FLIES. 67 



them to float, and the leaders are of the finest gut, such 

 delicate tackle that the uninitiated would think it too weak 

 to catch minnows with, yet the largest trout and ouananiche 

 are taken with them when properly handled. The object is 

 to correctly imitate the flies that the fish are feeding on, in 

 size, form and color, and to keep it on the surface of the 

 water like a live fly. For these the looped snells would be 

 bad, as the loops would make as much disturbance of water 

 as the fly itself. Dry flies are not yet much used in this 

 country, but are arousing more interest among the fly fisher- 

 men each season. 



Fly on Hook No. 14. JFly on Hook No. 12. 



Floating or Dry Flies, For Trout. 



The ordinary trout flies are tied on numbers 6, 8 and 10 

 hooks, as a rule. A No. 8 Sneck or Sproat hook is about 

 right for general use. Midge flies as small as the English 

 dry flies are also made in this country and these are very 

 successful in small streams, where the fish are small and shy. 

 They are of the more sombre colored patterns as a rule. 



Bass flies are tied on much larger hooks and many be- 

 lieve that they would be better on smaller sizes. For the 

 northern black bass they are usually tied on Nos. 2, 4 and 6 

 hooks, and No. 4 is most used. For southern waters, where 

 the large mouth bass only are found, and they of very large 

 size, flies are tied on Nos. 1/0, 3/0 and 5/0 hooks. These 



