92 STUDENT OF THE KULE-O'-THUMB SCHOOL. 



only to be disappointed. I have seen trout behave in a 

 similar manner when the flies used were either improper 

 for the season or badly executed representatives of 

 the natural insect. 



I once witnessed for some time the operations of a 

 student of the " rule-o'-thumb" schoql, who maintain that 

 a certain fly that will kill well on one occasion, will be an 

 equal favourite at any other time, whip the water for more 

 than a couple of miles on a fine roving gloomy day (just 

 made on purpose for sport) in the month of May, with 

 brown and dark duns, which he had found efficient in 

 March, without creeling more than half-a-dozen troutlets, 

 little larger than full-grown minnows, although he pro- 

 bably had a whole gross of rises. As there was such a 

 rough curl on the water that the trout could scarcely 

 distinguish one fly from another, until they came into 

 close proximity to them, they consequently rose at his 

 cast ; but almost every one that did so, immediately 

 wheeled short round, on discovering that the fly offered 

 had either left the water a couple of months previously, 

 or otherwise was some fanciful creation of the human 

 imagination. Had he used the proper flies for the 

 season, properly dressed, on such an auspicious day, he 

 might probably have done, what I did on the same 

 occasion, speedily filled his pannier. 



SMALL FLIES. 



I have often been surprised at the singularly metho- 

 dical manner in which trout feed at certain seasons ; 



