122 THE WAY OF A TROUT WITH A FLY 



or hatched out. In fishing his team of flies upstream the 

 skilled wet-fly fisherman does not let his flies dwell long 

 enough to be deeply submerged, and he humours his line 

 so that the droppers are kept in the skin of the surface of 

 the water, and are brought down, head upstream, in 

 advance of the gut cast. In this case the flies are taken 

 either, as they alight, as natural flies afloat on the surface, 

 or later in the skin of the surface, perhaps as flies in the 

 act of hatching. 



If the artificial winged fly becomes quite submerged it 

 may still be taken, for the water is generally fast ; the trout 

 has to make up his mind in a flash to take the fly or to 

 let it go, and the trout is not so clever a person as to 

 measure closely whether the fly be semi-submerged or an 

 inch or so under water. 



The hackled North-Country pattern does not necessarily 

 represent a submerged fly, but one in process of hatching 

 or hatched out, and caught by the current and tumbled. 

 Again, the trout, busy in making the most of his meal- 

 time, does not make fine distinctions. Often, too, no 

 doubt, the dibbing dropper attracts by suggesting some- 

 thing alive and in difficulties. 



In any case, the winged artificial fly, by its bulk, and 

 the hackled artificial fly, by its kick and action, are apt in 

 rough water to attract more attention to themselves than 

 would a bald imitation or representation of the nymph. 



Moreover, for one natural fly that goes down over an 

 individual trout, he is apt to see a number of nymphs. 

 Every fisherman who has fished during a strong hatch of 

 any attractive insect knows how little chance his floating 

 imitation of that insect stands of being taken among the 

 crowd of natural insects. In the same way a bare imita- 

 tion of a nymph would come into competition with many 

 natural nymphs, and stand a comparatively poor chance of 



