RULE FOR SELECTING FLIES. 79 



it, previous to one o'clock in the afternoon. Or 

 let him continue to fish with the March browns and 

 dark duns, which he found so killing in the forenoon, 

 after the appearance of the dun drake in the after- 

 noon, and see what his success will be : probably not 

 one fish ; or if any, only a few pigmies of half an ounce 

 each. It no doubt appears very strange that the same 

 identical fly, which had so fine a flavour at two o'clock 

 in the afternoon, as to excite the appetite of every fish 

 in the water, and to make every piscine mouth water 

 for a taste of it, should not be equally palatable at ten 

 o'clock in the morning ; but no, this seems not to be 

 in accordance with the ideas of the piscine gout ; and 

 like the epicures of a higher class, they not only prefer 

 the proper delicacies at the proper season, but must have 

 a change of diet throughout the day. And after all, 

 there is nothing in reality more singular or absurd in 

 trout preferring to breakfast off March brown, lunch off 

 dark dun, and dine off dun drake (without onion sauce) ; 

 than for a human gastronome to assign potted lobster and 

 coffee, fried cutlets, and beef, mutton, or venison, to his 

 three corresponding meals, at such seasons as they are best. 

 As a general rule for the guidance of the fly-fisher 

 in his choice of lures, I would say that he will almost 

 invariably find that those flies which have last appeared 

 upon the water, especially a day or two after their first 

 debut, will be in the greatest request by the .fish, while 

 the previous favourites will become nearly if not entirely 

 disregarded. The last three flies that have appeared 

 should be used on the cast, and the sportsman who 



