A painful fact for you; but if you
could catch every fish you saw, where would be the trout for next
season?
Put on a dropper of some kind, say a caperer, as a second chance. I
almost prefer the dark claret-spinner, with which I have killed very
large fish alternately with the green-drake, even when it was quite
dark; and for your stretcher, of course a green-drake.
For a blustering evening like this your drake can hardly be too large
or too rough; in brighter and stiller weather the fish often prefer a
fly half the size of the natural one. Only bear in mind that the
most tempting form among these millions of drakes is that one whose
wings are very little coloured at all, of a pale greenish yellow;
whose body is straw-coloured, and his head, thorax, and legs, spotted
with dark brown--best represented by a pheasant or coch-a-bonddhu
hackle.
The best imitation of this, or of any drake, which I have ever seen,
is one by Mr. Macgowan, whilome of Ballyshannon, now of No. 7,
Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, whose drakes, known by a waxy body of
some mysterious material, do surpass those of all other men, and
should be known and honoured far and wide.
Pages:
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106