THE BKOOK TBOUT. 131 



the insect food wliicli come forth now so plenteously to 

 sport their little day in the warm sunshine. 



Along the Atlantic coast, indeed, on Long Island, and 

 to the eastward, where, in fact, alone on the Atlantic 

 coast of the United States trout prevail, fishing is per- 

 mitted by law, and practised by sportsmen, long before 

 this, the true month of the fly-fisher. In March it com- 

 mences on the Island, where formerly was the , finest 

 trout-fishing perhaps in all the country ; but where the 

 streams are now whipped so severely, that, in spite of 

 stringent regulations lately resorted to too lately in 

 the vain hope of preserving them, the run of fish are 

 declining in size year after year, and a good day's sport 

 is fast getting to be a thing little to be expected, scarce 

 even to be hoped for. In March, the trout will rarely 

 look at the fly, and they are caught at this season for the 

 most part with the float and red, or brandling worm ; on 

 bright, warm days, however, they will at times take the 

 artificial fly, and it is remarkable that very early in the 

 season they will rise at a bright, gaudy fly, like nothing 

 in nature, which a month or two later they would prob- 

 ably reject with contempt. Two or three years ago, the 

 most killing early fly was a scarlet Ibis wing, scarlet silk 

 and gold twist body ; but subsequently it has failed so 

 generally, as to have fallen into some sort of disrepute. 

 The flies especially recommended for this month, imita- 

 tions of the natural insects, are the red fly, blue dun, 

 red spinner, great dark dun, cow-dung fly, March brown, 



