INTRODUCTORY, 21 



May-fly proper, which sits upon the water like some stately 

 winged queen from fairy land, is not common in Yorkshire ; 

 specimens are annually seen, but there is no general rise 

 of them throughout the three Ridings. The natural insect 

 is fished by some expert anglers on certain rivers of the 

 county,. notably the Ure, the Drifrleld Beck, and formerly 

 the Aire. Of late years, however, it has been by no 

 means numerous on the last-named river. It is a very 

 deadly bait in skilful hands ; but no imitations, not even 

 the floating May-flies of the south are ever very satis- 

 factory to the fisherman. In the cases of a few other flies 

 which are absent, they have been omitted because ex- 

 perience has proved that though any of them will kill, and 

 perhaps kill well at times, they are not generally worth 

 consideration. 



It only remains to be said that the illustrations on the 

 following plates have been very carefully copied from flies 

 dressed by various Yorkshire makers. The originals, or 

 others like them, have done service on half the rivers and 

 lakes of England and Scotland, and have never failed to give 

 a satisfactory account of themselves, despite the lugubrious 

 warnings of local hands that "they were no use there." You 

 will be told this probably on every new river visited ; yet 

 may you safely fish your own flies and laugh to scorn the 

 dismal prophecies of anglers who believe that the trout in 

 their own river differ in their choice of flies from those of 

 any other river in the universe. 



