FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 

 a big alder with brown wing, Red Tag, and others of that kind, on hooks 

 No. 10 to No. X old style. Larger hooks are sometimes used in big lakes, 

 but the tendency of late years has been to fish with smaller and smaller 

 flies. 



This matter of size is very interesting. I have stowed away somewhere 

 little double -hooked Jock Scotts, Silver Doctors and Fairies (black and 

 brown) that were used successfully in the salmon rivers in New Bruns- 

 wick, in summer, when the water was low and the salmon had been up 

 for some time. These are on No. 10 hooks old style (No. 5 new). In trout 

 flies the smaller the size the more deceptive they are. A very small dry fly 

 that has just sufficient hackles to float well and has the colouring of the 

 insect it is meant to represent looks quite natural even to the human eye, 

 which is better fitted to note differences in form than the eye of a fish. 

 However, in certain lights, our best artificial flies are rank impostors, both 

 to ourselves and the trout. Just after sunset, for instance, in an absolutely 

 still, clear pool, one can detect the weakness of our presentation only too 

 easily. If the casting line floats, the whole affair, including the fly, appears 

 as the veriest humbug. The conditions of light and shade play a large part 

 in the success or failure of our fly fishing, and there are often long hours 

 in the morning when it is at its best. The evening rise is often short, and 

 very soon we cannot see our fly upon the water. 



In the last five years there has been a great increase in night fishing in the 

 summer months. Formerly a few men fished occasionally after dark, but 

 now a great many fishermen make a practice of it, and a few remain out 

 until after sunrise in the morning. The trout cannot see the enemy on the 

 shore, although they do see the fly upon the water, and will rise at great 

 staring things full of hackles. These are probably taken for a buzzing 

 night moth of some sort. On low water when the trout have collected in the 

 pools this practice is very killing, but the sport cannot bear comparison 

 with daylight fishing. The trout rarely put up a good fight at night, and 

 often sail about as if bewildered. Very large fish are killed in this way. 

 Casting for black bass at night is also practised to a great extent in the 

 middle west. 



The angler will rarely be separated from his favourite fly rod, and on a 

 a long journey into unfamiliar country he should have a duplicate, or 

 at least a cheaper, rod, to use in case of loss or accident. If rambling about 

 with a chance of varied sport and many sorts of fish, he should have a 

 general -purpose rod that will answer unexpected calls. There is a rod 

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