June 3, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
849 
that it was days before I could' get into condi¬ 
tion to do good work.” 
Rod: “The genuine sportsman well knows 
the importance of keeping his implements in 
proper condition. Before each trip, line and 
leader are carefully examined, and the flies 
which we are to take with us well paraffined. 
And what beauties those flies are, the list in¬ 
cluding those captivating May flies, double¬ 
winged and fully hackled, hares’ ear, March- 
brown, Wickham’s fancy, the various quills, 
gnats and duns, not forgetitng the whirling dun, 
which is without a peer. These are all English 
flies and naturally made to represent the insect 
life found on English waters, but they may be 
used to advantage in this country for want of 
better, for in color and form they are similar 
to the flies and bugs of our own streams, but 
some day there will step forth an advocate of 
the dry fly who is also an entomologist, and then 
we shall have a list of flies thoroughly adapted 
to our own waters. All genuine dry flies should 
be exact reproductions of the insect life found 
a’ong trout waters, and their success is largely 
due to that fact, and also because the fly is made 
to float down with the current in exactly the 
same manner as does the natural insect; where¬ 
as in fishing with the wet fly, very often the fly 
is pulled up stream against the current or diagon¬ 
ally across it, which is certainly contrary to the 
movement to which the trout has become ac¬ 
customed, and he at once becomes shy and is 
on his guard. 
“A trout will rise several times to a dry fly 
if properly cast, but it is a rare event to have a 
trout rise more than once to a wet fly. Changed 
conditions of our nearby trout waters also favor 
the use of the dry fly. Take the Beaverkil', for 
instance, thirty-five years ago when my master 
first knew it. In those days the entire country 
was heavily timbered with hemlock, affording 
dense shade to all the springs and brooks which 
emptied into the main stream, and in conse¬ 
quence the water throughout the summer was 
cold and sparkling with life; the extreme low 
water which we sometimes now experience was 
then unknown. The shores of the stream were 
lined with alder and willow, with an occasional 
majestic hemlock stretching an imperial arm 
across its waters; the play of sunlight and 
shadow a constant delight to the eye. The 
rocks were moss covered and vegetation every¬ 
where in evidence. As a result of such condi¬ 
tions the insect life was vigorous, and bugs and 
flies were hovering over the water at all hours 
of the day. And the trout in consequence were 
feeding on the surface, darting here and there 
and always in evidence. It was a case of jump, 
jump all day long, so that it was of little im¬ 
portance what fly was used or how badly cast, 
your creel was filled before noon.” 
Gun: “Now cast a little further and tell me 
that all those fish were over a pound in weight.” 
Rod : “On the contrary they were native Sal- 
velinus fontinalis, and they average smaller than 
the brown trout which are caught on the Beaver- 
kili to-day, but under what different conditions. 
Now there are almost no trees left, the hemlocks 
not only gone, but forgotten. I doubt if the 
average summer visitor to that region would 
recognize a hemlock if he saw one. The springs 
and smaller brooks left unprotected from the 
sunlight, dry up during the summer months, and 
hence the water in the Beaverkill becomes so 
low that the trout all congregate in the deep 
pools. The entire stream is in the open with 
almost no shade. 
“I well remember our last visit to a favorite 
pool, a pool which was entirely open save for 
a narrow fringe of alder on the further shore 
which the native owner had throughtlessly let 
remain and from underneath which my master 
was always sure to entice one or two nice fish. 
On arriving this time behold our native indus¬ 
triously cutting down those same alder, and when 
asked by my master in a few well peppered 
words why he did so, replied ‘because it looked 
nicer not to have bushes around.’ ‘Ye gods and 
little fishes.’ The sheltering log is no more, the 
rocks are bare of moss, the water warm and 
limpid. It is hardly surprising that under such 
circumstances there should be but few bugs and 
flies hovering over the w T ater, and in consequence 
the trout no longer feed on the surface, but are 
main.y bottom feeders. You no longer see trout 
darting here and there as in the olden days, for 
they are out of sight hiding underneath the rocks 
on the bottom where most of their feeding is 
done, and it takes something more seductive than 
the wet fly to get them to come out in the 
clear, warm water and bright light. And this 
something is the dry fly. Just sit down on this 
log with master and myself and watch the 
stream for a few minutes. 
"A most delightful day, clear and cool, and 
not a ripple on the water as it calmly floats 
down stream in front of us. It is entrancing 
merely to be out here in the brilliant sunlight. 
Look way up there in the blue sky at the grace¬ 
ful circles of that hawk; he must move with¬ 
out effort for he never seems to tire. Round 
and round he goes, now a little higher, now a 
little lower, but never stopping. He would not 
disdain one of your victims were opportunity 
to offer, I imagine. Yes, we may as well get 
out the flask, as w'e are in no hurry; we already 
have several nice fish and the day is young. I 
wonder—by Jove that tastes good—I wonder 
how it is possible for a trout to discern what 
is going on directly over its head, and yet it 
can. Its eyes seem to take in everything in all 
directions save directly behind, and the wise 
fisherman fishes up stream in consequence as 
trout always head up stream when out in the 
open water, but they will dart out in any direc¬ 
tion when underneath rocks and logs. Trout 
waters such as we have before us are very mis¬ 
leading. The casual fisherman would say at the 
first glance that the stream contains no trout, 
but we know better, but certainly none are in 
sight and the inspiring splash of a rising fish 
is wholly lacking. 
“Well, patience has caught many a trout, so 
let us loaf a bit but always with eyes on the 
water. See that flat rock directly opposite us 
on the further side of the stream? In fact, it 
is the only large one down this end of the pool. 
It has about four feet of water over it and ap¬ 
pears to be perfectly flat and smooth, except 
near the bottom at the upper edge where you 
can notice a dark streak. Well, that dark streak 
is the shadow of a niche in the rock, and if 
there are any trout in this end of the pool, one 
will be hiding underneath it in the shelter of 
its shadow, but with eyes that are continually 
taking in the surface of the water over its 
head, so keep your eye on that rock and see 
what happens. A few shiners swimming aim¬ 
lessly around, but nary a sign of a fly on the 
water. Hark! what is that? Surely, the splash 
of a rising fish in the swift water at the head 
of the pool. Now, don’t get excited; stay where 
you are; we’ll go after him later on. That fish 
rose to a fly and there’ll be some down this end 
before long, so watch and wait. 
“Again all is serene and quiet; there is noth¬ 
ing to break through the all pervading stillness 
save the occasional cheerful tinkle of a distant 
cow bell. As I live, another rise up at the top 
of the pool, but this time the trout has missed 
his mark, as I can see the fly coming down 
stream. When the fly is almost three feet up 
stream from our rock, he falls to the water 
with a farewell flutter and begins to drift di¬ 
rectly over the pit of danger. Now is the criti¬ 
cal time, if I am right in my surmise. And I 
most certainly am, for just as that thoughtless 
fly floats over the niche in our rock, up darts 
a trout. There is a swirl on the water with a 
down-darting fish, and the fly has disappeared. 
“Now watch my master. Neither he nor I 
knows the name of that fly; entomology is not 
our strong point, but it was a combination of 
light yellow and gray, and about the size of a 
No. 12 hook, so my master opens his fly box 
and at once selects an oiive quill, a fly a’most 
identical with the one which the trout has just 
devoured. Advancing with me in his hand, 
slowly and quietly to the edge of the water, my 
master begins to lengthen the line, as our rock 
is fully forty feet from where we stand. When 
the line has been properly lengthened the cast 
is made, and the fly drops as a feather on the 
water some three feet up stream from the rock. 
Down it floats and so naturally that were it not 
attached to the leader it would be a’most im¬ 
possible at this distance to distinguish it from 
the live insect. The critical point is reached, 
but no interest is shown by our submerged 
target. The fly is left to float below the rock 
before it is quietly lifted from the water with 
as little disturbance as possible. 
“A short wait and the cast is repeated with 
no result, but on the third cast the fly is seized 
with avidity and the result this time is a three- 
quarters of a pound addition to the creel. Now 
I ask you, would it have been possible to entice 
that fish from underneath that rock with a wet 
fly, to say nothing of the added enjoyment to 
be derived from the use of the dry fly? Never, 
and again never. It is because of the failure of 
the wet fly to produce results under such condi¬ 
tions that the smooth and quiet waters are for¬ 
saken by the average wet fly caster for the 
rifts and the rapid waters at the head of pools.” 
Gun: “But aren’t there more fish to be found 
at the head of pools?” 
Rod: “By no means. P'ish are to be found 
wherever there is food, and as their feeding 
ground is not confined to any one spot in the 
stream, trout are sometimes taken in the most 
unlikely spots. It is true that the large fish, as 
a rule, are in the deep water, but the deep water 
is not necessarily at the head of the pool, but 
at early dawn and toward dusk the big ones 
investigate the shallow water, and I have seen 
my master take good fish out of three or four 
inches of water. Together we have fished the 
nearby waters of Sullivan and Ulster counties 
for many years, using the wet fly, and it is 
only of very recent date, within about three 
years in fact, that we have proven to our own 
