78 TROUTING FLIES. 



defect in shape, from the natural insect ? If such their 

 conclusions, I cannot help affirming that they give 

 credit to the fish in question, for possessing a power of 

 discrimination, not less than a degree of daintiness or 

 epicurism, altogether extraordinary. I am not, how- 

 ever, denying that to a certain extent their conclusions 

 are correct. The error lies in their being over-drawn. 

 The trout, confessedly, is a capricious feeder, circum- 

 spect in its habits, and possessed of great quickness of 

 eye, as well as an acute sense of smell ; but that it holds 

 these properties, in such measure, as to require not 

 only the utmost skill, but the greatest choice and 

 variety of fly-tackle, in order to capture it, is a position, 

 with regard at least to our Scottish rivers, altogether 

 untenable. 



The experience of twenty years and upwards has led 

 to the conviction, on my part, that a stock, consisting 

 of three or at most four diversities of trouting flies, is 

 quite sufficient to insure success at all seasons on any 

 of our lakes and streams. I am talking of diversities, 

 and in doing so, allude to the colour, shape and mate- 

 rial of the imitation employed, not at all to its size; 

 that I leave to be regulated wholly by circumstances, 

 such, for instance, as the season of the year, the low or 

 flooded state of the water, calms or winds, &c. 



The fly-stock of the trout fisher may then, I opine, 

 in point of colour, be restricted without detriment to 

 the following varieties : 



1 . The red or brown hackle, with or without wings. 



2. The black hackle, ditto, ditto. 



3. The hare-lug or water-mouse body, with wings. 



These, as noted down, are essentially the ground- 

 work of a killing fly-stock. They are the elements 



