FOOTNOTE:
[A] "Taylor's Angler."
FLIES FOR MAY.
No. 14. The Black Gnat.—The body is made of black hair from the spaniel's ear which is fine and soft, or a black ostrich feather clipped very close, and a small black hackle for legs; the wings are from the starling's wing feather. No. 13 hook. This is a good fly throughout a clear day, used as a dropper with the foregoing fly, and wren tail.
It floats on the surface of the water in numbers on sultry days with mild showers of rain. It may be varied to advantage with blue silk body.
No. 15. The Little Brown Midge.—The body is made of brown mohair with a shade of orange mohair at the shoulder, two turns of a small brown-red hackle for legs; the wings are made of brown mallard and a little strip of land-rail mixed. No. 13 hook, snick bend.
There appears to be a variety of small flies on the water with the above fly about the middle of the day, dark browns, pea-greens, and dun flies, all water insects, which the trout take very freely.
No. 16. The Little Iron Blue.—The body is made of a little light coloured water-rat's fur mixed with a few hairs of yellow, an iron blue coloured dun hackle for legs, and the wings from a blue dun feather to be found underneath the wing of a dun hen, or starling wing feather, tail it with a dun hackle, two fibres. No. 10 hook. It sails upright on its legs on the water, with both tail and wings cocked up, so that it would suit best as a bob fly. It will be found a useful fly throughout the season, varied a little in shade according to the weather, the darker ones on fine clear days.
The Coachman, Oral, and the Governor flies will be found good ones in this month towards night, when the beautiful White Moth may be also seen.