ON RAPID STREAMS. 163 



acting on the principle of excitement to the fish, 

 and no longer on that of pure deception, which he 

 properly relied on for spring fishing. The whole 

 or main cause of his success, I say, is in the altered 

 style of his fishing, and not in the alteration simply 

 of his bait. Now, if instead of the artificial with 

 a maggot attached, any bright-coloured fly be 

 used, which will be equally conspicuous or more 

 so and provided this fancy fly be worked in a 

 lively manner, as it should be on a small stream, 

 it would fully equal any fly with the maggot as 

 regards its killing power. I state this from no 

 fanciful hypothesis. I have practically proved it 

 on large streams, both by comparison, when 

 both agents were used by myself, and also by 

 trying the powers of the gaudy fancy fly in my 

 way of using it, against many a skilful and expe- 

 rienced fisherman of the larger streams, with a 

 maggot. This is practically true then, that in 

 these rapids, on large as on small streams, in 

 bright water, the fancy and conspicuous fly will 

 equal the imitative fly with a maggot attached; 

 but we must not forget that big streams, when the 

 water begins to fail, are not divided only into rapids 

 and still water, there is much intermediate water 

 where fish lie to feed neither still nor can it be 

 said to be rapid. It is too shallow and too bright 

 for the artificial fly used however skilfully as an 

 imitation of the natural fly at any particular time 

 the trout may be taking ; it is not rapid enough 

 for the fancy fly, which in such a place would be 

 so long exposed, that it would scare the fish ; but 

 M 2 



