NIGHT-FISHING REALIZATION IOI 



though I have made daily inquiries of the owner of the 

 inn, the report was invariably to the effect that the 

 crowd averaged about one fish apiece, without any star 

 turns ; so I venture to think that we can safely allow 

 the black flies to take their turn in the queue. 



Without in any way wishing to disparage the efforts 

 of the black-fly propagandists, I suggest that any anglers 

 of an inquiring turn of mind, instead of accepting the 

 doctrine of nocto-vision, would do much better if they 

 studied the habits of our moths. When you hear plop 

 after plop in the pools, you may make a shrewd guess 

 that the sea-trout are jumping for the big moths which 

 drop on the surface of the water. Oak and birch, beech 

 and sallow, ash and blackthorn, bramble and honey- 

 suckle, not forgetting the ivy festooned trunks, each 

 provides a haunt for one or more species of moths, and 

 if you can decide which kind of moth favours the trees 

 that abut on or overhang the pool of your preference, 

 I am of opinion that by selecting a passable imitation 

 of the insect you would mount an irresistible attraction. 



Like many other fishers who harry the sea-trout, I 

 have an undeniable penchant for a particular fly, and 

 I regard it with unstinted respect. Possibly I, too, con- 

 sider my fancy to be without equal. This fly is not a 

 standard pattern, neither is it a remarkable one in 

 appearance. It is quite a simple one, devoid of any 

 garishness. It is well known in the district where it is 

 used, but whether its fame has travelled farther I know 

 not. If you saw it in a tackle-dealer's shop and you were 

 unacquainted with it, you would in all probability merely 

 give it a superficial glance and purchase others that 

 exhibit a trifle more colour. 



The grounds for my attachment to this fly are that,, 

 to my knowledge, the unobtrusive dressing has decoyed 

 thousands of fish : one angler alone on one river has, 



