162 MAY-FLY FISHING. 



on three. They are very tender, and must be used 

 with great delicacy, as the least jerk in casting will 

 break them ; and if the angler strikes, he will 

 require to bait anew, as the mere drawing through 

 the water mutilates them. 



The flies float upon the surface of the water, so 

 that they cannot be used exactly like a bait, but 

 are used in a similar manner. Casting them up 

 from him, the angler should allow them to come 

 down a short distance, and then cast again further 

 up. If the flies are coming down with their wings 

 out of the water, the trout make a fair rise at them, 

 but, what is rather singular, a.nd quite unaccountable, 

 rarely take a proper hold. It is better to have the 

 flies thoroughly soaked and under the surface, when 

 the trout take them in a much more deadly manner ; 

 and the first indication the angler sometimes receives 

 is a stoppage of the line, when he should slacken 

 for a moment or two ; then strike down stream, and 

 be very careful in landing, as the fish thus taken 

 are always large and strong. 



If the water is clear, the angler should fish in 

 the same places as with the creeper, with this 

 difference, that he will meet with success in the 

 streamy portions of pools, casting up stream to 

 within half-a-foot of the deep edge. The best casts, 

 however, in any condition of water, are where the 

 stream runs below the bank. There trout may be 

 depended upon, if the angler casts to within a foot 

 of the edge; and as the current is not so strong at 



