18 FLY-FISHING AND FLY-MAKING. 



he casts it just before the rising fish and lets it float, tak- 

 ing care that no move is imparted to the lure as it rides 

 downward on the stream. If the imitation is a good one 

 the fish takes it ; if bad, he pronounces on it adversely. 

 Now let it be understood that it is emphatically well-nigh 

 impossible to get good sport on an English chalk stream, 

 especially among the "big uns," in uny other way 

 whatsoever barring bait fishing. Let this latter be 

 Anathema ; Maranatha ! always and forever where the 

 fly can be used. 



" Why can the fish be caught in no other way ? " you 

 ask. Because, I reply, this style places the lure before 

 the fish in the nearest possible approach to its natural 

 way of sailing down stream after falling on the water or 

 rising from it. " But," you object, " there are no imita- 

 tions of the struggling insect in this style ! " I deny 

 that the water insect does struggle. Those flies whose 

 previous larval existence has been in the water are not 

 afraid of their natural element, and sail down with erect 

 wings (they chiefly belong to the neuropterd) and immov- 

 ably out-spread legs, with majestic nonchalance. So 

 does the imitation, and hence the rise of the fish. The 

 land flies certainly do struggle like the fly in your milk 

 jug, and the down-stream angler who jerks and jiggers 

 his flies to make them lively, may be thankful that he 

 has that one small piece of nature to be faithful to. It 

 just saves his credit to be like something, but the flies he 

 imitates are in a miserable minority. 



The education of the eye in individual trout can occa- 

 sionally be met with advanced to a degree actually as- 

 tounding. This is chiefly found in connection with fish 



