76 DRY-FLY FISHING 



less necessary in a March Brown than in any other 

 fly, for the fish at that season are ravenous, waiting 

 not to inspect there are too many eager mouths 

 farther down the pool and they throw themselves 

 upon the floating lure. Perhaps we should not take 

 too much advantage of their impetuous, unreasoning 

 haste ; but not far ahead lies the time when they 

 will chasten us with their indifference. 



Soon after or even before the March Brown passes 

 away, that ever-welcome tiny atom of the dusky 

 wing/ dainty yet hardy, the Iron-Blue Dun, appears. 

 It revels in cold and rain, though it avoids not April 

 sunshine, but later it renders cheerful the most 

 dismal day, and never does greater fortune attend 

 the angler than when a fleet of these miniature 

 representatives of the Ephemeridce sets out for a 

 voyage on the river. Some have declared, and we 

 have had reason to believe, that the trout show an 

 unmistakable preference for them by picking them 

 out to the exclusion of even larger duns that may be 

 in company with them on the surface. The flavour 

 of the Iron-Blue must be surpassing sweet. 



We have seen many attempts at an imitation of 

 this succulent insect which bore not the slightest 

 resemblance to the natural fly or to one another. 

 We have a very fine pattern of this fly which has 

 done great work on many waters and at widely 

 separated periods of the season ; but we have like- 

 wise proved that a simple Black Spider is the superior 

 of most of the numerous variations. The trout take 

 this spider well when the Iron-Blue is up, and so it 

 seems reasonable to conclude that they take it in 

 mistake for that fly. 



Neither pattern should be omitted from the 



