THE basses: fres h-w ater and marine 



cock, used always as a second fly, — that nearer the 

 rod, — has bright yellow wings, in striking contrast 

 to the black head and hackle which is carried on by 

 a streak of black up the yellow wing. With its 

 body of bright scarlet with twisted gold thread and 

 its black tail, it is both a gracefully built and a strik- 

 ingly handsome fly. I used it with a silver doctor 

 as end fly, and, on this cast of flies, landed fish. 



These flies, with the six Orvis flies pictured on 

 the plate, were specially tested by the writer, in 

 swift-running, cold water of the BeaverkiU a few 

 miles above its junction with the Delaware, and 

 while, of course, this was not conclusive, it was found 

 that the silver doctor, by both makers, was far 

 ahead in the number of rises and of fish caught, in 

 the morning or the evening, on duU or bright days. 

 When I changed back to this successful lure, it 

 seemed to be as enticing to trout as to bass, — the 

 brown as well as the fontinalis, or brook, trout, 

 while the ever-voracious chub, that rises to any fly, 

 took a particular liking to this fly. One large fish 

 weighing over three pounds, after a gamy resist- 

 ance, was brought to the net, and, on extracting the 

 hook, he disgorged a good-sized mouse or young 

 rat that, no doubt, in swimming across the stream, 

 had just fallen a victim. The brown palmer, used 

 as a second or upper fly, hooked a number of fish. 

 Another cast, made up of the grizzly king and 

 Lord Baltimore, was not so effective, but attracted 



140 



