ARTIFICIAL FLIES 



PERHAPS many of the flies mentioned in this 

 book may be different from those which the 

 reader has been accustomed to fish with, or 

 made in a different way. But let it be remem- 

 bered, that of all insects there are two kinds, 

 male and female, often very different both in 

 size and colour, and perhaps in some cases I 

 may have described the one, and in some the 

 other; however, they are all painted from 

 nature, and I hope faithfully. 



If you have a choice, it is always best to imi- 

 tate the female fly, as she is larger, and, with 

 her eggs, makes a more tempting morsel. In 

 many kinds, the male, having performed his 

 office, leaves the water and wanders away 

 sometimes I have even seen him in the midst 

 of large towns ; but the female always returns 

 to the water to deposit her eggs and to die. 

 I am speaking now of aquatic flies, which form 

 a large proportion of those imitated by the 

 angler. 



The great majority of fishers have no con- 

 fidence in their own flies, when off their usual 

 beat. Perhaps they travel four or five hundred 

 miles to a river, and see upon the water half a 

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