The Compleat ^Angler 



bank, or any other place where the wind cannot come to fetch him 

 off. His body is long, and pretty thick, and as broad at the tail 

 almost as in the middle ; his colour a very fine brown, ribbed with 

 yellow, and much yellower on the belly than the back ; he has two 

 or three whisks also at the tag of his tail, and two little horns upon 

 his head ; his wings, when full grown, are double, and flat down his 

 back, of the same colour, but rather darker than his body, and longer 

 than it, though he makes but little use of them ; for you shall rarely 

 see him flying, though often swimming, and paddling with several 

 feet he has under his belly, upon the water, without stirring a wing : 

 but the drake will mount steeple-high into the air, though he is to be 

 found upon flags and grass, too, and indeed everywhere, high and 

 low, near the river ; there being so many of them in their season, as, 

 were they not a very inoffensive insect, would look like a plague ; 

 and these drakes (since I forgot to tell you before, I will tell you 

 here) are taken by the fish to that incredible degree, that, upon a calm 

 day, you shall see the still deeps continually all over circles by the 

 fishes rising, who will gorge themselves with those flies, till they purge 

 again out of their gills ; and the trouts are at that time so lusty and 

 strong, that one of eight or ten inches long, will then more struggle, 

 and tug, and more endanger your tackle, than one twice as big in 

 winter ; but pardon this digression. 



This stone-fly then, we dape or dibble with, as with the drake, but 

 with this difference, that whereas the green-drake is common both to 

 stream and still, and to all hours of the day, we seldom dape with this but 

 in the streams (for in a whistling wind a made-fly in the deep is better), 

 and rarely, but early and late, it not being so proper for the midtime 

 of the day ; though a great grayling will then take it very well in a 

 sharp stream, and here and there, a trout too ; but much better towards 

 eight, nine, ten, or eleven of the clock at night, at which time also 

 the best fish rise, and the later the better, provided you can see your 

 fly; and when you cannot, a made-fly will murder, which is to be 

 made thus : the dubbing of bear's dun, with a little brown and yellow 

 camlet very well mixed, but so placed that your fly may be more 

 yellow on the belly and towards the tail, underneath, than in any 

 other part ; and you are to place two or three hairs of a black cat's 



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