LAKE FISHING 45 



of flies recommended as being good for lake fishing. 

 Many of them are excellent, but they are mostly un- 

 named and unnamable, so should the reader wish to 

 procure any, he can only be referred to the fishing- 

 tackle shops. It must be added that several flies 

 used as a rule only on rivers often kill well on lakes. 

 Flies such as the gray-dun, red-spinner, March-brown, 

 and the red and black palmers (these two last especi- 

 ally), have often proved their value in Highland loch 

 and English lake. 



As regards size, it is not an easy task to advise ; 

 but flies tied on hooks of sizes from 3 to 8, as 

 shown on the scale on page 106, will as a rule be 

 found most useful. In a gale of wind, it is impossible 

 to say what sized hook may not be used with advan- 

 tage ! A small grilse fly certainly; and it is a fact 

 that when a strong breeze thoroughly gets hold of 

 a Scotch loch, especially if it be in the far north, 

 and one perched up among the mountains, then the 

 big fish come to the surface and feed, while the little 

 ones are conspicuously absent. This applies almost 

 equally to any piece of water in England or elsewhere. 



But to get back to our loch. As it is not a wild 

 day, but there is a nice light breeze flitting about on 

 the surface of the water, it will not be necessary to 

 select too large a size of fly : so two, one with a reddish 



