BRITISH SPORT PAST AND PRESENT 



your line touch the water but your fly only : and be still mov- 

 ing your fly upon the water, or casting it into the water, you 

 yourself being also always moving down the stream.' 



Walton speaks more warmly of dry fly-fishing than other 

 angling ' at the top ' — ' And now I shall tell you, that the fish- 

 ing with a natural fly is excellent, and affords much pleasure. 

 They may be found thus : the May-fly, usually in and about 

 that month, near to the river-side, especially against rain : 

 the Oak-fly, on the butt or body of an oak or ash, from the 

 beginning of May to the end of August ; it is a brownish fly 

 and easy to be so found, and stands usually with his head 

 downward, that is to say, towards the root of the tree : the 

 small black-fly, or Hawthorn-fly, is to be had on any hawthorn 

 bush after the leaves be come forth. With these and a short 

 line, as I showed to angle for a Chub, you may dape or dop, and 

 also with a grass-hopper, behind a tree, or in any deep hole ; 

 still making it to move on the top of the water as if it were alive, 

 and still keeping yourself out of sight, you shall certainly have 

 sport if there be Trouts ; yea, in a hot day, but especially in 

 the evening of a hot day, you will have sport. . . .' 



Cotton's advice on ' daping, dabbling or dibbling ' (it is 

 ' dapping ' in Ireland unto this day) holds good in the main as 

 when he gave it : ' First, then, of the Natural Fly ; of which 

 Ave generally use but two sorts ; and those but in the two 

 months of May and June only ; namely, the Green-drake, and 

 the Stone-fly : though I have made use of a third, that way, 

 called the Camlet-fly, with very good success, for Grayling, but 

 never saw it angled with by any other, after this manner, my 

 master only excepted, who died many years ago, and was one 

 of the best anglers that ever I knew. 



' These are to be angled with a short line, not much more 

 than half the length of yoxu: rod, if the air be still ; or with a 

 longer, very near, or all out, as long as your rod, if you have 

 any wind to carry it from you. And this way of fishing we call 

 daping, dabbing, or dibling ; wherein you are always to have 

 your line flying before you up or down the river, as the wind 



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