CHAPTER IX 



Dibbing with the Dry-fly 



DiBBiNG, or daping, with the artificial fly 

 for big trout is a method of anghng generally 

 neglected, if not scorned, by many expert dry- 

 fly fishermen. Yet it is a perfectly legitimate 

 form of sport, often proving very killing 

 when one might as well fish the highroad as 

 the open stream. Moreover, it is one of the 

 most scientific methods of using the dry-fly, 

 necessitating, as it does, infinite patience, the 

 most skilful stalking, and sometimes great 

 coolness in playing a heavy fish in an awk- 

 ward spot. I have a certain dry-fly stream 

 in my mind's eye at the present time, in 

 which dibbing has frequently enabled me to 

 bring to creel plump and well-conditioned 

 trout on days when scarcely a faint dimple 



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