SOME FLY DRESSING 109 



and offered it to a trout under my own bank. The cast 

 was a bad one, and the fly went under a full yard outside 

 the trout, but without hesitation he sailed over and gulped 

 it. I wound up with four and a half brace averaging 

 one and a half pounds all on the Iron-blue nymph, and 

 went off without waiting for the evening rise. 



After that I always made it my business to have some 

 Iron-blue nymphs so dressed, and they have been worth 

 many a good trout to me. 



In and after May, when the iron blue comes on, it will 

 very often be found that the floating subimago is neglected, 

 but that there are splashy, agitated, rather violent rises 

 occurring at some not at all obvious attractions. If the 

 angler is wise, he will have had his Iron-blue nymph in 

 soak and will lose no time in attaching it, and he need not 

 be surprised if his fish comes some way off his beat to 

 collect it. 



2. A GOOD SMALL OLIVE. 



The July Dun nymph described on p. 32 of " Minor 

 Tactics of the Chalk Stream " has proved a consistent killer, 

 dressed with and without gold wire as therein described. 



The floating subimago I tried to imitate with a darkish 

 variety of a stock pattern of olive, which in a range of shades 

 from light to dark I have found fish well from the middle of 

 April to the end of the season. This is the stock pattern : 



Hook. — No. o or 00 (Shape No. B. 7362 Bartleet). 



Hackle. — Greenish- olive cock. 



Body. — Primrose or yellow tying silk. 



Rib. — Fine gold wire, several turns like a Green well's 

 Glory. 



Whisk. — Greenish-olive cock. 



Wings. — Starling primary, palest to darkest. 



The entire fly should be tied so as to be in keeping — 

 all dark, all medium, or all light. 



