FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 

 their suspicion. I have heard, however, from other fishermen that in the 

 waters of the Western and Orkney Islands sea -trout do not show this 

 peculiarity, but come again and again. 



There are many conventional, and not a few unconventional, patterns of 

 sea -trout flies, nor have I been able to distinguish any preference shown 

 by the fish for one colour more than another. Most people would be con- 

 tent if they could number to their credit as many sea -trout as Mr H. C. 

 Pennell has creeled. He is no believer in variety, having reduced his reper- 

 tory to three or four wingless patterns, dressed with silk bodies and with 

 black or red cock's hackles wound round the head. But among the points 

 of difference between salmon and sea -trout there is this, that whereas 

 the salmon does not deign to feed, in the sense of taking nourishment, 

 while in the fresh water, sea-trout do so freely, rising at natural flies 

 as greedily, though not so regularly, as do common trout.* Neverthe- 

 less, it profiteth little to waste time in matching the natural fly with the 

 artificial, for sea -trout do not show any discrimination, seizing, when 

 on the move, any life-like object of suitable size and motion. 



Those of less austere taste than Mr Pennell will scarcely be satisfied 

 to limit their selection to his patterns, and, seeing how largely imagination 

 contributes its charm to angling, they may choose to fill their books or 

 boxes with miniature copies of any salmon-flies that may hit their fancy, 

 or with enlarged versions of the flies used in fishing for brook-trout. He 

 who has leisure and skill enough to dress his own flies (and nobody who 

 has not done so can understand what a zest this adds to fly-fishing) may 

 begin with the following recipes, the first three being variations of the 

 late Francis Francis's favourite pattern. 



1. Tail, a tuft of orange floss; body, cinnamon-coloured mohair, ribbed 

 with fine silver twist, finished at the shoulder with a coch-y-bondhu 

 hackle (that is, the red cock's hackle with a black list down the middle); 

 wing, two strips of teal. 



2. The same, except that the body is half scarlet, half black mohair. 



3. The same, except that the body is in three equal compartments of 

 yellow, scarlet and black mohair. 



4. Tail, a small topping; body, lemon -yellow mohair ribbed with gold 

 twist, a ginger cock's hackle at shoulder; wing, two gold-pheasant 

 tippet feathers, with strips of pintail over. 



*The fact of salmon rising at the natural March brown has been reported by several competent witnesses ; but 

 •Ithouth I have often seen water containing many salfnon thickly sprinkled with freshly-risen March browns, I have 

 never seen * salmon take one. 



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