANTAGES OF THE DRY-FLY 39 



every capture effected with it brings delights un- 

 known to those who confine themselves to other 

 lures. The fly is in full view of the angler, who 

 can plainly watch its progress on the water, follow 

 its fortunes, and all the time he is in a state of 

 expectancy and tension. Probably he has marked 

 down a rising fish and offered it the counterpart 

 of what it has just taken. If his fly vanishes 

 from sight, he is pleased, because what he expected 

 to happen, what he has striven to achieve, has 

 occurred ; if it passes on unheeded, he is surprised, 

 perhaps a little disappointed, because he has failed 

 for one reason or another to satisfy the trout. 



If a wet-fly angler casting over fish feeding on 

 the surface draws a pool blank, he may be dis- 

 appointed ; but he has no right to be, because 

 he is endeavouring to persuade the trout to accept 

 something that they obviously do not at the moment 

 wish ; they cannot be expected to carry out his 

 desires ; he ought to satisfy theirs, seeing that 

 they are the object of his pursuit. 



Certainly there is something very fine in the 

 boil of a trout to a sunk fly. The suddenness 

 of it is very thrilling ; so unexpected is the break 

 on the surface that it is easy to omit administering 

 the required strike. Such an event strongly appeals 

 to us, and under certain conditions we use the 

 wet-fly in the hope that it will often occur, but 

 we enjoy also laying and watching the fly that 

 floats. In salmon-fishing the sudden apparition 

 of the great fish, the terrific snatch at the fly that 

 sets the angler trembling with excitement, form 

 a large part of the attractiveness of that glorious 

 sport. Why should anyone seek to remove from 



