I had two sporting friends, who were excellent instances of this. Colonel S—— was an ardent, and, I may add, a very tolerable angler. No one went to more trouble and expense in procuring the most approved flies; he never tied, or attempted to tie one, and he assured me he had many hundred dozens in his possession. To find a new fly, was with him sometimes the labour of a day: and when about to try another water, he would spend hours toiling through his immense variety, before he could succeed in discovering the necessary colour and description. I have seen him with Job-like patience, labouring through endless papers and parcels in search of a paltry insect, that I could fabricate in five minutes.
His companion, Captain B——, ran into an opposite extreme. He rarely had a second casting line, and seldom a second set of flies. Did the day change, or the river fill or lower, he sat down on the bank, ripped wings and dubbings from his hooks, and prepared a new outfit in a twinkling. I never met an angler who was so certain of filling a basket as my friend B——. His system, however, I would totally disapprove of. Without burthening oneself with enough to furnish out a tackle-shop, a small and effective collection is desirable, and it is absurd to lose a fortunate half-hour tying on the river bank, what could be more conveniently fabricated during the tedium of a wet day within doors. An accident may rob the most discreet angler of his flies, and surely it is necessary to have a fresh relay to put up? But though I take a sufficiency along with me, I never leave home without being provided with the materials for constructing new ones. An hour may bring ephemeræ on the waters, which you must imitate, or you will cast in vain; before evening they will have vanished, and given place to some new variety of the insect world. Thus far, at least, the tier possesses an advantage over him who cannot produce a fly, that no collection which human ingenuity can form will compensate.
FLIES IN GENERAL USE.
February.—Dark fox, hare’s ear and claret, dark grey hackle, plain black hackle, grey sooty.
March.—Plain black hackle, plain wren, dark brownrail, dark olive camel, fox half a shade lighter than last month, dark brown camel, latter end of the month brown coughlin, dark red hackles’ bodies with brown coughlin, dirty tawny bodied with hare’s ear, green cowdung, grey sooty.
April.—Grey coughlin, light olive camel, light brown rail, ash fox-blow for latter end of the month, orange cow dung, blue blow, tipped wing black, plain black midge, hare’s ear and yellow, hare’s ear and green, plain red hackle orange bodied, do. tipped black hackle, plain black hackle, blue bodied black hackle, buff fox, grey sooty, all kind of wren hackles, grey hackles. This list will bring you into May, and some of them into June.
May.—Hawthorn fly, yellow may fly, golden sooty, light fox, cream camel, brown rail, fancy hackle flies, caterpillars, green beetles, black do., golden palmers, yellow and orange palmers, stone fly, plain and brown beetles.
June.—All the may flies, and green fox come in now, and with light fox continues all the summer; light rail, blue bodied black hackle, orange bodied red, fancy wrens, gold palmer, green beetle, scaldcrow midge, and night moth.
July and August.—The above flies, and the cinnamon called the cadbait fly.