174 THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLER. 



" Your flies are too large for this water," or " Your flies 

 are too small to kill here, sir." Upon some Welsh and 

 Scottish streams, the fly-fishers use unduly large flies, 

 whilst upon clear spring waters, the local flies are exces- 

 sively small, and in this case invariably hackled. Both 

 large and small flies are objectionable when they do not 

 correspond with the "naturals" frequenting the water. 

 We can testify from our own experience, that the flies, 

 irrespective of locality, are the same as regards size upon 

 every river in England, Wales, or Scotland; even those 

 upon mountain lakes, situated in some cases at great 

 elevation, are similar, in their season, both as regards size 

 and color, to those upon low-lying rivers. 



Fancy flies, when used judiciously at the right time, 

 may answer just as well for trout, and especially for gray- 

 ling, as they do for salmon; indeed, the two last-named, 

 have many characteristics in common; both display an 

 effeminate appreciation of gaudy glitter and happy com- 

 bination of colors, whilst the more circumspect and subtle 

 trout often ignores the unnatural "artificials," though 

 presented temptingly. The most important of nonde- 

 script "artificials" are, beyond doubt, the bumble tribes. 

 These in their various shades seldom fail to kill, when no 

 rising of naturals has occurred during the day, or when 

 there is a miscellaneous host of " oddlings " about the 

 water, under which latter circumstances the palmered 

 "artificials" are undoubtedly taken for some one of the 

 flies about. Another useful "child of fancy" is the flat 

 gold-bodied whistler fly. This is hackled with red-brown 

 pigeon's breast feather, or with that of the whistling 

 plover, from which it takes its name. This fly is really 

 valuable for discolored, and even thick rising water. 

 Many are the times we have, instead of leaving the 

 rapidly-rising river in disgust, killed a good dish of fish 

 through its sole agency. Upon the Wharfe, upon a 

 late occasion, we took trout sufficient to fill our creel some 



