I O FLY-FISHING. 



the very alpha and omega of his craft I mean 

 the system of artificial flies. 



Trout fly-fishers may nowadays be divided 

 roughly into two parties, which may be described 

 as the " colourists," or those who think " colour " 

 everything and " form " nothing ; and the " for- 

 malists," or "entomologists" as theyhave been some- 

 times termed, who hold, with the late Mr. Ronalds, 

 that the natural flies actually on the water at any 

 given time should be exactly imitated by the 

 artificial fly used, down to the most minute par- 

 ticulars of form and tinting. The latter class 

 includes probably the very great majority of 

 anglers both apostles and disciples who have 

 in most cases imbibed their opinions almost un- 

 consciously and without ever questioning their 

 soundness. The " colourists" are still but a section, 

 though an increasing one, of the general fly- 

 fishing community, and are represented by a few . 

 enterprising spirits in advance not only of their 

 age, but also, as I believe, of the truth. The 

 theories of both I hold to be distinctly unsound ; 

 and if my reader will follow me in the next few 

 pages, calling to mind also his own fly-fishing 

 experiences, I have little doubt that he will 

 arrive at a similar conclusion. In fact, the ar- 



