94 BEST'S ART OF ANGLING. 



The imitations of nature, in regard to the flies ne- 

 cessary for use suiting the different colours so ex- 

 actly as to resemble the natural fly ; and observ- 

 ing the greatest nicety in regard to its symmetry, 

 contribute to make it still more delightful. 

 Whenever he makes a fly, let him have the 

 natural one always before him, which will enable 

 him to be a competent judge of the materials most 

 necessary to dub it with; a list of which, and of 

 the best way to make the Palmer and May-fly, 

 (which are the ground of artificial fly-angling, I 

 shall give him by and by) ; for if he is not able to 

 make his own flies, he never will be a good fly- 

 fisher, nor experience that pleasure, which he 

 will receive by taking fishes with one of his own 

 making. He must never think a fly ill made be- 

 cause it will not kill fishes as well in any other 

 river as that he particularly angles in ; because 

 the same flies differ very much both in colour and 

 size in different counties; besides which, flies 

 that will be taken on their peculiar water one 

 year in April, will perhaps not be taken in the 

 next till the middle of May, the whole depend- 

 ing on the warmth or coldness of the season. 

 Mr. Taylor in his treatise, where he describes the 

 superiority of fly-fishing to the other branches 

 of angling, with great humour observes, that the 

 angler is surprised, at the manner in which the 

 fish take the flies ; and by seeing their surprise, 

 when they find they are hooked, by rising at the 

 flies ! I shall proceed to give the angler a descrip- 

 tion of the rods and lines best calculated for 

 artificial fly-fishing ; but before I do, shall make 

 this one observation : that theory, without prac- 

 tice, can never make a man a proficient. 



