66 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



sents the female imago after it has voided its eggs, or 

 the male imago when its share of the work of procrea- 

 tion is complete, should float down in its natural 

 position with wings laid flat and at right angles to 

 the line of the body. A new fly which has never 

 been wetted will float naturally at the first cast if it 

 is placed lightly on the surface. After it has once 

 been on the stream it will probably have collected 

 some water, and in order to make it float it will 

 require to be freed from adherent moisture, as pointed 

 out in the chapter on "Casting," by waving it back- 

 wards and forwards in the air. 



A sunk fly is constructed to absorb moisture 

 from the water, and is de- 

 Definition of a sunk fly. signedly allowed to sink 



to a greater or lesser depth 

 below the surface. The modern theory is that these 

 patterns are taken by the fish for the nymphse or 

 pupae ^-these being the scientific names of the im- 

 mature insects at the stage immediately preceding 

 the wino-ed form. 



I do not pretend to speak, with any semblance of 

 authority on wet-fly fishing. My first introdUctioit 

 to fly-fishing was on the Wandle where, for the last 

 half century or more, the floating fly has been ex- 

 clusively used, and later on the Test, Itchen and 

 other south-country chalk-streams my allegiance to 

 the floating fly has never wavered . for a moment. 

 Candidly, however, the presence of wings in sunk 

 fly patterns has puzzled me, because in my ex- 



