THE FLOATING FLY 73 



the natural characteristics of the water itself, 

 whether fast or slow in current, smooth or 

 broken, shallow or deep, and so on. The dry 

 fly having originated upon the placid currents 

 of the south of England rivers, it is only 

 natural that the impression should prevail that 

 a floating fly can be used effectively only on a 

 slow stream. The practice and experience of 

 American fly-casters has thoroughly proved 

 this an erroneous theory. It may be truthfully 

 said that the dry fly may be successfully used 

 upon all except white water. 



It is not the rate of the current which deter- 

 mines the suitability of the floating fly to any 

 given stream; wherever the surface of the 

 water is unbroken the dry fly works well, but 

 where white water prevails, although the 

 angler may persist in the use of the dry fly, 

 actual dry fly fishing is impossible, the fly can 

 only be made to float for an infinitesimal length 

 of time, is almost immediately drowned by a 

 wave or drawn under by a whirlpool, and the 

 result is a hybrid sort of angling in the nature 

 of wet fly fishing with a dry fly. 



The point has been made that even under 

 these conditions it is best to use the dry fly on 

 the ground that, dry or wet, the floating fly is 

 materially, in form and coloration, a better 



