FLIES. 22$ 



When the May fly is only moderately on, the angler 

 may often get capital sport with the artificial May fly. Of 

 course if the day be blusterous and rough his chance is 

 all the better, but even on a calm day, if he can manage 

 to keep his fly floating on the top, he may take a good 

 many fish. For this purpose it is of course imperatively 

 necessary to fish with a dry fly, and between every cast 

 the angler will have to make several false casts, or casts 

 in which the fly does not touch the water, to shake the 

 wet from the fly and to get it as dry as possible. To 

 make the fly float has been the great desideratum with 

 fly-dressers. The floating May flies of Mr. Ogden one 

 of the best dressers of trout flies in England have been 

 widely circulated, and they are, as are all his trout flies, 

 beautiful specimens of skill and neatness. They cer- 

 tainly do attract a great number of fish to rise, and when 

 the fish run large, so that in opening their mouths they 

 take the whole fly in a gulp, they are most valuable flies ; 

 but where the trout are small, as half or three-quarter 

 pounders, they should also be dressed small, for they are so 

 bushy that when a small trout attempts to seize them he 

 is very apt to run his nose against some of the feathers 

 which stand out from the fly and to drive the hook before 

 him instead of seizing it in his mouth, and thus the fish 

 is often missed and scared entirely, when he really risea 

 fairly to the fly. Their floating capabilities are undeniably 

 excellent ; when they get thoroughly wet, however, they 

 take some time to dry. 1 The angler, in using Mr. Ogden's 

 given drakes, should therefore have two or three ready at 

 tho same time, so that one may dry while the other is fish- 

 ing ; with respect to the dressing of the fly, it must be borne 

 in mind that the colours and size of many flies vary much 



1 Since this was written in former editions of this work, Mr. Ogdon has 

 taken these hints, and his floaters are now simply perfect, and for neatness 

 of tying cannot be surpassed. 



