234 THE SALMON FLY. 



" Not so with us on the Lochy," another remarked. " We think it 

 best there to use a good showy pattern in dull weather, like the ' Silver 

 Doctor.' ' 



" Exactly so," I observed to the latter. " And by your universal 

 practice you have unfortunately brought the fish found to your way of 

 thinking." 



Then in Highland tones I was asked 



" What system would be advantageous on the Dee ? " 



" None," I replied, " beyond that in connection with contrast. The 

 legislator forms an estimate from the multitude of rivers, not from the 

 select few. But do not forget the ' March brown' in* its season." 



" I know nothing about system," a well-known Spey-angler said ; 

 " at any rate, we use thin wings on cold days." 



" At Macroom, we study ' colour ' and ' character.' One day they 

 come at blue bodies, another at grey ones ; but we don't know till we 

 try." 



Elsewhere I was complimented by the observation that Wye men 

 had but little faith in any system until I introduced the " Wye Grub" 

 and the " Sun fly," which, by their frequent success under certain con- 

 ditions, created quite a stir in some of the districts. 



And so I went on until I obtained a fair amount of confirmation, 

 which I fully expected, from one source or another. 



Now I look upon it that the diversity of these opinions, and the very 

 opinions themselves, go to support my view of the value of system, to 

 illustrate which this book is chiefly written. 



The question seems to be this : Should the inquiring Angler fall a 

 victim to men whose ingenuity and skill extend no further than, say, from 

 Loch Tay to Perth, where, for even twenty years, they have diligently 

 trailed their half-dozen flies at the stern of a boat ; or to others, whose 

 means are neither more nor better than experience picked up on two, 

 three, or may be four rivers ? I must answer boldly. No ; for I am fully 

 of the opinion that the man who has fished as many as a dozen rivers, 

 unless they had been specially selected for the purpose, cannot possibly have 

 derived sufficient knowledge to deal in a satisfactory manner with a mean 

 proportion of cases constantly cropping up. Put him at Macroom, for 



