220 FLY-MAKING. 



thovough entomologists, the scientific fisherman will 

 always prefer to use a fly which exists in the watei's 

 he frequents, to an English resemblance, restricted 

 i:ierhaps to a confined locality some thousands of 

 miles away. As a general rule, there is no doubt 

 that the best imitations of the fly the fish are taking 

 will be the most successful ; yet there are excep- 

 tions, of which the ibis fly is a glaring instance. It 

 is also desirable at times to vary the sizes of flies, 

 and to make the imitations larger than the living 

 flies — when, for instance, the water is rough or thick; 

 but these variations are not of absolute importance. 



No. 1. The Blue Dun. 

 This fly is the earliest American ephemera, and 

 may be found on warm days in February. In 

 March it is abundant. It lives three or four days, 

 and then becomes the red spinner. 



Imitation. 



Body. — Mouse-colored mohair, spun very thinly 

 on yellow silk. 



Tail. — Two fibres of gray mallard. 



Wings. — From a quill-feather of the robin's wing. 

 The third or fourth feather with a tinge of reddish 

 brown at the extremity of the fibre. 



Xiegs. — Two or three turns of a blue or ginger 

 dun hackle. One side of the hackle may be stripped 

 ofi'for the ephemeridce. 



No. 2. The Red Spinnee. 

 This is the blue dun in its perfect or imago state. 



