12 FLOATING FLIES 



low such a stream for days without observing 

 the rise of a feeding trout, although, as noted 

 above, sometimes -a rising fish will, of course, 

 be seen; but seldom will a sufficient number be 

 observed to warrant the angler's relying exclu- 

 sively upon casting to the rise. 



That, indeed, upon the average trout stream 

 of this country, the well-chosen and cleverly 

 cast floating fly has its place has been amply 

 proved by the experience of many anglers. 

 Upon the typical wilderness trout stream, where 

 the fish are both very abundant and totally un- 

 educated, dry fly fishing would be in the nature 

 of a farce although doubtless successful in 

 view of the fact that the wild trout of such a 

 stream will rise to almost anything chucked al- 

 most anyhow. But the average American trout 

 stream may now be classed as a civilized stream, 

 and it is upon such waters that the dry fly has 

 proved its worth by succeeding time and again, 

 under certain conditions, when the wet fly has 

 failed. 



The conditions under which the balance of 

 probable success is on the side of the dry fly 

 and against the wet will be more particularly 

 detailed in succeeding chapters; in general, it 

 may be said that the angler who fishes largely 

 upon hard-fished public streams and that 



