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black A fly tied with red body and teal wing is a standing favourite. Large lake trout often show a preference for a claret-bodied fly with a dark mallard wing and black hackle The size of fly used should vary according to the wave or ripple, and whether the day is bright or otherwise The rougher and darker the day, the larger and darker the fly. On a bright day, with a small ripple, small brightly-coloured flies should be used. Different lakes, however, have their own peculiarities, and if there “Tirffing with the May-fly is a thing of itself On some is a rise of any particular fly on a lake, that fly should of rivers these large species of the Lphemendse rise in course be imitated. The moorlands have peculiar fhes 0 extraordinary quantities, and the trout take May-fly them very freely; in fact, in rivers containing their own, and on lakes situated among them, imitations fishing. of those flies should, if possible, be used. . On several of coarse fish the trout generally run large, and as the bi^ Irish lakes there is a considerable rise of May-fly, a general rule, refuse the fly at any other time The big when the fish will take the artificial, but are more readily rise of May-fly, however, tempts them to the surface, and a caught with the natural insect, one or two of which are goodly number are captured during the first week or two of impaled on a No. 6 or No. 7 hook and allowed to drift June Like the duns, the May-fly is fished either wet or along the surface, the tackle being simply 2 feet of fine dry but more often dry than wet. It sometimes happens, gut above which is about 10 yards of floss silk, and then however, that the wet fly will kill better than tbe dry. t fine running line. With a fair breeze the floss silk can As the fly goes through its various changes the artificial be dispensed with, and an ordinary twisted silk, undressed should be altered to correspond to it. First we have the line used. The most expert lake dappers prefer a short line greendrake; then this sheds its skm and becomes the to a long one. In a very faint air trout may sometimes be greydrake; and, lastly, the greydrake dies and. floats down caught in this way by tying a goose’s breast feather into with wings expanded on the water, when it is known as the floss silk line about 4 feet above the hook. By this the spent gnat. The fly-fishing on a river is usually means, if the rod is a long one, the May-flies can be got out rather poor for a week before the May-fly appears and for sufficiently far to secure an occasional rise. a week or two after it has disappeared, and by some In addition to the fly, the two other most common anglers the presence of the fly is on this account objected methods of catching trout are with a natural or artificial to. On the other hand, the May-fly has a splendid spinning bait, and with the worm. The most feeding effect on the trout, putting them into finest sportsmanlike of these, in the sense that it fjshjBg for posssible condition. . t requires most skill, is what is termed clear-water Lake trout, except where there is an abundance of fishing with the worm. On three small hooks, troutm coarse fish or bottom-feeding, generally rise much better placed at short intervals at the end. of the cast, and to the fly than river trout, and are usually Lake trout. captured when there is a breeze to ripple the commonly known as Stewart tackle, is impaled a wellscoured red worm, and this, when the water is low and water, and the day is not too bright. The fish lie round bright, the angler casts, wading up stream and fishing islands, off rocky points, by the sides of weeds, and over every hole and corner in much the same manner, as is shallow ground generally, but are not much fished for recommended for the single fly, used under similai with the fly in the deeper portions unless there is a rise of already conditions. Grilse and sea-trout are also caught in this May-fly or other insects to bring them to the surface. and occasionally a salmon.. The difficulty, of The common practice is to row the boat to windward of way, course, is to cast or swing out the bait without causing it some likely spot, then drift over it. The anglers, if there are two, sit at each end of the boat and take alternate to break away from the hooks. The worming, which is when the river is in flood, is of a very different casts. Short casts are better than long ones, for the trout done character. Here a piece of lead is fixed on the line above will rise close to the boat, and it is, generally speaking, important to let at least one of the flies drag along the a good-sized hook, and a big worm is let down m eddies surface of the water. When a fish rises at the fly and close to the bank, where sooner or later a fish takes it. misses it, he should be cast over again instantly, and may Minnows, which may be either imitations such as the often be caught. Indeed, the writer has on more than phantom or Devon, or the natural minnow fresh from the one occasion known a fish to rise in front of the boat, stream, or one which has been preserved m formalin or miss the fly, the boat go over the fish, and the angler to other preservative, are cast across the stream, the line About take a cast behind the boat and secure the trout, borne being drawn rapidly in towards the angler 3 yards of gut is desirable above the bait, and at least lakes are not suited for drifting, and it is better for the attendant to row the boat, putting it near likely spots for 2 yards from the minnow should be placed a. very small fish. One great point in successful loch-fishing is to let lead, immediately below which is a double swivel It is the wind work the flies as much as possible. This can important that the lead should hang a little below the only be accomplished with rather a long rod, 12 feet or level of the line to prevent it from twisting. This ensures 13 feet being a good length. The line is cast out side- all the spinning taking place below the lead and the swivels ways, and the wind, bearing out the line, drags the flies doing their duty. A considerably stiffer rod is required in the same direction as the boat is drifting. By this for this method than for fly-fishing, as much more pressure means the flies are given the natural motion of drifting is required to get the triangles which are used into the with the wind. When they are drawn against the wind trout than the single hook on which the fly is mounted. the motion is unnatural, and a large fish will often refuse In the Thames bleak and small dace are used for to take them. The flies used in lake fishing are mostly of spinning, and it is a common practice to use live, bait for the a fancy character, lake trout showing considerable taste in larger trout which in that river, approximate in Tbames the matter of colour, to which, in Ireland particularly, size to salmon. The Thames live-bait tackle is trouting. great importance is attached. There pigs’ wools and silks, extremely simple. It consists merely of a very furs of various hues, including olives, russets, reds, browns, small cork, nothing being better than that taken from a &c. are used, either alone or mixed. The usual wing is cut chemist’s vial, with a slit down it in which the line is from the breast feather of a mallard, and the hackle, red or placed. A yard and a half below this are three or four
alder, &c. For wet-fly fishing the fly should as a rule, be sparsely dressed, and the hackles should be soft. Tor low bright water, where the fish are at all educated, some o the8 very best flies are those used on lorkshire streams. But now and again one happens upon a river where e trout show a decided preference for big heavily-dressed flies. In common language, they appear to like a big
