118 ANGLING. 



exceedingly well. You can get them of any size. I 

 always find the fish take the smaller sizes best, though 

 they rise at the largest well. 



The grey drake is the change undergone by the green 

 drake when it casts its skin and becomes a perfect fly, and 

 it is often a most capital change for the fish towards 

 evening. The body, head, and tail should be made as 

 before ; the hackle should be a sandy red, or a rusty blue, 

 the wings of the grey speckled drake's feather. 



The Hack dralce, which is the perfect male fly, is, I 

 think, even a better fly still. It should be dressed a size 

 smaller than the grey drake body, tail and head as before, 

 but the hackle should be a silver grey with a black streak 

 in the middle, with dark partridge at breast, and the wings 

 should be of the close barred feather of the teal. I have 

 had good sport with this fly toward the end of the May. 

 fly season. 



There are several other natural flies which are useful 

 in various rivers; but, as I seldom use them myself, 

 I don't give the dressing, but the angler can get 

 them at the tackle maker's if he wants them. Among 

 the best there is the oak fly, the cowdung, the ant 

 flies, the gravel bed, the grannom, &c., &c. The blue, 

 yellow, and olive duns have of late years become so 

 muddled and mixed up, and the colours and times of 

 appearance seem to vary and change so, that I find the 

 best way to discount them is to dress three sorts of flies, 

 which we call in Hampshire quills. There is first the blue 

 quill, light and dark, two shades; the body is dressed 

 with quill, the hackle blue, and the wing starling, lighter 

 or darker to suit the shades. Then there is the olive 

 quill, a great medicine of my friend, Mr. Marryatt's. 

 Here the quill is stained either lightly or deeper ; the 



