76 THe Determined Angler 



do not care; it is" the motion, the apparent endeavor 

 of the^fly to get out of that watery prison that airouses 

 the fish's blood. However, Halford says: 'The 

 modern theory is that these patterns (the wet flies) 

 are taken by the fish for the nymphae or pupae these 

 being the scientific names of the immature insects at 

 the stage immediately preceding the winged form. . . . 

 Candidly, however, the presence of the wings in the 

 sunk fly pattern has puzzled me, because in my 

 experience I have never seen the winged insects 

 submerged by the action of the stream. Sedges do at 

 times descend to oviposit and so do certain spinners, 

 but the appearance under this condition, with an air 

 bubble between their wings, resembles nothing so 

 much as a globe of mercury an appearance which 

 bears no resemblance to the ordinary sunk fly pat- 

 terns.' I have been strictly a devotee to the wet-fly 

 form, and always hold that it is the better fly for our 

 swift Western streams; in the wet form certainly it is 

 the better fly two thirds of the time. Still, glassy 

 pools, even smooth waters, come few and far between, 

 but, where they are, there the dry fly is a valuable 

 addition to the Angler's outfit. You might change 

 my article (in the paragraph in question) to read 

 thus : ' The wide range of difference between some wet 

 flies and the dry fly lies in the fact that a good number 

 of wet flies are an imitation of no special thing active 

 and living, while the majority of the dry flies purport 

 to be an imitation of natural flies.' This would exclude 

 the wet flies that make good dry flies, namely the 

 suggested millers, gnats, etc. It would be interesting 

 to know the number of captures made with wet flies 

 as they fall lightly to water and for a moment ride the 

 brim. Captures have been made wherein two thirds 



