NORTHERN INLAND FISHES. 297 



will be thrown in vain. The fish will regard with contemplative 

 indifference every other lure but a close imitation of that particular 

 insect. 



" One evening we sat on the bank of a creek, bug net in hand, 

 watching the trout and the birds of the air feeding on a neurop- 

 terous insect that is constantly repeating the cycle of its life, 



* As yet unknown to fame. 

 And guiltless of a Latin name.' 



The stream was in eddying whirls of ripples from the constant ' leap- 

 ing ' of the trout. Now and then one bolder than the rest would 

 dash out of the water its full length to seize its departing prey, 

 which sometimes escaped to become a precious morsel in the 

 mandibles of a watching bird. Many of these insects would float 

 on with the current, never able to unfold their soft creamy wings, 

 and become easy victims. On the opposite bank was an angler. 

 For an hour in patience he whipped the stream, now up, now down, 

 with 'red hackles,' 'white hackles,' ' black hackles ;' he changed 

 fly after fly in vain. At length he folded his rod and passed away 

 among the shadows of the night, without so much as a bite, with- 

 out so much as a chance to tell of the big fish ' hooked ' but lost. 

 " There are many aquatic insects double brooded, or under 

 favorable circumstances, of a succession of broods. Imitations 

 of such can be used throughout the summer months. There are 

 many insects that do not breed in water, yet are successful baits. 

 As a rule, insects that appear in large numbers, whether they 

 belong to land or water, are the proper ones for imitation. Soli- 

 tary specimens, although dear to the heart of an entomologist, are 

 eyed by the fish with haughty indifference. Water is a great 

 attraction for all insect tribes. The banks of streams constitutf 

 the favorite hunting ground for insect collectors where, they com- 

 pete with the fish, those practical entomologists, in collecting, 

 Some insects come to drink, others in search of prey, for insects 

 are cannibals, while very many are the sport of the winds. It is 

 probably the bright sheen of the water that draws the fluttering 

 moths into its depths. All nocturnal insects have a strange infat- 

 uation for glistening light. What the attraction is for some is 

 beyond the ken of mortals. A TipuUda bibri marci, or in pisca- 

 torial language, the hawthorn fly, an insect, whose life is beneath 



13* 



