96 TROUT FISHING 



looks through box or book again, finds some antique 

 or some exotic which has lain therein absolutely 

 neglected and despised, puts it on as a last resource, 

 and discovers that here is a new-fangled medicine 

 worthy of a hearty testimonial. This sort of thing 

 must happen to everybody, and it is very upsetting 

 to all plans for reducing things to a system. 



Undoubtedly, the case is much worse for the 

 angler who is dependent, as I am, on flies tied by 

 other people. Of the five or six superlatively good 

 trout fishermen whom I know well only one is not 

 a fly-dresser, and that one knows exactly what he 

 wants when he gets his flies. I suspect him of 

 having at any rate passed his apprenticeship in 

 the art in earlier days. Most of us, however, who 

 cannot tie flies are not quite sure what we want, 

 and in consequence we get a great many things 

 that we do not want. I possess an incredible 

 number of abominable productions which call 

 themselves flies, purchased at various times in 

 foolish faith that they might come in handy. This 

 is bad enough, but it is much worse that one or 

 other of these monstrosities will sometimes in the 

 most insolent manner prove itself capable of catching 

 fish when other more respectable patterns have 

 wholly failed. 



One of the most scandalous instances of this 

 occurred on the Penydwddwr some years ago. It 



