MARCH FLIES 143 



March is quite early enough to begin fly-fishing ; * for though 

 they do begin in Devonshire in February, yet, as the ghost of 

 Giles Scroggins said to Molly, when she objected to go with 

 him because she was not dead, " That's no rule." One of the 

 first flies found abroad, particularly in the midland counties' 

 streams, is 



The February Red. For a representation of the natural 

 fly, see Plate VIII, Fig. 12, page 134. I have the dressing of 

 this fly from Mr. Ackers, the president of the Leintwardine 

 Club, as it is much in favour in that part of the country. It 

 belongs to the Perlidae, and is a member of the same family 

 as the great stone fly, the smaller willow fly, and the still 

 smaller needle brown. Their wings, of which they have two 

 sets, are hard, horny, and shining, and are folded flat on the 

 back in a very small space ; and, though comparatively small- 

 looking insects when at rest, when on the wing their appear- 

 ance is greatly increased by the double allowance of wings. 

 Body, two turns of dirty claret red mohair at the tail, and 

 medium brown mohair, with a strand or two of hare's ear and 

 claret thrown in for the rest of the body.f Hackle, dark 

 grizzled blue dun (cock's) ; wing, a slip from the back of the 

 peahen ; hook, No. 9 or 10, or larger for rough weather. 



The Blue Dun (see Plate VIII, Fig. 4, p. 134). This is perhaps 

 one of the best known and most generally used flies in the 

 kingdom. It is known equally as the early dark dun, the 

 hare's ear, and the cock-tail. In Lancashire, Cumberland, 

 and that district, it is the blue and olive bloa ; in Yorkshire, 

 the blue drake ; in Devonshire, the hare's pluck, the hare's 

 fleck, and the blue upright ; in fact, its names are as endless 

 as those of the salmon fry, and it is a common favourite upon 

 every river from Caithness to Cornwall. It varies slightly in 

 colour according to the temperature and season. If the day 

 be cold and bleak, it has a darker tinge than in warmer and 

 more genial weather. Grizzled fibres pulled from the hare's 

 ear are favourite materials for the body, and these are warped 

 in sometimes with yellow silk and sometimes with olive silk, 

 so that the colour may be seen which gives the variety required. 

 This makes rather a rougher body than I like ; I prefer silk 

 as more natural, as the body of the fly is unquestionably 



* I should like to read May in this sentence instead of March. There are 

 very few waters indeed where large trout are in decent condition before May. 

 Small fish pick up condition more quickly, but ist May is quite early enough 

 for the Hampshire trout streams. ED. 



t On the Tweed it is called May fly. ED. 



