SECRETS OF THE SALMON 



Dusty Miller, and Wilkinson. J. J. Hill used to say- 

 he did not care what flies he had as long as he had 

 plenty of Silver Greys. The Jock Scott and Black 

 Dose are fairly brilliant in the water, while the 

 fairies are dark. It makes almost no difference 

 which of the flies of the dark or light pattern you 

 use, the size is all important. You should carry 

 flies from No. 12 to No. 00. I carry Nos. 12, 10, 

 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 00. I have few of the larger flies, 

 and a good many of Nos. 6 to 10. I use mostly 

 Nos. 8 and 6 when wet-fly fishing is good. In the 

 high water the large flies are necessary or the fish 

 won't see them. Under these conditions you can- 

 not do well with small flies. For those who do 

 not know the hook sizes by numbers. Figure 11 

 gives the actual sizes. 



I am often asked by both trout and salmon 

 fishermen my opinion on the theory of exact 

 imitation of insects in flies and whether color is of 

 great importance. In order to make my view clear 

 of the various factors entering into the attractive- 

 ness of the fly to a fish, I shall arrange them in 

 what I consider the order of their relative impor- 

 tance. I began on the theory of exact imitation 

 and followed it for years; first in the imitation of 

 the fly, and next in the imitation of the action of 



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