262 FLIES AND KNOTS. 



body, and I hit on them accidentally after trying a great 

 variety. 



Hackles, in our Long Island ponds, are, by universal 

 testimony, a failure, and the palmers worthless; and 

 throughout the breadth and length of our country, the 

 winged flies are vastly preferable. The hackles and 

 palmers are intended to represent the caterpillars, which 

 our fish very sensibly ignore alongside of the innumer- 

 able beautiful, delicate and gaudy flies, and which under 

 no circumstances are found except in the fresh-water 

 brooks. Through all the early Spring^ the stomachs 

 of the trout will be found filled with the shells of the 

 caddis, and these, if they could be obtained, would 

 doubtless be a killing bait. Fortunately they cannot be, 

 and are not to my knowledge used here at all. 



In our mountain streams the fish are generally 

 extremely numerous, though small, and will eagerly 

 seize any fly presented to them, vying with one another 

 to be first. The following is a good assortment, and will, 

 in addition to those already mentioned, be sufficient for 

 all waters : The alder-fly, English partridge hackle, 

 hackles of all colors, red and black ants, the devil-fly 

 with a yellow body, the tail of one red and one black 

 whisk, black hackles and red and black, wings, dark 

 mackerel, red spinner, English blue jay, fern-fly, orange 

 dun, the camlets of various colors, grey, dun and black 

 midges, the coachman, the stone-fly, the May-flies, 

 millers for night-work, the sand-fly, the various other 

 duns, the turkey brown, and a large light grey fly. 



As each maker employs different colors and feathers 

 for the same fly, these descriptions are rather indefinite ; 



