Introduction 



very generally in America as an Eng- 

 lisli "fad," of value when used on the 

 British chalk streams, but unsuitable 

 for our American waters. This I be- 

 lieve to be a very great mistake. To 

 my personal knowledge, on certain 

 streams, and under certain conditions, 

 the dry-fly angler is successful when 

 the wet fly fisherman fails; while in 

 many cases the wet fly angler who be- 

 comes expert with the floating lure 

 never returns to the use of the sunken 



fly. 



In this work the author will confine 

 himself as closely as possible to his sub- 

 ject, the floating fly. The beauties of 

 nature, one of the chief attractions, if 

 not the principal pleasure, of a day on 

 the trout stream, may be well left to 

 such poetic pens as those of Dr. Henry 

 van Dyke, and other masters of Eng- 

 lish literature, while the habits of trout 



[xvi] 



