THE WHY 



II 



THE WHY 



The question why the trout takes the artificial fly is 

 another question altogether and deserves a separate 

 examination. Speaking generally, it takes the fly as food. 

 But it may be induced to take it from hunger (deceived by 

 its resemblance to the natural insect), as in the case of the 

 floating fly or the sunken nymph ; from hunger (attracted by 

 the motion of a tripped or dragging sunk fly rather than by 

 any close resemblance to a natural insect) ; from curiosity 

 (attracted by some fancy pattern, such as Wickham's Fancy, 

 or Red Tag) ; from rapacity (excited by the spectacle of 

 some big dragging fly) ; from tyranny (induced by the 

 spectacle of something seemingly alive and in distress) — or 

 there may be a combination of some or all of these motives. 

 The angler will, therefore, be wise who considers, in relation 

 to the water it is his privilege to fish, on which of these 

 motives he can most profitably place reliance, and adjusts 

 his methods accordingly. In some waters the fish are 

 generally risers. In others, where the appeal of the fly is 

 more commonly to motives other than hunger, they are 

 strikers. The American angler seldom uses the term " rise." 

 He has " a strike." And it may be believed that the term 

 is just. A book of American trout flies shows a large 

 majority of them to be fancy flies, appealing to curiosity, 

 rapacity, tyranny, or jealousy, rather than to hunger. 

 There are British waters and parts of waters where strikers are 

 more common than risers. For instance, in a slow, almost 

 still, mill-head the trout, moving about on the bottom 

 or at the surface in search of food, will (unless smutting) 

 with difficulty be tempted to take a floating fly, however 

 good an imitation it be of a natural insect, but will without 



