HINTS TO DRY-FLY FISHERMEN. 119 



which broken line is continually changing in con- 

 tour and in relative position. Then, again, it is 

 necessary to be certain that the movement on the 

 face of the stream is caused by a fish at all : it may 

 be a moorhen, a dabchick, or even a rat, or a mere 

 break in the water caused by some obstruction 

 fixed transversely to the direction of the current. 

 Even if caused by a fish, it may not be what we 

 mean by a rise, or the act of sucking in a winged 

 fly : it may be made by the tail of a trout breaking 

 the surface in his endeavours to force his head 

 further into the weeds, where he is busily engaged 

 in gorging himself with fresh-water shrimps or 

 snails. Sometimes on a careful scrutiny of the 

 position it will be noticed that the apparently 

 rising fish is never for a moment in the same spot, 

 but keeps moving backwards and forwards to the 

 right and to the left, causing continual waves, but 

 scarcely ever actually taking any fly from the 

 surface of the water. In this case the fish is 

 feeding on the undeveloped grub, or larva, rising 

 towards the surface before splitting open its 

 " shuck " or case, and emerging a winged fly ; and 

 if this metamorphosis takes place at the very 

 moment the fish is in the act of seizing the larva, it 

 usually takes the winged fly instead. Practically 

 speaking, a fish feeding either on shrimp, snail, 

 or larvae, is to be avoided by the dry-fly fisherman, 

 although occasionally, even under these conditions, 

 he may be tempted by a fly floating over him. 



