352 
FOREST AND STREAM 
AUGUST, 1917 
mercial flies and tell me if you really do 
not think the view I am taking of it has 
been too long neglected. What size an 
artificial fly should be can be condensed into 
a single sentence. The size of the fly 
should be the size of the insect we wish to 
imitate. 
The over-size of the American lake-trout 
fly places it in the realm of the grotesque. 
Some years ago I had some correspondence 
with Mr. T. D. Malloch, of Perth, Scot¬ 
land, the champion fisherman of Great 
Britain, on this very subject. At my re¬ 
quest he tied me a few casts of lake-trout 
flies. I must say they were beautiful in 
their construction; there was nothing of 
the grotesque in Mr. Malloch’s flies, they 
represented the Ephemeridae. The flies he 
sent me he considered the best on the 
Scotch Loughs, and I am referred to in his 
catalogue as having test¬ 
ed them on American j I 
waters with most favor- / / ^ lgure 4 
able result. / / 
Divest yourselves of / 
the idea that the Ephc- / /V n 
meridae are radically 1/ V 
different in their appear- U, 
ance, in different locali- J yq \\ 
ties. They have the ' \\ 
same characteristics all 
over the world. Flies 
constructed on well defined principles 
will kill fish anywhere on the broad 
surface of the globe, any month, any 
day, any time, in the interval between 
the natural feeding times of the fish, pro¬ 
vided you place in your flies the charm of 
color. It is my intention to show you how 
it should be applied. Glance at Figure 4, 
which represents a fly known as the 
March Brown: order, Neuroptera; family, 
Ephemeridae; light brown is its leading 
shade. The distribution of color over all 
parts of an artificial fly will not meet the 
object we wish to attain. In order to do 
this, and properly to make an impression 
on the nerve centres of a fish—otherwise to 
place in our fly a strong point of artificial 
selection—the opposing colors must be 
placed side by side, because of the fact 
that the point of irritability in colors re¬ 
sides in their immediate point of union and 
is termed its clashing contrast. In Figure 
4 , you will notice a small space in the 
centre of the body of the fly which is lined 
off. This indicates that here we will apply 
to the March Brown imitation, a band of 
silver and brilliant scarlet. We have not 
obliterated the identity of the March Brown, 
but we have added to it the strong and 
potent appeal of color, to which all the 
Salmonidae more or less respond. 
I N reality the trout is not aware that we 
have done anything to the fly to which 
we have applied color, but the appeal to 
his nervous system that we have placed in 
that fly will stir a lethargic fish into activ¬ 
ity. In the interval between his natural 
hours of feeding he has no image of any 
particular fly photographed on his retina, 
and he will take any first class imitation of 
a. natural fly, if his attention is strongly 
directed to it through the medium of 
colon In applying color we must not do 
it with too lavish a hand; we would destroy 
its natural appearance and convert it into 
a “freak fly.” 
Four of Dr. Gove’s creations 
I here are two colors preeminently su¬ 
perior to all others, in calling up the ner¬ 
vous organization of a trout and starting 
the fish into activity: silver and scarlet. 
An artificial fly that is made on perfect 
lines of size and shape will attract the at¬ 
tention of a fish sometimes independently 
of color, and he will rise to it. For a com¬ 
parison, if you were looking for a gold 
ring you had lost on the road, your atten¬ 
tion would be particularly directed to a cir¬ 
cular and shining object; however, if you 
saw an iron ring on the road, the size and 
shape of the one you were looking for, al¬ 
though it had neither the lustre or the color 
of the gold one you would stop and pick it 
up. These remarks are made to impress 
upon you the value of size and shape. 
Every angler should be able to tie his 
own flies, and much can be said about the 
artistic enjoyment there is in it. I con¬ 
sider its difficulties very much exaggerated, 
both outside and inside the ranks of its 
votaries. It is no wonder that anglers who 
attempt to do it make a failure for, one and 
all, the directions and illustrations I have 
seen on this subject indicate that the in- 
stiuctors did not know how to do it them¬ 
selves. If they did, the few little points 
absolutely necessary to know, they have 
carefully concealed. In our pleasant little 
A deep hole 
All the trout you want 
fishing excursion, before we reach the 
mouth of the river where it mingles with 
the sea (where I trust we need not say 
farewell) I will practically illustrate—for 
the artists of Forest and Stream to dupli¬ 
cate on paper—each step in my method of 
dressing an artificial fly. 
It is all very well for people who have 
an ax to grind to ignore the importance 
that color plays in the “freak flies.” It is 
useless to get away from the fact that 
there are quite a few flies of this character 
no angler should be without. Just here 
we will not argue this point, but leave 
it for quite lengthy consideration, which it 
merits. No one can deny the influence of 
color on the Salmonidae. 
T HERE is this about a “freak fly,” it 
is just as probable that a trout takes 
it from its resemblance to some in¬ 
sect, as for its divergence from one. It is 
worthy of note that all artificial flies for 
the catching of either trout or salmon, be 
they large or small, to be effective must 
in their shape assume the form of an in¬ 
sect. Do not forget to put in your fly book 
some Parmachene Belles, Silver Doctors, 
Jack Scotts and Jenny Linds; if you do 
you will regret it. The four flies shown in 
the photograph, which I tied especially for 
this illustration, represent the size and 
shape of the flies I use for stream fishing. 
If you examine them you will notice that 
their lines are artistic and also that they 
are correct as to size, shape and appear¬ 
ance. The two larger ones are constructed 
with a transparent wing material, and I 
judge them to be applicable to the fishing 
of all rivers and streams. The very small 
flies are imitations of gnats, and they are 
Hires of the most deadly character on all 
still pools, especially in the evening. The 
wings of these are made from the scale of 
a shad, the best material I have been able 
to. obtain as yet to give the illusion re¬ 
quired. These must be fished on a very 
fine cast, and of all the casts I have been 
able to obtain the Telerana Nova cast is 
by far the best. One thing about them 
appeals to me above all others: they lack 
the obtrusive glitter and flash of the ordi¬ 
nary cast. This is most inimical to suc¬ 
cess in all the finer points involved in the 
fishing of small flies. Remarks have been 
made derogatory to the Telerana Nova 
casts, but certainly those who made the 
remarks must have been deceived by get¬ 
ting a poor imitation which is for sale. 
By the way, I see mv friend, Mr. Jim 
Grimes, waving to us, and we must cer¬ 
tainly stop and speak to the sage of the 
Choppins.” Mr. Grimes occupies the po¬ 
sition of Nestor of this locality from the 
fact that when a young man he made a 
vige to San Domingo, supercargo of a 
freight of barrel-staves. I imagine this vige 
could be viewed in the light of a piratical 
incursion into that locality. The entomo¬ 
logical peculiarities of the island, however, 
did not escape his observant powers. 
Hello ! you fellers ; I suppose you’ve got 
ver pockets full of them awful bugs you 
fetched up here last summer. If you have, 
just you walk wide of the ‘Choppins.’ You 
•come ashore, if it’s safe to have you ’round, 
and I’ll take you down to a deep hole 
where you can catch all the trout you 
want after dark—and I’ll go get the bait!” 
