TROUT FLIES IN APRIL 



From the Atlantic to the Pacific of the temperate 

 zone the prevaihng temperature at all seasons of 

 the year is so entirely different from that in Eng- 

 land that nothing in English fishing literature can 

 be applied to our streams. Our mountain rivers 

 and lakes freeze over to a depth of 16 to 20 inches 

 in winter, to break up in ice gorges and floods in 

 spring, while the summer heat and periodical 

 droughts produce conditions upon aquatic insects 

 and fish life that are inconceivable to the British 

 angler. 



The awakening of spring is erratic. We cannot 

 always rely on days in April balmy enough — espe- 

 cially in mountain regions — to produce a rise of 

 trout flies. But in sheltered, sunny places there are 

 a few early, hardy flies flitting about in cold 

 weather, for a few hours around midday. Most 

 of these flies are small and dark in color. If you 

 try a fair imitation, even in places where they are 

 not on the wing, trout do sometimes rise to them; 

 but not till the snow-water has run out. Later on, 

 thousands of browns and duns which have left the 

 creeper state and are lying sheltered under stones, 

 waiting for the warmth, appear in flight quite sud- 

 denly after a couple of days' warm weather. 



The first fish to rise to the artificial fly are the 

 little redfins, and another day or two of fine weather 

 the native speckled or rainbow trout may be seen 

 feeding at the surface. 



21 



