FEBRUARY 21 



The experiences of two or three seasons 

 are sufficient to make any observant 

 person perceive that the relations of the 

 trout to the flies are at all times governed 

 by natural laws. Are the fish not rising ? 

 There is a reason. Are they rising very 

 well ? There is a reason. In either case 

 the reason is theoretically ascertainable. 

 There is never any element of freakish- 

 ness in the conduct of the trout. 



These statements have been denied by 

 men entitled to speak as with authority. 

 See, for example, what is said on Angling 

 in the 1908 May number of The Edinburgh 

 Review. It is argued that your box or book 

 cannot usefully hold flies of more than 

 a few patterns. The few are a variable 

 number, ranging from half-a-dozen to 

 three dozen ; while even the longest list 

 represents only a small selection of the 

 insects on which trout feed, This is an 

 assurance that a lure, to be successful, does 

 not need to be particularly like the insect 

 on which the trout are feeding. The 

 authorities, it is true, make exception in 



