CHOICE OF FLY. 207 



certain river. However, I must not drift into 

 a Darwinian theory on the evolution of fly 

 tying : but will quote a paragraph from a 

 friend's letter to whom I applied for assistance. 



He replied, ' to speak of Silver Twist or 

 Blue Upright conveys no meaning to the 

 angling mind, elementary or advanced, because 

 flies called by these names are dressed in such 

 different ways. The Dun which the * blue 

 upright ' is supposed to imitate, is very dark 

 in February; so the so called scientific ones 

 dress the artificial lure with a dark, almost 

 black, hackle. Towards March and April the 

 same natural insect gets paler and browner, and 

 is eventually imitated by the fly we know as 

 the 'Red Upright'; and so on. Therefore, 

 unless the dressings of each pattern are carefully 

 given, the scientific fisher is not enlightened 

 any more than the ignorant novice.' 



From another letter I quote the following : 

 * my plan about advising beginners on the 

 question of flies, is to tell them to go to a 

 reliable local tackle maker, in the absence of a 

 competent friend on the spot to advise them, 

 and to take his selections. Thus for Devon- 

 shire streams, such as the Exe, Dart, Teign, 

 Otter, Axe, Taw and Torridge, good flies, suit- 

 able for the different months, may be had from 

 any of the leading tackle shops in Exeter, 

 Barnstaple, or Torrington ; if he is not satisfied 

 with the coloured catalogues. I always advise 

 hackle flies for wet fishing in the early months, 

 February, March or April ; and will name as 



