98 BEST'S ART OF ANGLING. 



as to resemble the natural fly ; and observing the 

 greatest nicety in regard to its. symmetry ; con- 

 tribute to make it still more delightful. When- 

 ever he makes a fly, let him have the natural one 

 always before him, which will enable him to be 

 a competent judge of the materials most neces- 

 sary to dub it with ; a list of which; and of the 

 best way to make the Palmer and May^y, 

 (which are the ground of artificial fly-angling, i 

 shall give him by and by ; for if he is not able to 

 make his own flies, he never will be a good fly- 

 fisher, nor experience that pleasure, which he will 

 receive by taking fishes with one of his own mak- 

 ing, Fie must never think a fly ill made, because 

 it will not kill fishes as well in any other river as 

 that he particularly angles in ; because the same 

 flies differ very much both in colour and size in 

 different counties ; besides which^zVs that will 

 be taken on their peculiar water one year in 

 April, will not perhaps be taken in the next till 

 the middle of May, the whole depending oh the 

 warmth or coldness of the season. Mr. Taylor 

 in his treatise, where he describes the superiority 

 of fly-fishing, to the other branches of angling, 

 with great humour observes, that the angler is 

 surprised at the manner in which thejfcsA take 

 ihejlies; and by seeing their surprize , when they 

 find they are hooked, by rising at \\\zjiies! ! ! i 

 shall now proceed to give the angler a descrip- 

 tion of the rods and lines, best calculated for 

 artificial fry-jishiug ; but before I do, shall make 

 this one observation ; that theory, without prac- 

 tice, can never make a man a proficient. 



