Stewart's admirable 'Practical Angler,'--
is a matter about which much good sense has been written on both
sides.
Whosoever will, may find the great controversy fully discussed in the
pages of Ephemera. Perhaps (as in most cases) the truth lies between
the two extremes; at least, in a chalk-stream.
Ephemera's list of flies may be very excellent, but it is about ten
times as long as would be required for any of our southern streams.
Six or seven sort of flies ought to suffice for any fisherman; if
they will not kill, the thing which will kill is yet to seek.
To name them:-
1. The caperer.
2. The March-brown.
3. The governor.
4. The black alder.
And two or three large palmers, red, grizzled, and coch-a-bonddhu,
each with a tuft of red floss silk at the tail. These are enough to
show sport from March to October; and also like enough to certain
natural flies to satisfy the somewhat dull memory of a trout.
But beyond this list there is little use in roaming, as far as my
experience goes. A yellow dun kills sometimes marvellously on chalk-
streams, and always upon rocky ones.
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