AMERICAN TROUT-STREAM INSECTS 



The shad-fly, during the great flight, is the most 

 abundant trout insect food that appears during the 

 entire season, on our Eastern, and some Middle 

 and far Western, streams. For that reason it truly 

 merits a more detailed description than any other 

 trout insect. Trout are always ravenous for it, yet 

 a true imitation of this handsome fly has never been 

 made. 



Numerous and varied are the reasons for its name 

 of shad-fly. My old friend, William Keener, a 

 famous fly-fisherman of Roscoe, N. Y., says this 

 typical aquatic insect has been known as the shad- 

 fly for seventy years at least, and it is so named 

 because its flight occurs just at the time when the 

 shad arrive at the headwaters of the Delaware 

 River to spawn ; while so doing they feed upon this 

 fly, thereby attaining a fat and sleek appearance 

 after spawning time is over. 



A second reason for the name is that the flight 

 occurs exactly when the beautiful white woodland 

 blossom known as "shad-blow" sheds its white 

 petals, to be blown by the wind on the water's sur- 

 face, lightly floating downstream. 



Thirdly, the name was given because the egg- 

 sack attached to the body of the female is very 

 much hke shad roe in shape and appearance, except 

 that the color is green. 



Of course, the shad-fly appears on rivers where 

 no shad spawn or shad-blow trees grow. 



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