DAYS ON THE NEPIGON. 



gladly accepted a cast of rough-and-tumble 

 wet flies. He very quickly perceived that his 

 dry flies would have rendered a better account 

 of themselves on smoother waters, for the 

 dry fly on these rapids becomes a wet one 

 directly it lands and ricochets once or twice. 

 It is almost bait when a strike is actually 

 made, and in that event the v angling purist 

 would almost rejoice to have the fish break 

 away. Fancy! The large trout of the 

 Nepigon are less disposed to come to the sur- 

 face than are the smaller and more active 

 ones; and after all, we each and every one 

 relish landing the big fellows that are more 

 likely to take the partially submerged fly. 



I have never used the dry fly, the closest 

 imitation of the natural one, and in its action 

 on comparatively unruffled waters, the most 

 lifelike; and, alas, circumstances over which 

 I have no control will probably never permit 

 my doing so, though firmly believing in its 

 efficacy at times when managed by the expert. 

 While assuming no pretensions to cleverness, 

 having simply acquired mediocrity, I concede J 

 53 



