112 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



the natural insect ; and the first insects which make 

 their appearance in any quantity are the March 

 browns. It is not until these flies have been a 

 week or ten days on the water, or at a time vary- 

 ing according to the season and district from the 

 middle to the end of April, that fly-fishing really 

 commences. In that short space of time trout 

 improve wonderfully in condition, and leaving the 

 still water, where they have had their haunts during 

 winter, move up into the stronger parts of the 

 pools, about the sides of which they lie in wait 

 for their prey. 



If the weather is mild, which it rarely is at this 

 season of east winds, the end of April is the best 

 fly-fishing time of the whole season. The trout 

 take with a readiness and certainty which they 

 never exhibit at any subsequent period. Flies are 

 still a rarity to them, and they are not yet shy 

 from being over-fed, or from a frequent view or more 

 practical experience of artificial flies. Other reasons 

 why more trout can be captured with the fly at 

 this season than any other are, that there are 

 more trout in the water the summer's fishing and 

 netting not having begun yet and that the trout 

 are more concentrated in particular places. 



As regards the imitation of the March brown, 

 which is held in such high estimation amongst anglers, 

 if the water is heavy, trout will sometimes take it 

 readily, not because they see any resemblance between 

 it and the real March brown at least we never 

 could but because it is a good size of fly for the 



