146 Natural-Fly Fishing. 



natural motion. Care must be taken not to allow 

 any part of the gut-line to touch the water, other- 

 wise' the flies will be soaked and rendered useless. 

 When a trout seizes the fly, you cannot strike too 

 quickly, though it is quite possible to strike too 

 hard. 



Unlike the May-fly, the green drake succeeds 

 best on a rough, breezy day, with little or no sun- 

 shine. A showery day, or even a thoroughly wet 

 one, will prove very profitable for sport; whether 

 it accord with the angler's conception of outdoor 

 enjoyment or not, is another question. To the 

 enthusiastic angler, however, the ideas are by no 

 means incompatible. In such conditions of weather, 

 the condition of the water is of less importance ; it 

 may be either black or clear, and the " take " may 

 be good. The fly, as I have said, is abundant on 

 many of our burns; and when these are swollen 

 after a flood, the drake is a wonderful killer. 



When the day is fine and bright, the water 

 " small " and clear, and the wind blows lightly over 

 its surface, it is more advantageous to fish with one 

 fly only. For this purpose use a ISTo. 3 or No. 4 

 hook and a No. 2, tied in the same manner as in 

 the larger tackle, and place the fly on the larger 

 hook, leaving the smaller one uncovered. This 

 does not make such a bulky appearance in clear 

 water and weather as the double bait, and is 



