200 DRY-FLY FISHING 



the mere mention of which is sufficient to call 

 up a picture of storm-tossed waters, leafless sway- 

 ing trees, patches of snow on the hills. It does 

 not suggest the hatching fly, the leaping trout, 

 and the curving rod; but being anglers we can 

 all think of these things even in the depths of 

 winter. Therefore when we may we will go to 

 seek our fortune in the waters. 



No doubt its chief claim to fame lies in the fact 

 that it proclaims the passing of the close season, 

 and heralds the dawning of another period of 

 sport ; even were it without further distinction, 

 that in itself is sufficient to gain it a high place 

 in the general esteem. 



Some there are who seek to take away from 

 it its principal glory, declaring that trout have 

 not yet by any means recovered from the hard- 

 ships of winter, and are quite unworthy the angler's 

 art, even requiring his protection. Others again 

 would contradict that with the greatest emphasis 

 at their command, asserting that the pursuit of 

 the trout is already decidedly sportsmanlike, and 

 that, in fact, they are at the very height of their 

 condition. Two such opposing statements are quite 

 possibly both correct, for they are made concern- 

 ing totally different localities. A close season 

 cannot be uniform and at the same time just, 

 in a country where there is so much variation in 

 climatic conditions due to altitude and environ- 

 ment. 



The general condition of the trout over a num- 

 ber of years should determine the beginning and 

 end of the season for each particular district, but 

 at the same time it is advisable that the existing 



