THE FLY 71 



to the weight of his creel. The much feared drag, at 

 least, must surely be of trifling moment since it is a 

 spectacle to which the trout are thoroughly accustomed. 

 In the obvious wake by which the water-cricket, the 

 caddis-fly, the whirligig-beetle, and many other insects 

 betray their course along the water the fish see nothing 

 to excite their fears. It is true that a fly floating pas- 

 sively on the stream does not produce a drag, but the 

 trout is unlikely to flee from it in ridiculous alarm if on 

 some rare occasion it should provide him with such 

 evidence of active life. Mr. W. Earl Hodgson relates 

 the following incident: — "When," he says, "it was 

 time to ofo in for luncheon at Swinford Old Manor I 

 had only one trout. My friend had seven splendid 

 fish nearly a pound in weight to lay before the Poet 



Laureate's delighted gaze. As Captain L , I had 



noticed, had been casting down stream and making 

 the fly run up against the current by long pulls, this 

 was a surprise to me, but the explanation, exceedingly 

 instructive, was at hand. ' What fly ? ' asked our host 

 enthusiastically. ' I do not know its name, but here it 

 is,' answered the fisherman." The lure was a water- 

 cricket. I quite agree with Mr. Hodgson that his 

 friend's success with a fly which produced a drag on 

 the water, and such a drag, was exceedingly instructive, 



