76 FLOATING FLIES 



other hand, I believe although practical ex- 

 perimentation has never yet been possible 

 that a skilfully fished wet fly, on a stream 

 where dry fly fishing has become the rule, 

 might, on occasion, by the very novelty of the 

 thingj be made to do wonders. 



Finally, as regards the general question of 

 when and where to use the dry fly, let me em- 

 phasize the fact that, for success, the sports- 

 man must have confidence in the floater and 

 use it constantly wherever he may consistently 

 do so that he must not consider his box of 

 dry flies as merely supplementary to his 

 familiar, old-time book of wet flies, but must 

 give preference to the dry fly method, consider 

 himself, in fact, a dry fly fisherman, and have 

 recourse to the wet fly only when his common 

 fishing sense advertises the fact that the floater 

 is not the thing for the time being. 



Sporadic experimentation with the dry fly 

 when the wet has failed, although frequently 

 successful in its purpose, is not a true test of 

 the efficacy of the method when followed con- 

 sistently, for the degree of true sport which 

 the dry fly is capable of affording. Of all 

 forms of angling, the phrase " it is not all of 

 fishing to catch fish " is most true of fishing 

 with the floating fly. 



