ORDINAKY METHOD OF FISHING. 63 



may be mentioned as a rule, that the nearer the 

 motions of the artificial flies resemble those of the 

 natural ones under similar circumstances, the greater 

 will be the prospects of success. Whatever trout 

 take the artificial fly for, it 'is obvious they are much 

 more likely to be deceived by a natural than by an 

 unnatural motion. 



No method of angling can imitate the hovering 

 flight of an insect along the surface of the water, 

 now just touching it, then flying a short distance, 

 and so on ; and for the angler to attempt by any 

 motion of his hand to give his flies a living appear- 

 ance is mere absurdity. The only moment when 

 trout may mistake the angler's fly for a real one in 

 its flight, is the moment it first touches the water ; 

 and in this respect fishing down possesses equal 

 advantages with fishing up. But this is the only 

 respect, and in order to illustrate this, we shall give 

 a brief description of fly-fishing as usually practised 

 down stream. 



The angler, then, we shall suppose, commences 

 operations at the head of a pool or stream, and, 

 throwing his flies as far as he can across from where 

 he is standing, raises his rod and brings them 

 gradually to his own side of the water. He then 

 steps down a yard or two, repeats the process, and 

 so on. Having dismissed the idea that the angler 

 can imitate the flight of a living fly along the sur- 

 face of the water, we must suppose that trout take 

 the artificial fly for a dead one, or one which has 



