62 FISHING GOSSIP. 



Scarcely do any other genera of aquatic insects 

 furnish so many baits for the fisherman. All the 

 multitudinous varieties of " duns " and " spinners " 

 belong to the Ephemeridce, the former representing 

 the pseudimago, and the latter the imago states ; and 

 though of so short an individual existence, some one 

 or other of the tribe may be found on the water from 

 February to Xovernber. "Whatever may be the time 

 of day, or month of the year, whether the locality be 

 north or south, the water river or lake, the fisherman 

 cannot be far astray who has one specimen of a dun 

 on his line, resembling of course in shape and colour 

 the natural fly on the water. Ask a Scottish fly- 

 fisher of long experience what fly in the course of 

 his life he has caught most fish with, and, ten to 

 one, he will answer, " the hare-lug." To the same ques- 

 tion an Irish fly-fisher would reply, " the ash-fox ; " 

 both being representative types of a large sub-class of 

 duns. All the Ephemeridre are readily recognised by 

 each species possessing what may popularly be 

 termed a tail, consisting of three long hairs, or, as 

 fishermen name these appendages, " the whisk." 



To trace the Ephemeridse ab ovo, the eggs are 

 dropped into the water in such immense quantities 

 that although they at once become the welcome prey 

 of every kind of fish and aquatic insect, yet numbers 

 escape to advance in due course of time to the larvae 

 state, when they, in turn, commence vigorously 



