224 Night-Fishing. 



every chance of catching any fish ? In a previous 

 chapter I endeavoured to show that trout exercise 

 a wonderful discrimination in their choice of flies 

 no less by night than day ; that one night they 

 are fascinated by a fly of a particular hue, which 

 next night may prove to possess no attractions for 

 them ; and that times without number a heavy 

 basket has fallen to one individual fly, to the 

 almost complete exclusion of its compeers on the 

 line. Unless, therefore, the angler knows for a 

 certainty which fly is in demand by the trout on 

 any occasion, or unless he believes that one fly 

 will kill as well as another, he will take care that 

 his cast carries a fair and representative collection 

 of those most in favour with night-feeding fish. 

 They are either large or small as circumstances 

 require : the latter have already been given in the 

 list of " Gloamin' Flies " ; the former, chiefly of the 

 night-moth species, will be found under the dis- 

 tinctive heading of " Night Flies." 



The best season for night-fishing is unquestion- 

 ably from about the 20th of May till the end of 

 June, but more or less success may attend its 

 exercise until the close of July. Even in August, 

 if the weather be dry and warm, the small artificial 

 fly will sometimes reap a fair harvest in a moon- 

 light night. Although wet nights are often very 

 productive of sport, especially in June, the angler 



