86 THE WAY OF A TROUT WITH A FLY 



a logical system of imitating the natural insect in its natural 

 surroundings. This does not eliminate the winged fly 

 altogether. It can be fished dry or when the trout are 

 taking the natural fly on the surface, though even then I 

 incline to think that the nymph will frequently be pre- 

 ferred. A new Ronalds is called for to classify and illus- 

 trate the successive series of nymphs and larvae for the 

 benefit of anglers. Let him stand forth ! 



But even without our nymphal Ronalds let us try and 

 see what can be done by the application of the sheer light 

 of common sense. Let us suppose that all the lore of 

 centuries is cancelled out, and the angler sitting down to 

 construct, without reference to the past, a system of trout- 

 fly dressing. What would he evolve ? 



He would first, I conceive, ascertain what appetites or 

 emotions lead a trout to take the artificial fly, and he 

 would conclude that they were (i) hunger, (2) caprice or 

 wantonness, (3) curiosity, and (4) tyranny or rapacity. 

 For the purpose of exciting caprice, curiosity, or rapacity, 

 he would evolve the fancy fly, and that might not be 

 unlike some of the more conspicuous artificial flies of the 

 present day, either brightly coloured or active in motion 

 of its parts, or both. For the representations of insects 

 appealing to hunger, and occasionally to caprice or wanton- 

 ness, he would have to make a first-hand study of the food 

 of the trout when freshly taken. He would net a series 

 of trout at the middle or end of a rise, and analyze the 

 insect contents of their stomachs. If, then, he found — as 

 he would find — that 95 per cent, of the Ephemeridae there 

 to be found had been intercepted before their wings had 

 emerged, it is safe to assume that he would not give the 

 numerous varieties of nymph the go-by without seeing 

 whether it were not in fact possible to reproduce them on 

 a hook with sufficient exactitude to induce the trout to 



