110 



is small and clear, small black and dark-coloured 

 flies are to "be preferred. 



Wherever fly-fishing is practised in England, 

 Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, and Ame- 

 ricait has been ascertained from experience that 

 the best flies are those which are not dressed pro- 

 fessedly in imitation of any particular living insect. 

 Red, black, and brown hackles ; and flies with wings 

 of the bittern's, .mallard's, partridge's woodcock's, 

 grouse's, bald-coat's, martin's, or blue-hen's feathers, 

 with dubbing of brown,, yellow, or orange, occasionally 

 blended, and hackles, red, brown, or black, under the 

 wings, are the most useful flies that an angler can 

 use, in day-light, on any stream, all the year through. 

 For night fishing, in lakes or in "weils," as long still 

 pools are called in the North, no fly is better than a 

 white hackle. The directions given in books to beat 

 the bushes by the side of the stream, to see what 

 fly is on the water, and to open a fish's stomach, 

 to see what kind of a fly the fish has been feeding 

 on, that the angler may put on a similar one or 

 dress an imitation at the water side, are not deserv- 

 ing of the least attention. The angler, when he goes 

 out a fly-fishing, must be guided in his selection of 

 flies by the state of the water, whether clear or 

 dull, smooth or ruffled by a breeze; and also by 

 the state of the weather, as it may be cloudy or 

 bright. When the water is clear, and the day rather 

 bright, small flies and hackles of a dark shade are 

 most likely to prove successful, if used with a fine 



