Trout Flies Natural and Artificial

Geren
NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL

.F. WALKER |
This extremely useful
little book is based on
a section by the author
in that authoritative
standard work The
Complete Fly-
Fisher. In this book,
however, the author
gives the artificial as
well as the natural
flies.
There is first a brief

introduction dealing
with the food of trout
and the nomenclature
and habitat of the
insects with which the
angler is concerned.
Then follows a fully
descriptive list of the
flies of the various
orders : day-flies,
sedge-flies, stone-flies,
two-winged flies
water-bugs, _ beetles,
etc.
A most handy book

for the trout angler
at the waterside.
5/- net
oe
in VG o/w dw worm
& chipped
>
sun-fade
headd SpineIst. 1965. CF. WALKER, Artific
andial NaturalFlies: Trout625 ‘5
KS
“HOW TO CATCH THEM’” SERIES
This is the most famous and best-selling series of

books on angling ever published. They have been
praised and recommended by The Angling Times,
The Field, Angling, Trout and Salmon, The Journal
of the Flyfishers’ Club, The Fishing Gazette, A.C.A.
Quarterly Review, The Midland Angler, Angler’s
World, Gamekeeper and Countryside, The Fishing
Tackle Dealer and Angler’s Annual.
The How To Catch Them books are edited by
Kenneth Mansfield.
L. V. Bates: Artificial Flies

S. DoNALD STONE: Barbel
ALAN YOUNG: Bass
PETER TOMBLESON: Bream
L. BAverstock: Brook Trout
D. L. STEUART: Carp
MICHAEL SHEPHARD: Chub
J. G. ROBERTS: Coarse Fishing
FRANK Oates: Coarse Fishing Baits
W. J. Howes: Dace
RAYMOND PERRETT: Eels :
PETER TOMBLESON: The Fixed-Spool Reel
““SEANGLER”’: Flatfish
W. J. Howes: Fly Fishing For Coarse Fish
A. E. B. JOHNSON: Gravel-Pit Coarse Fishing
H. G. C. CLAYPOOLE: Grayling
ALAN MITCHELL: Grey Mullet
J. R. FetHney: Mackerel
( Continued overleaf)
KEN SmitH: Match Fishing
A. L. Warp: Pike
KENNETH MANSFIELD: Perch
KENNETH NICHOLAS: Pollack and Coalfish
W. T. SARGEAUNT: Rainbow Trout
W. T. SARGEAUNT: Reservoir and Gravel-Pit Trout
L. BAverstock: River Fly-Fishing
Capt. L. A. PARKER: Roach
J. B. WALKER: Rods: How to Make Them
J. G. Roperts: Rudd
CoomBE RICHARDS: Salmon
ALAN YOUNG: Sea Angling For Beginners
ALAN YOUNG: Sea Fishing Baits
Bruce McCMILLEn: Sea-Fishing Tackle
F. W. Houipay: Sea Trout
K. MANSFIELD: Small Fry
L. VERNON BATES: Spoons, Spinners and Plugs
Harry BROTHERTON: Tench
Bruce McMILLEN: Tope
W. A. ADAMSON: Trout
C. F. WALKER: Trout Flies: Natural and Artificial
TROUT FLIES:
Natural and Artificial
By
C. F. WALKER
LONDON : HERBERT JENKINS

First published by
Herbert Jenkins Limited,
3 Duke of York Street,
London, S.W.1.
1965
© C. F. WALKER 1965
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

JOHN GARDNER (PRINTERS) LTD.
LITHERLAND, LIVERPOOL, 20.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
FOREWORD — - = = iS
I, INTRODUCTION ~ = = =
Il. EPHEMEROPTERA (Day-flies) - -
Ii. TRICHOPTERA (Sedge- or Caddis-flies)
IV. PLecopTERA (Stone-flies)- - -
V. DirTerA (Two-winged flies) - -
VI. MEGALOPTERA (Alder flies) - -
VIL. HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA (Water bugs)
VIII. OponaTA (Dragon- and Damsel-flies)
IX. COLEOPTERA (Beetles) - - = -
X. HYMENOPTERA (Ants) - -—- = 93
TS ES SS ene 95
».
FOREWORD
THERE are now quite a number of books dealing

with aquatic entomology available to the fisher-
man, but to the best of my belief only one of these,
The Dry-fly Fisherman’s Entomology, by M. E.
Mosely, is small enough to be carried to the water-
side in the angler’s pocket. This is an obvious
advantage in a book of this kind, so as more than
forty years have passed since Mosely’s work was
first published, the time seems ripe for the appear-
ance of a second book of a similar convenient size.
In the present case, detailed descriptions of indi-
vidual species of sedge-flies and stone-flies, which
were included by Mosely, have been omitted as
being unnecessary for practical angling purposes.
On the other hand, a number of insects found only
or primarily in lakes have been added to those
described by him.
The descriptions of the natural flies have been
taken verbatim from my own chapter on ento-
mology in The Complete Fly-Fisher, published by
Messrs. Herbert Jenkins, Ltd. To render the book
more useful to the angler, however, dressings of the
artificial flies representing the insects described
have been added to these. In some cases, such as
that of the Mayfly, the patterns available are so
numerous that they cannot all be included, so I
have confined myself to one or two typical dres-
sings. In other instances, either there are no
standard commercial imitations or these are con-
sidered unsatisfactory, and where this is so I have
7
8 TROUT FLIES
given details of patterns of proved worth devised

by amateur fly dressers, including some of my own.
For the details of some of these dressings I am
indebted to that wonderfully comprehensive book
A Dictionary of Trout Flies, by A. Courtney
Williams.
Lest the beginner should find himself appalled
by the number of patterns given in this book, I
should perhaps explain that it is not intended that
he should carry all or even half of them in his fly-
box. Rather, having first acquired a sufficient
knowledge of entomology to be able to recognise
the more important insects, he should then choose
a selection of patterns most likely to prove of value
in the waters where he is accustomed to fish.
C. F. WALKER
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
WHETHER the fiy-fisher is deliberately using rep-

resentations of natural insects or merely general
flies with fancy names, I believe that the majority
of trout which take his artificial do so because they
mistake it, if not for the species of fly on which they
are feeding, at all events for the type of food they
are accustomed to see at that particular time of
year. This, moreover, is equally true of both wet
and dry fly, and of lakes as well as rivers, despite
the fact that, to the human eye, some of the
patterns sold as loch flies bear little resemblance to
any known form of animal life. If this premise is
accepted, it follows that some knowledge of the
insects on which trout feed is essential to the angler
who would make the most of his opportunities.
This does not imply that he need become an en-
tomologist in the scientific sense, but merely that
he should learn enough about the appearance, be-
haviour and habitats of these insects to enable him
to fish his artificials intelligently and with that
degree of confidence which begets success.
The food of trout. At the outset it should be
stressed that trout, being extremely catholic in their
tastes, will at times be prepared to eat almost any
kind of insects which chance or a puff of wind may
- blow on to the water, not excluding such apparent-
ly unpalatable objects as wasps and bees. Those
who have read Leonard West’s book, The Natural
Trout Fly and its Imitation, may recall that it
9
10 TROUT FLIES
includes descriptions and illustrations of no less

than 102 insects, a great many of which are land-
bred species which the average angler would be
unlikely to see on the water once in a lifetime. Such
comprehensive treatment, however, defeats its own
object by making the subject of entomology un-
necessarily complicated, and for present purposes,
with a few important exceptions, I am confining
myself to the true aquatic species.
It must be realised that a substantial proportion
of the trout’s diet consists of creatures which, for
one reason or another, it is virtually impossible to
imitate in fur and feather. This includes such things
as plankton crustacea (a very important source of
food supply in lakes), snails, newts, tadpoles,
larvae of many kinds, and caddis in their cases.
With the exception of the last-named, which form
an essential link in the life-history of the sedge-
flies, these are omitted from my descriptions,
together with small fish and the larger crustaceans,
which, although they are probably represented by
certain loch patterns, do not truly come under the
heading of entomology.
Nomenclature. Before we proceed to the descrip-
tions it will be as well, for the benefit of the
beginner, to explain the principle on which insects
—and indeed the whole of the animal and vege-
table kingdoms—are arranged and named by the
scientists. They are divided into a number of
different groups, known as orders, families, sub-
families, genera and species, the insects within each
group bearing a stronger resemblance to one
another as we proceed down the scale, until we
come to species, in which they are all virtually
identical. The naming system, which is based on
INTRODUCTION 11
that introduced by the Swedish naturalist, Lin-

naeus, two hundred years ago, only takes account
of the genera and species. These generic and
specific names, usually of a descriptive character,
may be likened respectively to our own surnames
and Christian names, but they appear in the reverse
order. It may be objected that the angler has no
need to trouble himself with scientific names, and
I agree that one does not want to hear Latin and
Greek bandied about by the waterside. It is,
nevertheless, essential to include these names with
the written descriptions of insects, for several
reasons. First, the classical languages are inter-
national; second, some British insects have no
vernacular names; third, some vernacular names
are applied to different fliesin different parts of
the country, while, conversely, some flies are
known by more than one such name. With the
scientific names these ambiguities can never
occur.
Habitats of insects. The habitats are included in
the descriptions of each insect, and it should be
noted that although many species are found in both
flowing and static water, others occur in only one
or the other kind. Unfortunately it is not as easy as
might be thought to draw a hard-and-fast line
between the two, since some rivers contain almost
stagnant pools, which so far as the insects are con-
cerned possess all the characteristics of a lake,
while on the other hand there are stream-fed lakes
with a strong current extending for some distance
beyond the point of inflow, where the conditions
resemble those of a river. Furthermore, there are
certain species which, although primarily adapted
for life in rivers, can sometimes be found on the
12 TROUT FLIES
stony margins of large lakes where the wave action

creates a sufficient degree of aeration for them to
exist in the absence of a current. It is, of course, on
the requirements of the nymph or larva that the
choice of habitat depends, and all land-bred
insects, which only reach the water fortuitously
and in the winged stage, may be found either on
lakes or rivers.
CHAPTER II
Order: EPHEMEROPTERA (Day-flies)
THE day-flies are of the highest importance to the

chalk-stream fisherman, of considerable impor-
tance to those who fish in rain-fed rivers, and by
no means so unimportant on lakes as some writers
on the subject would have us believe. The same
species, however, do not in every case inhabit all
three types of water.
This is the only order in which it is both neces-
sary and practicable for the angler to learn to
recognise the different species: necessary because
hatches of each species frequently occur in suffi-
cient numbers for the trout to feed on them
exclusively, and practicable because they are few
enough to be easily memorised. There are, in fact,
only forty-seven British species all told, of which
no mere than half are sufficiently common and
well-liked by the trout to merit the angler’s atten-
tion. The remainder are omitted from my descrip-
tive list.
In the descriptions of the flies, the colour of the
back, or upper side, is given for recognition pur-
poses, but in every case the underside is paler; a
point to be borne in mind when selecting materials
for dry flies. With the exception of Halford, who
dealt only with the chalk-stream species, I do not
know of any writer on entomology who gives the
sizes of flies when describing them. Yet as the
British day-flies vary in length from about three-
sixteenths to three-quarters of aninch, it has always
13
14 TROUT FLIES
seemed to me that some acquaintance with their

relative sizes would be of considerable help to the
beginner who is learning to recognise them. I there-
fore mention the size of each species, employing
relative terms for this purpose and taking as my
standard the Medium Olive dun, which measures
about 8 mm. from the front of the head to the
extremity of the abdomen. Species of this length
are described as medium-sized, those measuring
from 9 to 10 mm. as large, from 6 to 7 mm. as
small, and the few which lie outside these limits
as very large or very small. It should be borne in
mind, however, that certain species vary con-
siderably in size, and where this is so the fact is
stated. In most cases the female is slightly larger
than her mate, and the length of the fore wing
slightly greater than that of the body.
The life-cycle consists of four stages: egg,
nymph, dun and spinner, and it is of interest to
note that the day-flies are the only insects which go
through two winged stages. After a short period,
varying with the species and temperature of the
water, the minute nymph, or larva, as it is more
usually known at this early stage, emerges from the
egg and at once starts to feed, mainly on algal
growths. As it increases in size it undergoes a series
of moults, until at the end of a year (or in the case
of the Mayfly probably two years) it attains
maturity. Then, when the time is ripe, it either
swims to the surface or, in some species, climbs up
a weed stem, the skin splits down the back, and the
subimago, or dun, bursts forth. The newly-
emerged fly, after drying its wings, then takes off
and flies to the bank, where it hides itself amongst
the foliage until the time arrives for the final
EPHEMEROPTERA (DAY-FLIES) 15
metamorphosis, which may take place within a few

minutes or not for a day or two, according to the
species and atmospheric conditions.
Now the skin splits once more and the perfect
insect, known as an imago or spinner, emerges,
leaving its cast-off garment on the leaf or grass
blade where the transformation took place. The
wings of the insect are now clear and iridescent
(those of the dun being semi-opaque and fringed
with hairs), the body has changed colour, and the
cerci, or tails, are considerably longer. If a female,
it will now go into hiding once more: if‘a male, it
will presently join others of its species and the
whole assembly will begin the nuptial dance, rising
and falling alternately above the banks, or some-
times in the shelter of bushes. This usually takes
place in the evening, and has the effect of attracting
the females, who in ones and twos approach the
dancers, to be immediately seized by the nearest
males and carried off for a brief aerial honeymoon.
As the last act in the little drama the now-
fertilised females return to the water to deposit
their eggs. For this purpose some species crawl
down a weed stem, some dip repeatedly on to the
surface, leaving a batch of eggs at each visit, while
others drop the whole consignment from the air.
But whichever method is adopted, the female, her
duty done, ends by collapsing upon the water with
outspread wings; the spent spinner of the fisher-
man. The males, on the other hand, have no need to
revisit the water at all, and unless they are blown
on to the surface accidentally they die inland.
From the foregoing account it will be evident
that the trout have five separate opportunities of
feeding on the day-flies: as immature nymphs on
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the bottom or amongst the weed-beds; as ripe

nymphs either risng to the surface or in the act of
hatching; as newly-hatched duns drying their
wings before taking off; as female spinners in the
act of depositing their eggs; and finally as spent
spinners lying helpless on the surface of the water.
The trout do not neglect these opportunities,
though in the case of a few species, as we shall see
in due course, the duns leave the water so quickly
after emergence that the fish do not get a proper
chance of taking them in this stage.
"4 b
* d
Fic. 2. Day-flies: Wing and tail Combinations. a, 4 wings and
3 tails (Mayflies, B.W.O., Sepia and Claret duns). b, 4 wings
and 2 tails (Olives, Iron Blues, Pale Wateries, March Browns,
August or Autumn dun and Yellow Upright). c, 2. wings and
3 tails (Broadwings). d, 2 wings and 2 tails (Pend and Lake
Olives and Pale Evening dun). Only the commoner species are
mentioned here, but all the British Ephemeroptera fall into one
or another of these patterns.
The day-fly nymphs fall into four categories: the

burrowers, the crawlers, the swimmers (which may
in turn be divided into fast and slow movers), and
the flat nymphs which live under stones. It is not
really necessary, and would in any case be difficult,
18 TROUT FLIES
for the angler to learn to recognise the individual

species in their nymphal stage; so, as nymphs of
the same genus are very much alike, a single
description will suffice in each case. The duns
require separate treatment according to species,
though except in the case of the Blue-winged
Olive, the sexes in this stage resemble each other
closely enough to be dealt with together. (The
males can be distinguished by the presence at the
extremity of the abdomen of a pair of claspers for
the purpose of holding the female during the mat-
ing process.) In the spinner stage, however, there
is in nearly every case a very marked difference in
body colour between the sexes, and although it is
with the females that fish and fishermen are pri-
marily concerned, the males are described as well
to enable the reader to identify them during the
nuptial dance; a useful clue to the species of
females which may be expected on the water later
in the evening.
Although all day-fly nymphs carry three tails,
in the winged stages of certain genera these are
reduced to two. Some genera, moreover, have two
wings and others four, so that the combination of
wings and tails helps to reduce the possibilities
when deciding the genus of a dun or spinner seen
at close quarters. A note of these characteristics
will be found beneath each genus.
Family: EPHEMERIDAE
Genus: Ephemera
Characteristics: Four wings and three tails.
The nymphs are of the burrowing type, living in
the silt at the bottom of a lake or river. They are
long and comparatively slender, brown in colour,

and with plume-like gills which are folded over the
back. Their tails are relatively short and fringed
with short hairs. As they approach maturity wing-
pads develop on the back; a feature common to
all the day-fly nymphs which need not, therefore,
be repeated in describing those of other genera.
They spring from the middle thoracic segment and
when fully grown extend over the first two seg-
ments of the abdomen.
GREEN MAYFLY, OR GREEN DRAKE
Ephemera danica
This is the common Mayfly of rivers and lakes,

and has a preference for alkaline waters. It is a
very large fly and hatches from the end of May to
the beginning of June.
The dun' has broad, triangular fore wings and
relatively large hind wings, their colour being
greenish-yellow with dark brown veins and dark
markings on the fore wings. The thorax is dark
olive-brown and the abdomen pale straw-yellow
with brown markings down the back which become
more pronounced towards the tail end, those on the
first five segments being either small or entirely
absent. The legs are olive-brown and the tails
almost black. The male is noticeably smaller than
the female and of a darker shade throughout.
The male spinner, or Black Drake, has trans-
parent wings strongly veined and marked with
blackish brown. The thorax is black and the ab-
1 The term dun is here used for the sake of uniformity,
although, strictly speaking, it is not applicable to the larger
Ephemeroptera, whose subimagines are not dun-coloured.
20 TROUT FLIES
domen ivory-white, marked down the back in

the same way as the dun. The legs and tails are
black.
The female spinner is sometimes known as the
Grey Drake, and after oviposition by the rather
ridiculous name of Spent Gnat. The wings are
transparent with a blue-grey sheen and brown
veins, the thorax brown, and the abdomen similar
to that of the male but with paler brown markings.
The legs and tails are dark greyish-brown.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. There is no standard dressing of the
Mayfly nymph, but I have had considerable
success with the following dressing, which rep-
resents the nymph in the act of hatching:—
Body: Hare’s ear.
Ribbing: Gold tinsel.
Hackles: Brown speckled partridge feather
dyed in picric acid, followed by a similar feather
undyed. 1 or 2 turns of each.
Whisks: 3 fibres from a cock pheasant’s tail
feather, short.
Hook: Long Mayfly.
Dun. There are innumerable patterns on the
market, of which the following are representative
of the winged and hackled patterns respectively :—
Halford’s Green Mayfly, Female.
Body: Undyed raffia.
Ribbing: Horsehair dyed medium cinnamon.
Wings: Mallard scapular feathers dyed pale
grey-green and set on back-to-back.
Head hackle: Hen golden pheasant neck.
Shoulder hackles: Two pale cream cock
hackles.
Whisks: Gallina dyed very dark chocolate-

brown.
Hook: 2.1
French Partridge.
Body: Cream floss silk.
Ribbing: Crimson silk and fine gold tinsel.
Head hackle: French partridge back feather.
Shoulder hackles: Two red cock hackles.
Whisks: Red cock hackle fibres.
Hook: 3.
Personally I prefer hackled to winged versions,
as the stiff whole feathers used in most winged
patterns tend to make them bad hookers.
Spinner. Here again there are plenty of patterns
from which to choose, the following being typical
examples of the two most common styles of
dressing :—
Halford’s Spent Gnat, Female.
Body: Raffia dyed pale yellow ochre.
Ribbing: Condor quill dyed dark chocolate-
brown.
Wings: Four medium Andalusian cock hackles
set on horizontally.
Hackles: Two pale Andalusian cock hackles.
Whisks: Gallina dyed very dark chocolate-
brown.
Hook: 3, long shanked.
The drawback to this style of dressing is that the
wings have a tiresome habit of catching beneath
the bend of the hook. The following pattern is free
from this disadvantage :—
Henderson’s Spent Gnat.
Body: Undyed raffia.
Ribbing: Fine silver tinsel.
2 Hook sizes refer to the new scale throughout.
22 TROUT FLIES
Wings: A grey cock hackle divided into two

horizontal bunches by figure-of-eight turns of
the tying silk.
Hackle: Grey partridge breast feather. (A
badger body hackle is sometimes added.)
Whisks: 3 strands of cock pheasant tail.
Hook: 5 to 7.
Fic. 3. Mayfly Body Markings. a, The Brown Mayfly

(Ephemera vulgata.) b, The Green Mayfly (Ephemera danica).
BROWN MAYELY
Ephemera vulgata
Despite its name,’ this species is much less

common than the previous one, being chiefly con-
fined to very sluggish rivers with a muddy bottom,
such as those of the eastern counties. In view of
this it is rather curious that this insect is seldom
* This can doubtless be accounted ‘for by the fact that E.
danica was originally named yulgata by Pictet.
found in lakes, though I have seen it in some num-

bers on the Bourley lakes, near Aldershot. Its size
and time of appearance are the same as for
E. danica.
The dun has brownish wings, more mottled with
brown than those of E. danica, while the colour of
the abdomen is brownish-yellow, and the mark-
ings, which are roughly triangular in shape, are
present on every segment. The legs and tails are
dark brown.
The spinners, male and female, are virtually
browner versions of the danica spinners, and can be
distinguished from them by the markings on the
back, described above.
A third British species, E. lineata, resembles the
foregoing, but is too rare to merit a separate
description.
ARTIFICIALS
Separate patterns representing the Brown May-
fly are seldom needed. If they are, slightly browner
versions of the Green Mayfly dressings will suffice.
Family: LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE
Genus: Leptophlebia
The nymphs are of the swimming type, but are
not very agile in their movements. They are tor-
pedo-shaped and very dark brown in colour, which
makes them hard to distinguish against a peaty
bottom. From each side of the abdomen project
seven pairs of gills resembling leaves with very long
points. These gills are mobile, so that by moving
them to and fro the nymphs can create a current
24 TROUT FLIES
along their bodies which enables them to live in

still water. The tails are very long—at least as long
as the body—and are held wide apart: a most
distinctive feature of these nymphs, which is pre-
served in their winged stages.
SEPIA
Leptophlebia marginata
The vernacular name was suggested by me in a

recent*book, sepia being the predominating colour
of the insect in all three stages. It hatches from
mid-April to mid-May, and is found in lakes and
slow streams. It is a large fly, somewhat local in
distribution, but abundant where it occurs.
The dun has light sepia wings with a darker area
near the tips of the fore wings, the two main veins
being yellow and the remainder dark sepia, form-
ing a strongly-marked criss-cross pattern. The
thorax and abdomen are dark sepia, the legs warm
sepia and the tails almost black. Unlike most of the
day-flies, the males are slightly larger than the
females.
The male spinner has transparent wings with a
faint brownish tinge, veined and marked in the
same way as the wings of the dun. The thorax is
black and the abdomen dark sepia, becoming
darker towards the tail. Legs and tails as in the dun.
The female spinner is similar to the male as to
wings, thorax, legs and tails, but the sepia ab-
domen has an undertone of yellow, especially in
the three terminal segments.
There are no standard patterns representing this
species, but I have evolved the following dressings
of my own :—
EPHEMEROPTERA (DAY-EFLIES) 25
Nymph.
Abdomen: Dark brown seal’s fur.
Ribbing: Silver tinsel.
Thorax and wing pads: Black seal’s fur.
Gills: A dark honey dun hen hackle wound at
the junction of the thorax and abdomen and
pressed backwards towards the tail.
Whisks: Fibres from a black hen hackle as
long as the body, splayed apart by the tying silk.
Hook: 2 or 3.
Dun.
Body: Grey-brown condor herl.
Wings: A bunch of fibres from a mallard
scapular feather, set on with a slight rake
towards the tail.
Hackle: A cock hackle dyed sepia.
Whisks: Fibres from a black cock’s spade
feather, splayed apart as in the nymph.
Hook: 2 to 3.
Spinner.
Body: Dark brown seal’s fur mixed with a
little ginger.
Wings: Grey and ginger grizzled cock hackle.
Leg hackle: A cock hackle dyed sepia, or none.
Whisks: Fibres from a black cock’s spade
feather, splayed apart as before.
Hook: 2 to 3.
There are three ways of representing the wings of
spinners, viz. two hackle points set on horizon-
tally, two bunches of hackle fibres divided in the
Henderson style, or an ordinary hackle. (In the
last case no separate leg hackle is required). To
save repetition, it should be understood that all
26 TROUT FLIES
my Own spinner patterns may be dressed in any of

these three ways.
- CLARET
Leptophlebia vespertina
Both the vernacular and scientific names of this
species are misleading, as it is not claret-coloured
and the duns normally emerge at midday. Its size
is medium to small and its habitats the same as
those of the Sepia, with a preference for a peaty
bottom, but it has a wider distribution. The main
hatches take place from mid-May to mid-June.
The dun has dark grey fore wings, not unlike
those of the Iron Blue dun, for which it is probably
often mistaken, but it can be readily distinguished
from the latter by its pale buff hind wings, which
show up very clearly some distance away. The
thorax is black and the abdomen variable in
colour, being either dark brown or dark grey in the
female and dark brown or glossy black in the male.
The legs are dark brown and the tails grey-brown
with faintly marked rings.
The male spinner has transparent wings, which
are completely colourless except for two yellow
veins near the fore margin. The thorax is black and
the abdomen reddish-grey with dark brown ter-
minal segments. The legs are brown and the tails
pale grey-brown with pronounced dark rings.
The female spinner is virtually a smaller edition
of L. marginata, with the same yellow undertone
showing through the abdominal segments.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. As for the Sepia nymph, but dressed on
a.size 0 or 00 hook.
EPHEMEROPTERA (DAY-=FLIES) 27
Dun. As for the Sepia dun but dressed on a size

0 or 00 hook and having wings of waterhen
breast fibres in place of mallard.
Spinner.
Body: Dark brown and ginger seal’s fur.
Wings: Pale blue or brassy dun cock hackle.
Leg hackle: Dark furnace or none.
Whisks: Brown mallard scapular fibres.
Hook: 0 or 00.
Family: EPHEMERELLIDAE
Genus: Ephemerella

The nymphs are of the crawling type and live on
the bottom amongst weeds and stones. They are
relatively broader than any of the nymphs pre-
viously described and dark brown in colour. The
plate-like gills are situated on the back, and do not
project beyond the sides of the body. There are five
pairs of these, of which the fifth pair is very small
and hidden beneath the fourth. The tails are short
and fringed with short scattered bristles.
BLUE-WINGED OLIVE
Ephemerella ignita
The B.W.O., as it is commonly known to fisher-

men, has a very wide distribution and is found in
rivers of all types, though it does not occur in
lakes. On the Hampshire chalk streams it seldom
appears before mid-June, but on many other
rivers it starts to hatch in April or May and
continues throughout the season. It possesses
28 TROUT FLIES
several unusual characteristics, of which the

following deserve mention. Firstly, it often appears
to have considerable difficulty in withdrawing its
body and tails from the nymphal skin, with the
result that the hatching dun is an easy prey for the
trout. Secondly, although it is commonly associa-
ted with the evening rise, when it is taken with
avidity and a distinctive kidney-shaped boil on the
surface, it sometimes emerges in broad daylight,
and the trout’s reactions to it are then more un-
certain. On the Driffield Beck, in Yorkshire, for
example, I have seen it taken eagerly all day long,
whereas on the Test it usually seems to be ignored
before sunset. Thirdly, the female spinners deposit
their eggs in a very distinctive manner. Instead of
returning singly to the water, they usually congre-
gate in large swarms, often numbering many
thousands, and fly upstream in procession, each
spinner carrying a greenish ball of eggs at the
extremity of the abdomen, which is curled for-
wards underneath the body. On reaching a suitable
place, sometimes where a bridge or mill forms an
obstruction across the river, the eggs are dropped
from the air, after which the spinners fall spent
upon the water, and the trout frequently assemble
at such places at dusk to await the large meal thus
provided for them. The normal type of B.W.O. is a
medium-sized fly, but has relatively long wings,
which make it appear larger than the Medium
Olive. Occasionally, however, a much smaller form
is to be seen, which has led many anglers to sup-
pose, mistakenly, that the vernacular name covers
two distinct species.
The male dun has medium smoky-blue wings, an
olive-brown thorax, and a brown abdomen with an
orange undertone (which no doubt accounts for

the success of the Orange Quill when these flies
are on the water). The legs are olive-grey and the
tails, which often become twisted and crumpled in
the difficult process of emergence, are grey with
dark rings.
The female dun differs from the male in the
colour of the body, the thorax being olive and
the abdomen a variable shade of olive or yellow-
green.
The male spinner has transparent wings with
brown veins, a dark brown thorax and dark red-
brown abdomen. The legs are yellowish and the
tails amber with dark rings near the base, becoming
grey towards their tips.
The female spinner, commonly known as the
Sherry spinner, undergoes a considerable colour-
change during her short existence. On transposition
her body is yellowish green, but after laying her
eggs it turns to red, often a very brilliant shade.
“Red as any lobster” is how J. W. Dunne described
it, but at all events it is not the colour of any
reputable brand of sherry, despite the popular
name.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph.- The following is G. E. M. Skues’s
dressing, no. XVIII :—
Tying silk: Hot orange.
Body: Cow hair the colour of dried blood,
dressed fat.
Hackle: Two turns of woolly dark blue hen.
Whisks: 3 strands of dark hen hackle, short.
Hook: 1 or 2, down-eyed round bend.
Dun. The most effective pattern for taking trout
30 TROUT FLIES
feeding on B.W.O. duns in the evening is generally

acknowledged to be the Orange Quill, which is
dressed as under:—
Body: Condor herl dyed hot orange.
Wings: Strips from a starling primary feather.
Hackle: Bright ginger cock (sometimes dyed
orange).
Whisks: Bright ginger cock
Hook: 1.
The Orange Quill is less effective, and indeed
sometimes useless, in daylight hours, when I have
found the following dressing effective. It represents
the female dun.
Body: Blue-grey condor herl dyed in picric
acid.
Ribbing: Very fine gold tinsel.
Wings: A medium blue cock hackle, or a
bunch of medium blue waterhen breast fibres,
set upright.
Hackle: Yellow-olive cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a speckled brown part-
ridge feather.
Hook: 1.
Spinner. There are various dressings of the
Sherry spinner, most of which are too dull in
colour. Lunn’s pattern is one of the most effective
and is dressed as follows :—
Tying silk: Pale orange.
Body: Orange artificial silk.
Ribbing: Gold wire.
Wings: Two buff cock hackle points set on
flat (or light blue dun hen for late evening).
Hackle: Bright Rhode Island cock.
Whisks: Pale ginger.
Hook: 1.
Family: CAENIDAE
Genus: Caenis
Characteristics: Two wings and three tails.
The nymphs are of the burrowing type, living in
the surface of the silt, which adheres in small
particles to their bodies and forms a very effective
form of camouflage, as they are much the same
colour as mud, They are short and relatively
broad, with a pronounced “waist”? between the
wing-pads and the second pair of gills, which take
the form of large flaps lying on the back of the
nymph. These totally obscure the remaining gills,
except the first pair, which are no more than
minute filaments scarcely visible to the naked eye.
The tails are about two-thirds of the length of the
body and are fringed with short bristles.
DUSKY BROADWING
Caenis robusta
Although sometimes referred to collectively as
the Angler’s Curse—a name applied indiscrimi-
nately to many small aquatic insects—the Caenidae
have not hitherto possessed any vernacular names
of their own. I have therefore suggested elsewhere
that they should be known as Broadwings, from
their most striking characteristic, with appropriate
prefixes to distinguish the species. The Dusky
Broadwing, first found in the nymphal stage by
Dr. T. T. Macan on the Norfolk Broads in 1951,
has since been reported from three further English
Stations: Two Lakes, near Romsey, Hampshire
(where I found the duns, spinners and nymphs in
1958), a pond near Reading, Berkshire, and a canal
in Shropshire. But in view of the widely differing
32 TROUT FLIES
conditions in these four places, coupled with the

fact that it has recently been reported from all over
Europe, it is probably much more common in
England than this meagre record suggests, and as
it becomes better known will no doubt turn up in
many other parts of the country. It will be noted
that it has so far only been found in still water (at
all events in England), but there seems no reason
why it should not also exist in rivers, and this may
prove to be the case when further reports come to
hand. The angler has a unique opportunity of
increasing our knowledge of this species by for-
warding specimens answering to this description to
the Entomological section of the Natural History
Museum for identification. C. robusta is a small
fly, though as its Latin name suggests, the largest
of the Broadwings. It hatches in the late evening
from the end of May to early August.
The dun has very broad opaque wings of a
watery-grey colour, marked with prominent brown
veins near their fore margins. The thorax is dark
brown and the abdomen pale creamy grey with
variable dusky markings all the way down the
back. (This is the only one of the Broadwings in
which such markings appear on every segment.)
The legs and tails are off-white. The duns of this
and all other species of the genus change to spin-
ners within a very short time—sometimes only a
matter of minutes—of emergence.
The spinners of both sexes resemble the duns,
except that their tails become Jonger. This is
especially noticeable in the male, whose tails are
some three times as long as its short, stumpy body.
The method of oviposition, which is I believe
unique, merits a brief description. After alighting
on the water, the gravid female spinner extrudes

her eggs in a single stream, held together by a
gelatinous membrane and spreading out in the
shape of a fan, the whole mass eventually falling
off and sinking to the bottom. When thus en-
gaged, she presents a sitting target to the trout.
ARTIFICIALS
It is not worth while imitating the duns of the
Broadwings, as they are more often taken in the
nymph and spinner stages. There are no standard
patterns, the following being my own dressings
:—
Nymph.
Abdomen: A few turns of medium brown con-
dor herl.
Gills, thorax and wing pads: Dark hare’s ear in
two sections, with a pronounced ‘“‘waist’”’ be-
tween them.
Hackle: Medium ginger grizzled hen.
Whisks: Speckled partridge fibres.
Hook: 00.
Spinner.
Body: White seal’s fur.
Wings: Palest blue dun hen hackle.
Leg hackle: Short white cock, or none.
Whisks: Fibres from a white cock’s spade
hackle, very long.
Hook: 00.
YELLOW BROADWING
Caenis horaria
This is quite a common species, occurring both
in lakes and rivers, especially where there is silt on
34 TROUT FLIES
the bottom. It is a very small fly, and the duns

emerge in late evening from June to August. :
The dun is virtually a smaller edition of the fore-
going species, except that in this case the abdomen
is pale yellow and the greyish markings appear only
on the first five or six segments.
The spinners are similar, but with much longer
tails than in the dun stage. |
There are three other species of this genus, but
as two of them hatch in the early mornings, before _
most anglers are astir, and the third is too small to ©
imitate, they do not merit detailed description here. ©
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. As for the Dusky Broadwing but dressed _
on a size 000 hook.
Spinner. As for the Dusky Broadwing but
dressed on a size 000 hook and having a body of
natural yellow silkworm silk in place of the white
seal’s fur.
Family: BAETIDAE
Genus: Baétis
Characteristics: Four wings, of which the

hinder pair are very small, and two tails.
Marginal intercalary veins double.
The nymphs are of the swimming type, with long
torpedo-shaped bodies corresponding in colour to
their respective duns. Seven leaf-shaped gilis pro-
ject from each side of the abdomen, and as these
are not adapted for life in still water all species of
this genus are found only in rivers. The centre tail
is shorter than the outer pair, all three being
fringed with hairs as an aid to swimming.
A B
Fic. 4. Fore wings of Baétidae. In the genus Baétis the small
marginal intercalary veins are paired, as shown in A, In the rest
of the family (Centroptilum, Cloéon gnd Procloéon) these veins
are single, as in B.
PALE WATERY
Baétis bioculatus
The vernacular name, which was employed by

Halford to cover four different insects, is now most
commonly applied to this species. It is a small fly,
common in rivers and streams, with a slight pre-
ference for alkaline water. It appears from May to
September, but as the dun is very quick off the
| water it is less often taken in this stage than as a
|nymph or spinner.
| The dunhas pale water-grey wings, a light brown-
| olive thorax, and pale green-olive abdomen,
becoming yellower towards the tail. The legs are
pale olive-grey and the tails pale grey.
colourless veins, a dark brown thorax, and pale
36 TROUT FLIES
yellowish-white abdomen, terminating in three

dark brown segments. The legs and tails are
greenish-white, and it can be distinguished from
other small spinners of a similar type by the colour
of the eyes, which are lemon yellow.
The female spinner differs from the male in the
colour of the body, which is golden-brown
throughout.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. Skues gave several dressings, of which I
have selected the first, numbered XI.
Tying silk: Primrose, waxed with colourless
wax.
Body: Blue fur from an English squirrel,
steeply tapered.
Ribbing: Yellow silk.
Hackle: One turn of very small darkish blue
dun cockerel.
Whisks: Strands from the pale unfreckled
neck feather of a cock guinea fowl, short.
Hook: 00 Pennell sneck.
Dun. There are several patterns, of which a
Ginger Quill is as good as any.
Body: Peacock quill, bleached.
Wings: Palest starling primary.
Hackle: Pale ginger cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a pale ginger cock’s
spade feather.
Hook: 00.
Spinner. A Tup’s Indispensable is a useful
pattern to suggest the spinner of the Pale Watery.
Here is Mr. R. S. Austin’s original dressing, as
modified by Skues:—
Tying silk: Yellow.
Body: Wool from the underparts of a ram

mixed with a little cream and crimson seal’s fur
and lemon spaniel’s fur, leaving a few turns of
tying silk exposed at the tail end.
Hackle: Pale brassy blue dun cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a pale honey or blue dun
spade feather.
Hook: 00.
SMALL DARK OLIVE
Baétis scambus
This is another of Halford’s Pale Watery duns,

though as will be seen from the description, it
certainly does not merit this name. Skues called it
the July dun, but although it may be seen in this
month I have found it in the greatest numbers in
April and September. I therefore prefer Harris’s
name of Small Dark Olive, which aptly describes
its appearance. It is a small species, common in the
faster rivers, both alkaline and acid.
The dun has dark grey wings, not quite so dark
or so blue as those of the Iron Blue, for which,
however, it could be mistaken at a little distance.
The thorax is brown-olive and the abdomen
medium green-olive, becoming more yellow
towards the tail. The legs are pale yellowish and
the tails pale grey.
The male spinner is a slightly darker version of
bioculatus, from which it can be readily dis-
tinguished by its red-brown eyes.
The female spinner differs from her bioculatus
counterpart in the colour of the body, which is
dark brown and tinged with olive in the early
stages. ©
38 TROUT FLIES
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. Skues’s no: IX represents this species.
Tying silk: Pale orange waxed with colourless
wax.
Abdomen: Medium blue fox fur dyed in picric
acid.
Ribbing: Fine gold wire.
Thorax: Dark brownish-olive seal’s fur.
Hackle: 1 turn of rusty dun cock, very short in
the fibre.
Whisks: Strands from a cock guinea-fowl’s
neck feather dyed in picric acid, very short.
Dun. There is no standard pattern, but a small
Greenwell’s Glory serves very well.
Tying silk: Yellow, waxed with cobbler’s wax
to darken it.
Body: The tying silk.
Wings: Wen blackbird, tied in upright,
bunched and split.
Hackle: Coch-y-bondhu.
Hook: 00.
This is the original version, which was dressed as
a wet fly. For the floating pattern it is desirable to
add whisks, which may be fibres from a blue dun
cock’s spade feather.
Spinner. A Pheasant Tail may be used to suggest
this and other Baétis spinners.
Body: Herl from a cock pheasan’ts tail feather,
choosing one with a marked ruddy tint.
Hackle: Honey dun.
Whisks: Fibres froma honey dun cock’s spade
feather.
Hook: 00.
MEDIUM OLIVE
Baétis vernus
Baétis tenax
These two species are so alike that some

authorities now doubt whether they are, in fact,
distinct. (A third species, B. buceratus, is too rare
to be included.) The Medium Olive is very common
in rivers and streams of all kinds and is widely
distributed throughout this country. It is of
medium size and hatches all through the fishing
season. ¢
The dun has medium grey wings, often tinged
with yellow, which was doubtless responsible for
its old name, Yellow dun. The thorax is olive-
brown and the abdomen yellowish-brown, in
which the olive tint from which the modern name
is derived is often hard to detect. The legs are olive
shading to dark grey, and the tails pale grey.
The male spinner has transparent wings, the two
main veins being brownish. The thorax is black,
the first six segments of the abdomen olive-grey
and the terminal segments brown. The legs are
olive-grey and the tails off-white.
The female spinner has a yellowish-brown body,
which changes to red-brown when spent.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. Skues gives several dressings, of which I
have chosen his number V.
Tying silk: Purple or grey-brown, waxed with
dark wax.
Abdomen: Brown peacock quill.
Ribbing: Silver wire (optional).
Thorax: Dark hare’s ear.
40 TROUT FLIES
Hackle: Dark blue dun hen or cockerel.

Whisks: Strands from a dark neck feather
from a cock guinea-fowl, very short.
Hook: 0.
A Gold-ribbed Hare’s ear is frequently success-
ful during a hatch of Medium Olives and is
believed to represent the nymph in the act of
hatching. The original dressing, which has neither
wings, hackle, nor tails, is as follows:—
Tying silk: Yellow.
Body: Dark fur from a hare’s ear.
Ribbing: Narrow flat gold tinsel.
Legs: The body material picked out with a
dubbing needle.
Hook: 0.
Dun. Medium Olive dun and M.O. Quill are the
standard patterns.
Body: Seal’s fur or peacock quill dyed medium
olive.
Wings: Starling primary feather.
Hackle: Cock hackle dyed medium olive.
Whisks: Fibres from a cock hackle dyed
medium olive.
Hook: 0.
Spinner: A Pheasant Tail or Lunn’s Particular
(see below), tied on a size 0 hook.
LARGE DARK OLIVE
Baétis rhodani
This is the Blue dun of our forebears, a very

common species of rivers and streams. Its main
hatches take place in March and April and again in
October. As the trout fisherman only sees the first
brood, it is sometimes known as the Dark Spring
EPHEMEROPTERA (DAY~FLIES) 41
Olive. It is a large fly, and a very popular one with

the trout. (B. atrebatinus is similar in appearance
but relatively scarce.)
The dun has dark grey wings, much the same tone
as those of the B.W.O. but of a less blue shade.
The thorax is dark grey tinged with olive, and the
abdomen dark olive. The legs are olive shading to
grey, and the tails grey with faint rings near the
base.
The male spinner has transparent wings with dark
brown main veins, a black thorax, and olive-grey
abdomen with brown terminal segments. The legs
shade from olive to grey and the tails are pale grey
with reddish rings.
The female spinner is a larger and darker version
of that of the Medium Olive, becoming dark
mahogany-brown when spent.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. Skues’s nymph, no: I, is dressed as
follows :—
Tying silk: Yellow, waxed with brown wax.
Body: Darkest green-olive seal’s fur, thickened
at the shoulder to represent the thorax.
Hackle: Dark blue dun hen or cockerel with a
woolly centre. x
Whisks: Strands from a dark guinea-fowl’s
neck feather dyed dark greenish.
Hook: 1 or 2, down-eyed round bend.
Dun. Rough Olive, Greenwell’s Glory, Dark
Olive dun and Quill, Blue dun and Blue Upright
all represent the subimago of this species: The
first-named, which is a very successful pattern, is
dressed as under :—
42 TROUT FLIES
Body: Heron’s herl dyed in picric acid.

Ribbing: Fine gold tinsel.
Wings: Darkest starling primary feather.
Hackle: Cock hackle dyed brown-olive.
Whisks: Fibres from a-cock’s spade feather
dyed brown-olive.
Hook: 1.
Spinner. Lunn’s Particular was specifically
designed to represent the female imago of this
species.
Tying silk: Crimson.
Body: The undyed stalk of a Rhode Island
cock’s hackle.
Wings: Two medium blue dun cock hackle
points, set on flat.
Hackle: Medium Rhode Island cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a large Rhode Island
cock’s hackle.
Hook: 1.
IRON BLUE
Baétis pumilus
Baétis niger
For practical purposes the two species may be
treated as identical, the differences between them
being too minute to be discerned with the naked
eye. The Iron Blue is common and widespread in
rivers and streams of all kinds, and despite its
small size is often taken by the trout in preference
to any other species which may be on the water at
the same time. The main hatches occur in May,
especially on cold, windy days, and there is a
second brood in September.
The dun has very dark grey wings and thorax, the
abdomen of the male being the same colour and

that of the female a very dark olive-brown. The
legs are dark olive to dark grey, and the tails dark
grey.
The male spinner, known to our forbears as the
Jenny spinner, is a beautiful little fly with trans-
parent wings, black thorax, and dark brown ter-
minal segments, the intermediate segments being
white and translucent. The legs and tails are almost
white, and the eyes dark red-brown.
The female spinner is sometimes known as the
Claret spinner, but as this causes confusion with
the spinner of the Claret dun, the name is best
avoided. She has colourless wings, a black thorax,
dark red-brown, abdomen, olive-brown legs and
pale grey tails.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. Skues’s no: X has proved a very success-
ful pattern.
Tying silk: Crimson, waxed with colourless
wax.
Body: Mole’s fur spun thinly and tapered,
leaving 2 turns of tying silk exposed at the tail
end.,
Hackle: Cock jackdaw throat, 1 or 2 turns,
very short.
Whisks: 3 Strands of white hen.hackle, quite
short.
Dun. The standard pattern of Iron Blue dun is
stressed as follows:—
Tying silk: Crimson. |
Body: Mole’s fur, leaving a few turns of tying
silk exposed at the tail end.
44 TROUT FLIES
Wings: Tom-tit’s tail feather.

Hackle: Blue dun cock.
Whisks: Fibres from the spade feather of a
blue dun cock.
Hook: 00.
Spinner: Lunn’s Houghton Ruby is one of the
best imitations of the female Iron Blue spinner yet
produced.
Body: Rhode Island hackle stalk dyed in red
and crimson.
Wings: 2 light blue dun hen tips from the
breast or back, set on flat.
Hackle: Bright Rhode Island cock.
Whisks: 3 fibres from a white cock’s hackle.
Hook: 00.
Family: BAETIDAE
Genus: Centroptilum
Characteristics: Four wings, the hinder pair

being much narrower than those of the pre-
ceding genus, and two tails. Marginal inter-
calary veins single.
The nymphs are of the swimming type and
resemble those of the genus Baétis, except that the
gills are more pointed and the three tails of equal
length.
LITTLE SKY BLUE
Centroptilum luteolum
This was the third fly classed by Halford as a

Pale Watery dun, and it is still sometimes known
by this name. Later, D. H. Turing called it the
Lesser Spurwing, the generic name being derived
EPHEMEROPTERA (DAY=FLIES) 45
from the Greek «evtpw& (spur) and ntidov
(wing), but as the spurs on the hind wings are too
small to be seen with the naked eye and are in any
case not confined to this genus, I prefer Harris’s
name, Little Sky Blue. It is a small fly, common in
rivers and streams, and may also be found in lakes
under the conditions described on page 11. It
hatches from May onwards.
The dun bears a superficial resemblance to
Baétis bioculatus, but the colour of the wings is
slightly paler, the hind wings are narrower and end
in a sharp point, and the body is more honey-
coloured than olive.
The male spinner may be distinguished from
BB. bioculatus and scambus by the shape of the
hind wings and colour of the eyes, which are bright
Indian red.
———
Li a
Fic. 5. Hind Wings. A, Pale Watery dun (Baétis bioculatus).
¥ ie Sky Blue, or Lesser Spurwing (Centroptilum lute-
olum).
The female spinner, called by Harris the Little

Amber spinner, has a yellowish-brown body
which becomes amber when spent. It can be
distinguished from the B. bioculatus spinner by the
shape of the hind wings and the venation of the
fore wings. (Fig. 5.)
ARTIFICIALS
The same patterns as those given under the
46 TROUT FLIES
heading of Pale Watery will serve for this species.

The other member of this genus, C. pennulatum,
is not of general importance, being very local in
distribution and uncertain in its appearance even
in its known habitats. It is a good deal larger than
luteolum and has smoky-blue wings and a greyish
body in the dun stage. This was the fourth of
Halford’s Pale Watery duns, but is now known
either as the Blue-winged Pale Watery or the
Greater Spurwing. It has not been recorded from
lakes.
ARTIFICIALS
The only pattern of B.W.P.W. I know of is that
devised by Skues in 1921. It represents the dun
stage.
Tying silk: Pale orange, waxed with colourless
wax.
Body: White lamb’s wool.
Hackle: (representing wings): Dark blue dun
hen.
Whisks: Not mentioned, but should be grey to
match the tails of the natural insect.
Hook; 1.
Family: BAETIDAE
Genus: Cloéon
Characteristics: Two wings and two tails.

Marginal intercalary veins single.
The nymphs are of the swimming type and of

much the same shape as others of the family
already described. Their colour is very variable,
some being mottled in different shades of dull
brown, others a warm chestnut-brown all over,

and others again strongly marked with emerald
green. They have seven pairs of gills, of which the
first six are double and mobile, which enables them
to live in still water, the last pair being single and
fixed, probably acting as baffle-plates. The tails,
which show a characteristic downward curve
towards their tips, are of equal length and fringed
with hairs. They are remarkably agile swimmers.
POND OLIVE
Cloéon dipterum
The vernacular name was suggested by Harris on

account of its more frequent appearance in ponds
than in large lakes, though it is a high summer
temperature, rather than the actual area of water,
which governs its choice of habitat. It is also found
occasionally in the sluggish pools of rivers. The
first hatches appear in May, after which it con-
tinues throughout the fishing season, the flies of
successive broods gradually diminishing in size
from large or medium to small as the summer
advances. Both species of Cloéon become airborne
almost instantaneously on emergence, and are
consequently not very often taken as duns.
The dun varies in colour as well as size. The
wings, which are broad at the base to compensate
for the absence of hind wings, are medium grey,
slightly darker in the male than in the female. The
thorax is brown-olive, the abdomen of the male
grey with brown terminal segments and of the
female brown-olive with yellow terminal segments
and red streaks. I have, however, found female
specimens in which the yellow colour was much
48 TROUT FLIES
more pronounced throughout, and even a few

with bodies the same colour as in the spinner (q.v.)
The legs are pale yellow-olive and grey, and the
tails pale grey or buff with reddish rings.
colourless veins, dark brown thorax, and reddish-
grey abdomen becoming red-brown towards the
tail. The legs are pale watery grey and the tails
pale grey with dark red rings.
The female spinner is a most beautiful fly, with
yellow veins and a broad yellow band along the
fore margin of the wings, yellow ochre thorax, and
abdomen the colour of a ripe apricot, streaked with
red. The legs are pale yellow and the tails pale buff
ringed with red.
ARTIFICIALS
There are no standard patterns representing this
family, so I give my own dressings for both species.
Nymph.
Abdomen: Brown and ginger seal’s fur mixed.
Thorax and wing pads: Dark brown seal’s fur.
Gills: Pale yellow-brown condor herl follow-
ing the turns of ribbing tinsel.
Leg hackle: Medium honey dun hen.
Whisks: Fibres from a speckled brown part-
ridge feather, short.
Hook: 1.
Dun.
Body: Grey condor herl lightly stained in
picric acid,
Wings: A bunch of fibres from a medium grey
waterhen or coot body feather, tied upright.
Leg hackle: Pale honey dun or yellow-olive

cock,
Whisks: Grey-brown mallard scapular fibres.
Hook: 2 to 0, decreasing as the season ad-
vances.
Spinner.
Body: Seal’s fur dyed Naples yellow, mixed
with a little amber and red.
Wings: Golden dun or ginger cock, tied in any
of the three ways previously described.
Leg hackle: Pale honey dun or ginger cock, or
none.
Whisks: Grey-brown mallard scapular fibres.
Hook: 2 to 0, decreasing as above.
LAKE OLIVE
Cloéon simile
This species can stand lower temperatures than

the Pond Olive, and therefore tends to prefer the
larger lakes, though the two are often found
together in the same water. Like the other, it
begins to hatch in May, but then seems to peter out
out until September, when a second brood appears.
In size it is medium to large, but although Harris
states that flies of the autumn brood are smaller
than those of spring, I have not observed this
myself.
The dun has medium grey wings suffused with
brown or olive, a brown-olive thorax, and grey-
brown or olive-brown abdomen. The legs are pale
olive shading to grey, and the tails dark grey with-
out rings. The general effect is of a dingier-looking
fiy than the Pond Olive, but in cases of doubt it can
50 TROUT FLIES
be distinguished from the other by the number of

small cross-veins in what is known as the pterostig-
matic area, on the fore margins of the wings to-
wards their tips. The Lake Olive has from nine to
eleven of these small veins, and the Pond Olive
only from three to five. (Fig. 6.)
Fic. 6. Outer Sections of Fore Wings. A, The Pond Olive

(Cloéon dipterum) has from 3 to 5 pterostigmatic veins. B, The
Lake Olive (Cloéon simile) has from 9 to 11 of these veins. _
The male spinner has transparent wings faintly

stained with yellow-brown and brownish veins.
The thorax is dark brown, almost black, the abdo-
men warm brown becoming red towards the tail
end, legs grey, and tails grey-brown with dark rings
near the base.
The female spinner is similar but with a dark red-
brown abdomen and brown legs.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. As for the Pond Olive.
Dun.
Body: Grey-brown condor herl.

Wings: A bunch of fibres from a pale coot
body feather with a brownish tinge.
Leg hackle: Pale brassy-blue dun cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a dark blue dun cock’s
spade feather.
Hook: 2 to 0, decreasing as before.
Spinner.
Body: Dark red seal’s fur.
Wings: Pale brassy dun cock hackle, tied in
any of the three ways previously described.
Leg hackle: Pale brownish or honey dun cock, or
none.
Whisks: Fibres from a medium blue dun
cock’s spade hackle.
Hook: 2 to 0, decreasing as before.
Family: BAETIDAE
Genus: Procloéon
Characteristics: Two wings and two tails.

Marginal intercalary veins single
The nymph is a swimmer and of the same general

appearance as the Cloéon nymphs, except that all
the gills are single and the tails are-more heavily
fringed with hairs and held closer together.
PALE EVENING
Procloéon pseudorufulum
This is the only member of the genus, which
stands very close to Cloéon, in which this species
was formerly placed. Although I have found the
52 TROUT FLIES
spinners on a lake it is very doubtful whether they

were bred there, and its true habitat seems to be the
slow-flowing type of river. It is a small fly and may
occur throughout the summer months, the main
hatches being from June to August. The duns
emerge in the late evenings, often so late that they
are probably either overlooked by the angler or
mistaken in the semi-darkness for one of the small
Pale Watery duns.
The dun has pale greyish-white wings, often
tinged with green near the base, a pale honey-
coloured thorax and abdomen with reddish mark-
ings, pale yellow legs, and watery grey tails.
The male spinner bas transparent wings with
colourless veins, a brown thorax, and translucent
white abdomen with red-brown terminal seg-
ments. The legs are pale olive and grey, and the
tails white. The eyes are lemon-yellow like those of
Baétis bioculatus, but it can be distinguished from
that species by its two wings.
The female spinner has a pale yellow ochre
thorax and abdomen becoming amber towards the
tail, with amber markings down the back and fine
dark lines on each side of the middle segments.
The legs and tails are pale watery grey.
ARTIFICIALS
There are no standard patterns and the only
dressing I know of is Major Oliver Kite’s, rep-
resenting the dun.
Tying silk; White.
Body: Grey goose herl.
Hackle: Cream cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a cream cock’s hackle.
Hook: 0 to 00.
ti
t
Family: ECDYONURIDAE
Genus: Rhithrogena
Characteristics: Four wings and two tails.
The nymphs are of the flat type, living amongst
stones on the bottom, over which they can move at
high speed. Their bodies, particularly the head and
thorax, together with the upper joints of the legs,
are flattened and very broad in proportion to their
length. Their colour is dark brown mottled with
yellowish brown. The gills are prominent features
and consist of plates and bunches of filaments, the
first pair being very large and meeting beneath the
body. These help to keep the nymph attached to
the surface of the stones in a fast current. The tails
are relatively long, devoid of hair, and held wide
apart.
YELLOW UPRIGHT
Rhithrogena semicolorata
The vernacular name is not very descriptive of

this species, which is neither yellow nor more
upright than any others of its kind. Nevertheless,
it seems preferable to retain the name by which it
has for long been widely known, rather than
introduce a new one, such as Olive Upright, which
was proposed by Harris. It is common in fast stony
rivers and streams and is of great importance on
the Usk and Welsh Dee, but although I have taken
a single specimen on the Itchen and have heard of
others, it cannot be classed as a chalk-stream fly.
It is a large species whose main hatches occur from
_ late May to July.
The dun has medium grey fore wings and paler
hind wings, a grey-green thorax, and olive abdo-
54 TROUT FLIES
men. The legs are pale olive and the tails grey. ‘At
a little distance it might be mistaken for a large
Olive dun, but a certain means of identification is
the presence of a dark streak on the femoral, or
upper, joint of each leg in both the dun and spinner
stages.
brown veins and a yellow-brown stain near the
base. (Courtney Williams states that it is this
yellowish stain, coupled with the spinner’s habit of
ascending in a vertical position during the nuptial
flight, which gives the species its vernacular name.)
The thorax and abdomen are dark olive-brown,
and the legs and tails brown.
The female spinner has a medium reddish-brown
body and pale amber legs and tails.
ARTIFICIALS
There are no standard patterns, but the follow-
ing dressing devised by the late Major J.D. D.
Evans to represent the dun has proved very
effective :—
Body: Fur from a hedgehog’s belly, mixed
with a little rusty-yellow seal’s fur.
Ribbing: Fine gold thread.
Hackle: (representing wings and legs); Honey
dun cock.
Whisks: Fibres from a pale brassy-blue dun
cock’s spade feather.
Hook: 1.
MARCH BROWN
Rhithrogena haarupi
For many years the March Brown was identified
as Ecdyurus (now known as Ecdyonurus) venosus,
but in 1931 it was discovered that there were, in

fact, two species very similar in appearance but
hatching at different times of the year and belong-
ing to different genera. R. haarupi was henceforth
recognised as the true March Brown, emerging
from late March to early May, while E. venosus
does not appear until the other’s season has ended.
It is a very large fly and a common one on rapid,
stony rivers, but is unknown on the chalk streams.
A distinctive feature is its sudden appearance in
large numbers at intervals throughout a spring day,
but the trout feed more often on the ascending
nymphs than on the duns.
The dun has light yellowish brown wings and
prominent brown veins, the cross-veins, which
have dark borders, being absent from two areas in
the centre of the fore wings, producing the effect of
two pale blotches. The thorax and abdomen are
dark brown, darker in the male than the female, the
legs olive-brown and the tails grey-brown.
The male and female spinners resemble the duns,
except that the wings are transparent and only
tinged with brown towards the base.
ARTIFICIALS
Nymph. The following is Skues’s dressing
:—
Abdomen: Herl from a cock pheasant’s tail
feather.
Thorax: Hare’s ear.
Leg hackle: Light brown speckled partridge
feather.
Whisks: Fibres from a cock pheasant’s tail
feather, short.
Hook: 2.
56 TROUT FLIES
Dun. The March Brown dun is usually dressed

as a wet pattern, and in Skues’s words, “It is quite a
poor imitation of the March Brown and quite a
passable one of almost anything else.’’ The stan-
dard tie is:—
Body: Hare’s ear.
Wings: Hen pheasant secondary feather.
Hackle: Grey-brown speckled partridge.
Whisks: Fibres from a grey-brown speckled
partridge feather.
Hook: 3.
Spinner. There is no standard dressing of the
March Brown spinner, but a Pheasant Tail should
serve the purpose.
Family: ECDYONURIDAE
Genus: Ecdyonurus
Characteristics: Four wings and two tails.

The nymphs are of the flat type and similar to the
preceding ones in general shape, but the first pair
of gills are small and do not meet beneath the
body. The most distinctive feature of this genus,
however, is the front segment of the thorax, known
as the pronotum, which ends on each side in a
point projecting backwards over the second seg-
ment.
LATE OR FALSE MARCH BROWN

Ecdyonurus venosus
This is the species referred to as being formerly

identified as the March Brown, and is common in
the same types of rivers as those in which R.
haarupi is found, though it does not hatch in such

profusion. It is a very large fly, appearing from
May onwards.
The dun resembles R. haarupi except that there
are no pale areas in the centre of the fore wings.
The male and female spinners, known as Great
Red spinners, can be distinguished from those of
R. haarupi by the colour of their bodies, in this case
a bright red-brown.
ARTIFICIALS
So far as I am aware, no separate patterns have
been evolved to represent E. venosus.
AUGUST OR ATUMN DUN
Ecdyonurus dispar
The habitats of this species are the same as for

the foregoing, but it is also sometimes found on
the shores of large lakes under the conditions des-
Fic, 7. Fore Wings. A, the March Brown (Rihthrogena

| haarupi). B, the False March Brown (Ecdyonurus venosus).
| Note the pale areas in A due to the absence of cross veins near
the centre of the wings. ‘
58 TROUT FLIES
cribed on page 11. This is another very large fly,

though slightly smaller than venosus. It may be
found from June to October, the main hatches
being in July and August.
The dun is very similar to E. venosus, but the
cross veins lack the dark borders, and consequently
do not appear so prominent.
The male and female spinners are scarcely dis-
tinguishable from those of E. venosus except in the
matter of size.
ARTIFICIALS
There are no standard patterns and I do not
know of any dressing representing the nymph of
this species.
Dun. H. H. Edmonds and N. N. Lee gave the
following pattern in their book, Brook and River
Trouting, published in 1916:—
Tying silk: Yellow.
Body: Yellow-olive wool.
Ribbing: Orange silk sparingly dubbed with
fur from the nape of a rabbit’s neck lightly dyed
red.
Wings: From a mallard’s breast feather,
lightly tinged with brown.
Leg hackle: Medium olive hen.
Whisks: 2 strands from a cock’s hackle dyed
medium olive.
Hook: 2.
Spinner. Skues evolved the following dressing on
a visit to the Coquet in 1888:—
Body: Tawsy gut flattened, dyed bright
orange, and wound over the bare hook shank.
Wings: The speckled part near the root of the
red-brown tail feather of a partridge.
Leg hackle: Red cockerel.

Whisks: Fibres from a honey dun cock’s
hackle.
Hook: 1 or 2.
This disposes of all the commoner species except
two: the Turkey Brown (Paraleptophlebia submar-
ginata), which is very similar in appearance to the
Sepia, and the Yellow May (Heptagenia sulphurea),
a larger pale yellow fly except for the spinner,
which is dark brown. Both these species have long
been known to anglers, but the fact is that they are
seldom taken by trout—possibly because they do
not hatch in such large numbers as other day-flies.
The following less common flies have now been
given names by Harris:
YELLOW EVENING (DUN) (Ephemerella notata), a
close relative of the B.W.O. but resembling the
Yellow May dun in appearance.
PURPLE (DUN) (Paraleptophlebia cincta), some-
what resembling a large Iron Blue, but with
three tails.
SUMMER MAYFLIES (3 species of Siphlonurus), very
large flies known to me as Large Summer duns
and found chiefly in lakes.
BROWN MAY (DUN) (Heptagenia fuscogrisea), a
very large fly bearing a general resemblance to
the March Brown.
DARK (DUN) (Heptagenia lateralis), a dark dun-
coloured relative of the foregoing.
LARGE GREEN (DUN) (Ecdyonurus insignis), a
greenish-grey relative of the Late March Brown
and August dun.
CHAPTER II
Order: TRICHOPTERA (Sedge- or Caddis-flies)
ALTHOUGH they are of considerable importance,

both on rivers and lakes, the sedge-flies, with a
few exceptions, do not hatch simultaneously in
such large numbers as the day-flies, wherefore the
angler has no need to learn to recognise the
individual species. This, perhaps, is just as well,
since 189 species of British Trichoptera have been
recorded.
The life-cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva,
pupa and imago, or adult. The egg-laying habits
vary with the species, some depositing their eggs
on weeds or stones, others in the open water. On
emerging from the eggs the majority of caddis
larvae then proceed to build cases for themselves,
in which the whole of their under-water existence
is passed. These cases are made from many
different kinds of material, such as sand, gravel,
small stones, weed or bits of stick, each species
having its own special method of construction.
There are, however, a few kinds of caddis larvae
which do not make cases, but live instead in silken
tunnels attached to weeds or stones, from which
they sometimes emerge in search of food. It is,
incidentally, incorrect to refer to caddis larvae as
nymphs, as some anglers do. Strictly speaking, the
term nymph should only be applied to those larvae
which bear a recognisable resemblance to their
respective adults, such as those of the day-flies,
dragon-flies, stone-flies and water-boatmen. All
60
TRICHOPTERA (SEDGE- OR CADDIS-FLIES) 61
others should be called larvae, and should not be

confused with pupae.
On reaching maturity the caddis larva pupates
in a similar manner to a butterfly or moth, the
case-making species spinning cocoons inside their
cases and the others in shelters specially constructed
for the purpose. When fully developed the pupa
bites its way out of its home and either swims or
climbs up a weed stem to the surface, whereupon
the winged fly emerges and struggles across the
water to the bank, where mating takes place. The
trout feed on the larvae (case and all), pupae,
newly-emerged adults and egg-laying females.
Those which escape the attentions of the fish and
other predators live a good deal longer than the
day-flies, probably for more than a week, while
specimens bred in captivity and artificially fed
have been known to exist for a matter of months.
As the sedge-flies vary greatly in size and appear-
ance, according to their species, they can only be
described in general terms, which will suffice to
enable the reader to recognise them as members of
the order Trichoptera. References to a few specific
flies will be found at the end of the general
description. :
The larvae of the non-case-making species some-
what resemble caterpillars, but with longer legs
and, in some cases, abdominal gills. The case-
making species are generally fatter and more
grub-like in appearance, but this is of no more than
academic interest to the angler, who cannot well
imitate a hard caddis case in fur and feather. Both
types have short caudal appendages ending in
hooks, by means of which they can maintain a
grip on the shelters in which they live.
62 TROUT FLIES
The pupae have fat, juicy-looking bodies and a

rather hump-backed appearance. The antennae,
springing from the head, and the legs, from the
thorax, lie beneath the body, while the four
wing-pads slope downwards from the thorax
towards the under side of the abdomen. The centre
pair of legs are longer than the others and fringed
with hairs to assist the pupa in swimming to the
surface.
The adults are not unlike moths in appearance,
except that their wings are covered with hairs
instead of scales. The fore wings are slightly longer
than the hind wings and hide them when the insect
is at rest with both pairs folded back over the body
in the form of a ridge tent. The antennae and legs
are long in proportion to the body, and there are
no tails. The wings of most species are some shade
of brown or grey, either plain or patterned, and
the bodies brown, grey or green. The size varies
according to species from a quarter of an inch or
less up to an inch in length.
GRANNOM
Brachycentrus subnubilus
This is the only sedge-fly which the angler need

learn to identify, as it is the only species favoured
by the trout to hatch in any quantity. It is confined
to running water and I have seen heavy hatches on
the Don and lower Test, but it seems to be less
common, especially on the chalk streams, than it
used to be. Where it does occur, however, it
provides a sight worth seeing, and an opportunity
which no angler can afford to miss. So sudden are
the hatches that at one moment the river will
appear lifeless, and in the next the whole surface

will be covered with these little flies and boiling
with the rises of trout, who go almost mad in their
eagerness to make the most of what they probably
know is but a fleeting chance of a good meal.
Their usual procedure is to chase the ascending
pupae towards the surface and to take them either
just before or in the act of hatching.
The Grannom is one of the smaller sedge-flies,*
with a greyish body less than half an inch long and
grey wings with buff patches. The body of the pupa
is a bluish green colour, which is no doubt the true
reason for the success of green-bodied artificials,
though these are generally supposed to represent
the female imago carrying her ball of green eggs.
The hatches take place in April and May.
ARTIFICIALS
There are various patterns of Grannom on the
market, of which the following may be taken as
typical:—
Tying silk: Bright green.
Body: Grey-brown hare’s ear, with green wool
at the tail end.
Wings: Hen pheasant or partridge secondary.
Hackle: Short ginger-grizzled cock.
Hook: 1 to 2.'
The following hackle pattern, which ibschbabt
represents the insect in the act of hatching, was
evolved by the Rev. E. Powell and is extremely
successful, as I can vouch from my own ex-
experience :—
Tying silk: Green.
4 The measurements used to denote the sizes of day-flies do
not apply to the Trichoptera or other orders here described,
where the sizes mentioned are purely arbitrary and relative,
64 TROUT FLIES
Body: Mole’s fur dyed in picric acid.

Hackles: Two greyish-brown speckled part-
ridge feathers.
Hook: 1.
The only other sedge-flies likely to be seen in
large numbers are the Silverhorns, a name covering
several very small species belonging to the genera
Mystacides and Leptocerus. These are well-known
to every angler on account of their habit of gyrat-
ing above the water in large swarms, but although
an occasional immature fish will be seen jumping
after them in the air, the fact is that they seldom
figure on the trout’s menu. One or other species
will usually be found, both in still and running
water, throughout the summer months, but they
are not worth the angler’s serious consideration.
The majority of sedge-flies emerge in the late
evening, the Grannom and the Caperer (Sericos-
toma personatum) being the most notable excep-
tions. The latter is a medium-sized sedge-fly with
mahogany-brown wings, which is of some impor-
tance on the chalk streams in May and June. It is,
incidentally, a good example of the confusion
which may arise through the use of vernacular
names. Halford called it the Welshman’s Button, a
name properly belonging to a beetle, but it is now
more often known as the Caperer, which to add to
the muddle is also applied by some to Halesus
radiatus, a quite different species emerging in the
evening in late summer.
The following English names are also in use:
CINNAMON SEDGE (Limnephilus lunatus, Halford).
GREY FLAG (Hydropsyche species, Irish).
GREY SEDGE (Odontocerum albicorne, Mosely).
MEDIUM SEDGE (Goéra pilosa) female, Halford).
SMALL DARK SEDGE (Goéra pilosa male, Halford).

SILVER SEDGE (Lepidostoma hirtum, Harris).
Some of these names are more often used to
denote the artificial flies than their natural proto-
types, and there are besides these several similarly-
named artificials, which do not seem to have been
copied from any specific insects. This probably
applies to the Little Red Sedge, one of Skues’s
favourite patterns, and to the Orange and Kim-
bridge Sedges formerly in vogue on the chalk
streams.
ARTIFICIALS
Pupa. There are no standard patterns of caddis
pupae, but a number of amateur fly dressers have
tried their hands at representing them. I give a
dressing of my own below, in which the colours
may be varied to suggest different species.
Body: Front half brown, rear half green seal’s
fur, spun on thickly in the centre and tapering
towards either end.
Legs, wing-cases and antennae: A furnace or
coch-y-bondhu hackle with the fibres above the
body removed and those below it stroked back-
wards towards the tail and thus secured.
Hook: 1 to 4. ;
Adult sedge. There are many patterns on the
market, but it is quite unnecessary to carry more
than a couple for all occasions. The following
dressings may be taken as typical :—
Halford’s Cinnamon sedge.
Body: Condor quill dyed dull yellow-green.
Ribbing hackle: Ginger cock.
Wings: Mottled brown hen,
6 TROUT FLIES
Shoulder hackles: Two ginger cock hackles.

Hook: 3.
Skues’s Little Red sedge.
Tying silk: Hot orange.
Body: Darkest hare’s ear.
Wings: Landrail bunched and rolled, tied
sloping over the body.
Body hackle: Deep red cock.
Shoulder hackle: Deep red cock, longer in the
fibre than the body hackle. 4 or 5 turns in front
of the wings.
Hook: 1.
Lunn’s Hackle Caperer.

Body: 4 or 5 strands from a turkey’s tail
feather with a ring of swan’s herl dyed yellow in
the centre.
Hackles (at the shoulder only): Black cock
followed by Rhode Island.
Hook: | to 3.
CHAPTER IV
Order: PLECOPTERA (Stone-flies)
Ir seems to be the custom to place the stone-flies

immediately after the sedge-flies in angling en-
tomologies, though in fact they are of less impor-
tance to the fly-fisherman than some of the insects
we shall meet later in this chapter. True, the stone-
flies are taken by the trout in certain stages of their
existence, but so far as the angler is concerned their
chief function is to provide bait, in the shape of the
nymphs of the larger species, for the “‘creeper”’
fisherman of the North, and I agree with Courtney
Williams that artificial stone-flies seldom justify
their existence.
Nevertheless, the Plecoptera are true aquatic
insects, and as fly-fishermen have imitated, or
attempted to imitate, them for several centuries,
they deserve some mention here. The angler should
at all events be able to recognise a stone-fly as such
when he sees one, though he need not trouble him-
self overmuch with the individual species. Of these
thirty-four have been recorded in Britain, mostly
from stony streams and rivers. Only 1nine species
occur in lakes.
The life-cycle consists of only three stages: egg,
nymph and adult. There is no pupal stage. The eggs
are laid on the surface of the water in much the
same way as those of the day-flies, the precise
method varying in the different genera. On emer-
gence the nymphs live amongst the stones on the
bottom, or in a few cases in water moss. As they
67
68 TROUT FLIES
attain their full growth—usually after one year as

nymphs but in some genera up to three years—they
crawl ashore, often at night, and take shelter
amongst the stones and vegetation on the bank,
where the adults emerge. Mating then takes place
on the ground. Trout take the nymphs while they
are crawling about on the bottom, but as it would
be difficult to make an artificial behave in the same
way, they are of little account to the fly-fisherman
at this stage. Owing to their habit of emerging on
the bank, the newly-hatched adults are not seen by
the fish, whose only opportunity of taking the
winged flies, therefore, is when the females return
to the water to deposit their eggs.
The nymphs are not unlike day-fly nymphs in
their general shape, but they have much longer
antennae, stouter legs, often fringed with hairs,
and only two tails, while the gills are either absent
or spring from the thorax or the points of junction
of the legs or tails with the body, instead of from
the abdomen. As they approach maturity two pairs
of wing-pads develop on the back, springing from
the second and third thoracic segments respectively.
The general coloration of the nymphs varies with
the species. They are poor swimmers, and usually
progress by crawling, in which they are assisted by
the presence of a stout claw at the extremity of each
leg.
The adults have four wings of nearly equal length,
which are folded flat along the back when at rest.
In the males of some species, however, the wings
are so attenuated that the insects are unable to fly.
The antennae are long, though not so long as those
of the sedge-flies, and the tails variable in length, in
some cases being no more than short stumps. The
PLECOPTERA (STONE-FLIES) 69
colour of the stone-flies is usually some shade of

brown or yellow, and their size varies from about
three-sixteenths up to more than an inch in length,
the females being larger than the males.
The following English names are employed by
anglers:
EARLY BROWNS (Nemouridae species, esp. Proto-
nemura meyeri).
FEBRUARY RED (Jaeniopteryx nebulosa female).
NEEDLE BROWNS, Of NEEDLE FLIES (Leuctra
species). ey
LARGE STONEFLIES Or MAYFLIES (Perlidae species
and the larger species of Perlodidae).
WILLOW FLY (Leuctra geniculata).
YELLOW SALLY (Isoperla grammatica).
ARTIFICIALS
As I have already suggested, artificial stone-flies
seldom meet with much success, but they are worth
a trial when the natural insects are on the water
laying their eggs. There are a number of different
patterns on the market of which the following may
be taken as typical. The dressings vary, of course,
with different firms.
February red.
Tying silk: Claret.
Body: Orange mohair, or hare’s ear with
claret wool at the tail.
Wings: Hen pheasant or partridge (mottled).
FHrackle: Claret.
Hook: 1.
Yellow Sally.
Tying silk: Primrose.
Body: Light yellow-green wool.
70 TROUT FLIES
Hackle: White cock dyed pale greenish-
yellow.
(Yellow wings are added in some versions of this
pattern.)
Willow Fly.
Tying silk: Orange.
Body: Mole’s fur.
Hackle: Medium blue dun hen.
Whisks: Medium blue dun hackle fibres.
Hook: 1 to 2.
CHAPTER V
Order: DIPTERA (7wo-winged flies)
THERE are something like 3,000 species of this

order, which includes the common house-flies, the
crane-flies, gnats, midges and mosquitoes. Most of
them only figure on the trout’s menu in the shape of
accidental windfalls, but there are some truly
aquatic families and others which, although land-
bred, fall on to the water in sufficient numbers to
bring about a general rise. It is with these two
classes that we are concerned here.
Family: CHIRONOMIDAE (Midges or Buzzers)
There are some 400 British species of this

aquatic family, some of which are to be found
throughout the season in every area of static water
from the smallest pond to the largest lake, and as
they form one of the principle articles of insect diet
of the trout of such waters they are of great im-
portance to the lake angler. They also occur in the
sluggish pools and reaches of some rivers, but
generally speaking are not of much account to the
river fisherman. The majority of Chironomids are
too small to imitate, but the genus Chironomus
includes a number of relatively large species which
are well worth the angler’s attention.
The life-cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva,
pupa and adult. The eggs are laid on the surface of
the water, and the larvae live either amongst the
water weeds or in small tubes composed of mud,
71
We. TROUT FLIES
but they can and do swim about. When fully

grown they pupate, and in due course the pupae
swim up to the surface, where the adult flies
emerge. The trout take the larvae, pupae, newly-
hatched flies and finally the egg-laying females, but
they are most often taken in the pupal stage, when
they hang suspended vertically just beneath the
surface for a short time before hatching, thereby
presenting the fish with an easy prey. The larvae, as
will be realised from the accompanying descrip-
tion, are virtually impossible to imitate success-
fully, but the lake angler who carries one or two
good patterns representing the pupa and adult—
more especially the former—is assured of some
good sport.
The larvae resemble very small worms, a
resemblance which is heightened in many species
whose blood contains haemoglobin, which gives
them a red colour and incidentally enables them to
live in deep water. The remainder are usually
coloured pale olive.
The pupae begin to resemble their respective
adults in colour and shape, except that the legs and
embryo wings are tucked away beneath the body.
The abdomen is slender and tapering, and the
thorax, which occupies about a third of the length
of the body, is very bulky in proportion. From the
head arises a tuft of filaments which act as breath-
ing tubes.
The adults have semi-transparent wings, which
are held horizontally in the form of a V when the
insects are at rest. The legs are very long and widely
spread, and the male carries a prominent pair of
antennae resembling small feathers. The swarms
of Chironomids which are often to be seen amongst
DIPTERA (TWO-WINGED FLIES) 73
the bushes on the shores of lakes are the males

awaiting the arrival of their mates.
The larger Chironomids are from a quarter to
half an inch in length and they are of many differ-
ent colours, the most common being golden-olive,
bright green, brown, and black. The following
English names have been identified with specific
insects, but colour alone is not a sufficient guide to
species because there are several of each colour,
while individual species may vary considerably in
this respect:
GOLDEN DUN MIDGE (Chironomus plumosus).
GREEN MIDGE (Chironomus viridis).
OLIVE MIDGE Of BLAGDON BUZZER (Chironomus
tentans).
ARTIFICIALS
There are no standard patterns representing the
Chironomids. The following are my own dressings,
of which the pupa has proved particularly success-
ful.
Pupa.
Body: Gut or nylon stained to any desired
colour and wound over the bare hook shank, It
should be taken a short way round the bend of
the hook to suggest the wriggling body of the
pupa.
Thorax: Ostrich, condor or peacock herl,
occupying about 1/3 of the hook shank.
Wing cases and legs: A short hen hackle with
the topmost fibres removed and the remainder
pressed close to the body.
Hook: 00 to 3, downturned eye.
74 TROUT FLIES
Adult midge
Body: As for the pupa, but stopping short of
the bend.
Thorax: A knob of tying silk formed by
figure-of-eight turns, well varnished.
Wings: Not necessary, but hackle points or
fibres can be added if desired.
Leg hackle: Long grizzled cock divided by the
thorax into four bunches, of which two slant
forwards and two backwards.
Hook: 00 to 3.
Family: CULICIDAE
Sub-family: CHAOBORINAE (Phantom midges).
The Phantom midges belong to the mosquito

family, but bear a strong resemblance to the
Chironomids and have the same life-cycle. There
are only four British species.
The larvae, from which the family takes its
English name, are completely transparent, al-
though this does not save them from the keen-eyed
trout, who frequently take them in large numbers.
The pupae are similar in general appearance to
those of the Chironomids, but are relatively shorter
and fatter, and the breathing filaments are replaced
by a pair of ear-like appendages.
The adults could easily be mistaken for Chirono-
mids without a lens, which reveals the presence of a
fringe of fine hairs round the wings. The only one
of the four species I have found myself is C.
crystallinus, a rather spectacular insect nearly half
an inch long with a pale blue-green body striped
with black on the thorax.
ARTIFICIALS
The Phantom midges can be imitated in the
same manner as the Chironomids.
Family: BIBIONIDAB
Genus: Bibio
There are two species of this genus which,

although terrestrial, are of some importance to
both the lake and river fisherman on account of
their predilection for tumbling into the water
during or after mating. In general appearance they
bear a superficial resemblance to house-flies.
Life-cycle: Egg, larva, pupa and adult. The
larvae live and pupate in the earth or in the roots
of plants, often in the vicinity of water, which
seems to have a strange and frequently fatal attrac-
tion for the adults, once they are on the wing. The
trout, of course, can only take them in the winged
stage, when chance or some mysterious compul-
sion causes them to end their short existence on
the surface of a lake or stream.
BLACK GNAT
Bibio johannis
Although the Black Gnat has for many years

been identified with Bibio johannis, it has recently
been pointed out that there are several other insects
of different genera to which the English name could
be equally well applied. They are a familiar sight to
every angler as they gyrate over the water, often in
huge swarms, ina similar manner to the Silver-
76 TROUT FLIES
horns. Sometimes these swarms disperse inland

and not a single fly is seen on the water: at other
times every single one seems to come down until
the whole surface is strewn with them for several
hours at a stretch. On such occasions sport is apt
to be magnificent, for not only do these flies
attract the biggest trout, but the fish seem to know
they have plenty of time and instead of rushing
madly about as they do after Grannom, they
remain in their chosen places, taking a fly here and
there with a deliberate and purposeful rise. In view
of the competition which confronts the artificial
fly, however, accurate casting, a good pattern, and
considerable patience are required if the angler is to
make the most of his opportunity. The name
johannis refers to the fact that this species is most
prevalent around Midsummer (St. John’s) day,
though the heaviest hatches I have seen—which
may well have included other species—have been in
Mayfly-time and again in August.
It is, of course, unnecessary to describe the larva
and pupa, which the fish never see, and to avoid
multiplying scientific names I am taking B. johannis
as the type.
The adult has iridescent wings which are carried
flat over the back when at rest but are often out-
spread when the fly lies spent upon the water. The
body of the male is slender and cylindrical, that of
the female fatter and egg-shaped. It is an old quip
that the Black Gnat is neither black nor a gnat, but
while it is true that the body is really dark olive, it
looks black enough at a little distance to justify the
first part of the name. The length of the female is
about a quarter of an inch, the male being slightly
longer.
DIPTERA (TWO-WINGED FLIES) Ta
ARTIFICIALS
The commercial patterns of Black Gnat are
commonly dressed with their wings in the vertical
plane and bear little resemblance to the natural
insect. I have found the following modification of
J. W. Dunne’s pattern extremely effective during a
fall of Black Gnats:—
Body: A strand of herl from the bronze part of
a turkey’s tail feather.
Wings: A mixed bunch of cock hackle fibres
dyed green and magenta to give the effect of
iridescence. They are tied in flat over the body
and clipped off just beyond the bend of the
hook.
Leg hackle: As many turns as possible of black
cock, the fibres of which are clipped quite short
after winding.
Hook: 00.
HAWTHORN FLY
Bibio marci
This species takes its Latin name from the

alleged date of its first appearance, namely St.
Mark’s day (April 5th), but in this case the English
name is more accurate, as it usually arrives with the
hawthorn blossom. For the same reason it is yet
another claimant to the name of Mayfly in some
parts of the country. As in the case of the Black
Gnat, it seems probable that anglers have confused
two or more similar species, which might account
for the apparent discrepancy in dates, but for
practical purposes we will consider them as one.
I am inclined to think that the Hawthorn is a
more local insect than the Black Gnat, and it cer-
78 TROUT FLIES
tainly does not appear in anything like the same

profusion, nor does it seem quite so fond of taking
a bath. Consequently, although each individual fly
represents a larger mouthful, and may tempt the
trout on this account, it is seldom the cause of a
general rise of fish. Indeed, the only really big hatch
of Hawthorns I have ever witnessed was completely
ignored by the trout, but from the experience of
others it is evident that at certain times and places
it is of some importance as an angling fly.
The adult resembles a Black Gnat but on a larger
scale and with a blacker body. A distinctive feature,
faithfully copied by most fly-dressers, is a pair of
long, hairy hind legs, which it trails astern when
in flight. It is nearly half an inch in length.
ARTIFICIALS '
The following is a useful pattern devised by
Roger Woolley :—
Body: 2 strands from the black part of a
turkey’s tail feather, showing the bright part of
the quill.
Wings: Strips from a pale grey jay wing
feather.
Hackle: Black cock.
Hind legs: The surplus ends of the strands
forming the body, secured so as to point back-
wards.
Hook: 2.
This completes the tale of the more important
Dipterans, but there are a few others which merit
brief mention.
REED SMUTS, which belong to the family Simuli-
dae, are true aquatic insects and sometimes hatch
in such large numbers as to occupy the trout’s
exclusive attention. They are, however, really too

small to imitate satisfactorily, and although a
minute hackle pattern may score an occasional
success, the angler is likely to experience an un-
happy, not to say exasperating, time when the fish
are engaged in “‘smutting”’. They occur in rivers
throughout the summer months, and resemble
miniature Black Gnats in appearance, but with
relatively thicker bodies and shorter wings.
ARTIFICIALS
The only imitations of the Reed Smut known to
me are the five patterns devised by the late Dr. J. C.
Mottram, of which the following is one:—
Abdomen: Black ostrich herl.
Thorax: Black wool.
Hackle: White.
Hook: Not mentioned, but presumably 000
or even smaller.
CRANE-FLIES of the Tipulidae family, popularly
known as Daddy- or Harry-long-legs, often fall on
to the water in late summer, when they receive a
warm reception from the trout. Several ingenious
patterns have been devised with legs represented by
| knotted strands of herl, but the majority of trout
_ which succumb to the ““Daddy”’, especially on the
Trish loughs, are victims of the natural fly used as a
| dap. There are several different species, varying in
size, but they are too well-known to require
_ description.
_ARTIFICIALS
The following is J. T. Hanna’s dressing
:—
Body: A strip of brown rubber wound between
80 TROUT FLIES
the legs from the shoulder to the bend of the

hook and back again.
Wings: Two brownish hackle tips tied in the
spent position.
Hackle: Red cock.
Legs: 6 strands from a cock pheasant’s tail
feather knotted in the middle to represent the
joints. Four of these should point forwards and
two backwards.
Hook: 3 to 5.
The GRAVEL BED (Anisomera burmeisteri) has

long been known to fishermen and although of
rather local distribution can be productive of fine
sport where it occurs. I once witnessed a splendid
rise to this fly on the Don, but mistakenly diag-
nosed Grannom, which had been hatching freely
on the previous day. On discovering my mistake
(thanks to a friendly angler on the opposite bank
who was busily filling his basket) I rushed back to
my hotel and dressed a couple of patterns, but by
the time I returned it was all over. Those who fish
the rivers of the north and west, therefore, would
do well to be prepared for hatches of the Gravel
bed during the month of May. As its name
suggests, it hatches out in the gravel beds by the
riverside, and it is not unlike a Chironomid in
appearance, with greyish wings, a dark lead-
coloured body 3/16th of an inch in length, and
long, almost black legs.
ARTIFICIALS
The following is a useful hackle pattern devised
by that well-known amateur fly dresser, Dr. T. E.
Pryce-Tannatt :—
Body: Ash-coloured wool lightly varnished

with diluted Durofix.
Hackles: Two turns of black cock with fibres
twice the length of the hook, and a grey-brown
partridge back feather in front.
Hook: 2 to 3.
CHAPTER VI
Sub-order: MEGALOPTERA
Family: SIALIDAE
Genus: Sialis
ALDER
Sialis lutaria. Sialis fuliginosa
THESE two species, of which Juraria is the com- |

moner, are sufficiently alike to be treated as one.
The Alder, or Orl-fly, as it was formerly known, is
such a familiar sight by the waterside in May and
June that it has been known to and imitated by
anglers for centuries. Yet the fact is that it is not a
wholly aquatic insect and in its winged state does —
not come on to the water except by accident, when ~
it is very seldom taken by the trout. The undoubted ©
success of the artificial Alder, therefore, is pre-
sumably due to its resemblance to some other
insect—possibly a caddis pupa ascending to hatch, —
since most fishermen are agreed that it does best as —
a sunk fly. The larva, on the other hand, though
unknown to the majority of fishermen, forms quite
an important article of the trout’s diet at certain
times of the year, but to understand the true posi-
tion of the Alder in the angling scene it is necessary —
to know something of the fly’s rather unusual life-
history.
The life-cycle consists of egg, larva, pupa and —
adult, of which only the second stage is passed in
the water. The eggs are laid on vegetation close to
“2
MEGALOPTERA (ALDER FLIES) 83
the waterside, and as soon as the small larvae

emerge they make their way at once to the lake or
river, as the case may be, there to live in the mud or
silt for the best part of a year, feeding on other
small larvae and nymphs. In the following March
or April they crawl or swim ashore and proceed to
pupate in holes in the bank. There the adults finally
emerge, and as both mating and oviposition take
place on shore, it will be appreciated that the trout
only see the Alder in its larval stage, unless the
winged fly is unlucky enough to fall into the water,
when in my experience it is invariably ignored.
The larvae, however, are eaten in some numbers
during their shoreward migration in the spring,
and sometimes again towards the end of the season,
when the new generation have attained a worth-
_ while size.
The larva is an uncouth-looking beast, mottled in
shades of brown and dull yellow and shaped rather
like a carrot. It carries a pair of claw-like man-
dibles, and the abdomen is fringed with seven pairs
of pointed tracheal gills. It is quite a fair swimmer
and has a curious habit of rearing up the front half
of its body when closely approached, doubtless for
the purpose of intimidating potential enemies.
The pupa sheds the gills and tapering tail of the
larva, and develops two pairs of wing-pads and a
pair of antennae, which together with the legs are
stowed away beneath the abdomen as in the sedge
pupa. But as the trout never see the Alder in the
pupal stage, this is of no more than academic
interest to the angler.
The adult might be mistaken for a sedge-fly by
the uninitiated, but the wings are rather more
rounded in outline and are devoid of hairs. The
|
84 TROUT FLIES
body and legs are almost black, and the wings

sepia brown with prominent dark veins. The length
of the body is about half an inch, the wings being
slightly longer.
ARTIFICIALS
Larva. 1 do not know of any pattern except my
own, which is therefore given below:—
Head and thorax: Hare’s ear. :
Abdomen: A mixture of brown and ginger
seal’s fur, tapering steeply from shoulder to tail.
Gills: A pale ginger hen hackle following the
turns of ribbing. The fibres above and below the
hook are removed and those on either side
stroked backwards towards the tail during the
winding process.
Leg hackle: Brown speckled partridge.
Hook: Long Mayfly, 10 to 12, loaded with
wire to make it sink.
Adult. The following is the standard dressing,
though as I have previously suggested, it is probab-
ly not taken for an Alder by the trout.
Body: Peacock herl dyed magenta.
Wings: Strips from a dark mottled hen’s
secondary feather, tied sloping over the body.
Hackle: Black cock.
Hook: 1 to 3.
CHAPTER VII
Order: HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA (Water bugs),
Tuis order includes a wide variety of aquatic

insects differing considerably in appearance and
habits, such as the water cricket, water measurer,
water scorpions, pond skaters and water-boatmen.
Considering the boundless opportunities they
provide, it is a surprising fact that the great
majority of them are very seldom eaten. by trout,
virtually the only exceptions to this being the
Lesser water-boatmen of the family Corixidae.
The remainder can therefore be safely ignored.
Family: CORIXIDAE (Lesser Water-boatmen)
This family contains 26 British species and one

variety of the genus Corixa, together with three
species of allied genera. Except to the scientist,
who is concerned with minute anatomical details,
they are all very much alike except in the matter of
size, which ranges from about one-eighth to half
an inch, measured lengthways. Although they
occur in some rivers, they are of more importance
to the lake fisherman, the trout of different lakes
seeming to vary in their partiality for them, regard-
less of the numbers available. Blagdon is the most
notable example of a lake in which the Corixids
form a significant proportion of the trouts’ food
throughout the summer, while records from many
other waters show that they are taken chiefly in
\
April, May, June and September. They can be
85
86 TROUT FLIES
distinguished from the rather similar water-

boatmen of the Notonectidae family (which the
fish seldom take) by the fact that the Notonectids
always swim on their backs.
The life-cycle consists of egg, nymph and adult,
the nymphs in this case being no more than im-
mature specimens of their respective adults. They
normally live on the bed of the lake, but have to
swim to the surface at intervals to renew their air
supplies, and it is when thus engaged, no doubt,
that they attract the trout’s attention. Although
they live under water they are able to fly, and
sometimes shift their quarters by this means from
one lake to another during the summer months.
The adults bear a superficial resemblance to
beetles, to which, however, they are unrelated.
Seen from above they are boat-shaped, with large
yellowish heads and a pattern of alternate light
and dark brown stripes running across the body
and wing cases, or hemielytra, which are folded
across the back. Their under sides are flat and a
dirty cream colour. The front legs are short and
stout, the second pair long and thin, and the
hindmost pair, which are used as paddles, are
fringed with hairs and held nearly at right angles to
the body when the insect is at rest. The air is
stored between the wing-cases and abdomen,
giving the appearance of a silver halo as the
Corixid turns downwards from the surface after
renewing its supplies.
ARTIFICIALS
I do not know of any standard pattern rep-
resenting a Corixid, but give my own dressing
below.
HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA 87
Head: Yellowish-brown condor herl.

Body: Opossum or any other buff-coloured
fur.
Ribbing: Narrow flat silver tinsel.
Back and wing cases: The tip of a small wing
covert from a cock capercailzie, lying flat over
the body in the horizontal plane.
Paddles: A grey-brown partridge feather
wound in the centre of the body. The fibres
above and below the body are then removed and
those on either side secured so that they point
slightly forwards.
Leg hackle: Pale ginger hen, or none.
Hook: 3 to 4, lightly loaded with wire.
CHAPTER VIII
Order: ODONATA
Sub-orders: ANISOPTERA (Dragon-flies)

ZYGOPTERA (Damsel-flies)
TuESsE beautiful creatures are to be found in almost

every lake and pond, as well as in some rivers,
during the summer months, but although the trout
sometimes eat them in surprising numbers they are
too large to imitate satisfactorily except as imma-
ture nymphs, of which a good pattern often proves
quite successful. There are 27 British species of
Anisoptera and 17 of Zygoptera.
The Life-cycle consists of egg, nymph and adult.
The eggs are laid either on the surface of the water
or an emergent weed, the different species, as
always, differing in their methods. The nymphs, or
najiads as they are sometimes called, live at the
bottom or amongst weeds and are mostly carni-
vorous. On reaching maturity the nymph crawls up
the stem of a water plant to a position well clear of
the surface, where the adult emerges; a process
which may take over an hour to complete. The
trout take both nymphs and winged flies—the
latter probably in the shape of females in the act of
laying their eggs, though immature fish may some-
times be seen making abortive attempts to seize
them in the air as they hover over the water.
The nymphs of the true dragon-flies are squat,
ungainly-looking creatures, varying in size and
shape according to their species. They are fitted
with a primitive form of jet-propulsion, which
enables them to move at considerable speed over
88
ODONATA 89
short distances. Damsel-fly nymphs are quite

different in appearance and easier to imitate, being
more like the nymphs of day-flies but with longer
legs and three tracheal gills at the tail end. They
usually proceed at a slow crawl, but can swim after
a fashion with an undulating movement of the
body. Both possess a curious piece of apparatus
known as a mask, which is a kind of retractable
grab used for the purpose of seizing their prey.
The adults need no description, being a familiar
sight to every child who has dabbled in a pond. It
may be noted, however, that the damsel-flies can
be distinguished not only by. their more slender
build, but also by their habit of folding their wings
over their backs when at rest, whereas the dragon-
flies hold them spread apart in the flying position.
ARTIFICIALS
The adults of both types are too large and the
nymphs of dragon-flies too awkward in shape to be
imitated satisfactorily, but damsel-fly nymphs can
be copied with a reasonable degree of accuracy
and are worth a trial in lakes.
Damsel-fly nymph. The following is my own
attempt to represent an immature nymph, the
colour of which may be dull green, yellow or seid
Head: Peacock herl.
Body: Seal’s fur, tapering slightly at the tail
end.
Leg hackle: A pale waterhen’s feather.
Gills: The tips of three hackles tied in like a
tail in the vertical plane and slightly separated :
by turns of tying silk.
Hook: Long Mayfly, 10-13, wire-loaded.
CHAPTER IX
Order: COLEOPTERA (Beetles)
THERE are no less than 3,700 British beetles, of

which several hundred species are either aquatic or
amphibious in their habits. It might be thought
from this—and has indeed been stated by not a
few writers—that beetles form an important source
of trout food, but generally speaking this is not the
case. At certain times and places, it is true, some
of the terrestrial species are taken in large numbers,
but for some strange reason trout do not appear to
relish the water bettles, which are seldom found in
autopsies. It may be that the fish only become
interested in the Coleoptera when they are present
in some quantities, and that this condition is only
fulfilled when some of the land-bred species are
hatching in the vicinity of rivers or lakes. This
seems to happen more frequently in Wales than
elsewhere, especially in the cases of the Coch-y-
bondhu beetle, which Courtney Williams has
identified as Phyllopertha horticola, and the Cock-
chafer or Maybug (Melolontha melolontha). The
former hatches in June and July and the latter in
May and June, and both sometimes fall on to the
water in very large numbers. I have never wit-
nessed this myself, but I remember seeing the
streets of Brecon so covered with Cockchafers that
it was impossible to walk without treading on them, ©
and I was told that anglers on the nearby Talybont
reservoir enjoy excellent sport on such occasions.
When visiting waters where beetles are to be expec-
90
COLEOPTERA (BEETLES) 91
ted, therefore, the fisherman would do well to pro-

vide himself with an appropriate pattern, though
as a general “‘fly’’ I feel that the value of the arti-
ficial beetle has been somewhat overrated.
The life-cycle consists of egg, larva, pupa and
adult, but the trout do not, of course, have an
opportunity of taking the larvae and pupae of the
terrestrial species. Even the aquatic beetles usually
pupate out of their reach, either in the bank or on
on emergent vegetation, while their larvae are very
rarely found in autopsies, possibly because they are
equipped with prehensile claws which enable them
to cling so tightly to the weeds that they are diffi-
cult to dislodge. It is therefore unnecessary to des-
cribe the Coleoptera in these stages.
The adults vary greatly in shape and size, the
aforementioned Coch-y-bondhu being an oval-
shaped beetle about half an inch long and coloured
reddish brown and black, with blackish legs. The
Cockchafer is too well-known to need description.
Most of the water beetles are more or less boat-
shaped, and may be distinguished from the land-
bred species by their flatter legs, fringed with hairs,
which enable them to swim. They have to surface
for air at intervals like the Corixids, which makes it
all the more surprising that they are so seldom
eaten by trout.
ARTIFICIALS
I do not know any pattern representing the
Cockchafer, though I remember seeing a most life-
like imitation tied by a member of the Flyfishers’
Club in which the wing cases were represented bya
reddish-brown feather with a double black pattern
taken from a cock pheasant. The Coch-y-bondhu
92 TROUT FLIES
is, of course, a standard pattern and is dressed as

under.
Body: 2 or 3 strands of peacock herl.
Tag: Flat gold tinsel.
Hackle: Coch-y-bondhu.
Hook: | to 3.
CHAPTER X
Order: HYMENOPTERA
Tus order includes the ants, of which there are

several coloured red, brown or black. They are, of
course, land-bred, but when a swarm flies across a
lake or river during the late summer months many
of them fall into the water, and the trout seem to
be inordinately fond of them. It has been said that
an artificial ant is very seldom required but that
when it is wanted it is wanted very badly, which no
doubt is true, though in thirty years of fly-fishing I
never had occasion to use one myself. The ants, of
course, require no description from me, and their
life-history is too complex to be included here.
Those who may be interested, however, will find a
detailed description of the ants’ remarkable story
in Courtney Williams’s excellent work, A Dic-
tionary of Trout Flies.
ARTIFICIALS
Commercial patterns of ants suffer from the
same defects as those of Black Gnats. I therefore
give two of William Lunn’s dressings, which are
much more like the real thing.
Red Ant.
Tying silk: Deep orange.
Body: The tying silk wound so as to form a fat
blob at the tail end, followed by a few single
turns to represent the “‘waist’’.
Wings: Fibres from a white cock’s hackle tied
93
94 TROUT FLIES
on slanting over the body and trimmed with

scissors to the required length.
Hackle: Light bright red cock.
Hook: 000 to 0.
Dark ant.
Body: The tying silk wound as in the fore-
going pattern.
Wings: Fibres from a blue dun cock’s hackle
trimmed as above.
Hackle: Very dark red cock.
Hook: 000 to 00.
INDEX
Alder, 82 Dark (dun), 59

Anisoptera burmeisteri, 80 Dark Olive Quill, 41
Ants, 93 Dragon-flies, 88
August or Autumn dun, 57 Dusky Broadwing, 31
Baétis atrebatinus, 41 Early Browns, 69

Baétis bioculatus, 35 Ecdyonurus dispar, 57
Baétis buceratus, 39 Ecdyonurus insignis, 59
Baétis niger, 42 Ecdyonurus venosus, 56
Baétis pumilus, 43 Ephemera danica, 19
Baétis rhodani, 40 Ephemera lineata, 23
Baétis scambus, 37 Ephemera vulgata, 22
Baétis tenax, 39 Ephemerella ignita, 27
Baétis vernus, 39 Ephemerella notata, 59
Bibio johannis, 75
Bibio marci, 77 February Red, 69
Black Drake, 19
Black Gnat, 75 Ginger Quill, 30
Blagdon Buzzer, 73 Goéra pilosa, 64
Blue dun, 41 Golden dun midge, 73
Blue Upright, 41 Gold-ribbed Hare’s ear, 40
Blue-winged Olive, 27 Gravel Bed, 80
Blue-winged Pale Watery, 46 Greater Spurwing, 46
Brachycentrus subnubilus, 62 Green Mayfly, 19
Brown May, (dun), 59 Green midge, 73
Brown Mayfly, 22 Greenwell’s Glory, 38
Grey Drake, 20
Caenis horaria, 33 Grey Flag, 64
Caenis robusta, 31 Grey Sedge, 64
Caperer, 64
Centroptilum luteolum, 44 Hawthorn fly, 77
‘ale adenine pennulatum, Heptagenia fuscogrisea, 59
Heptagenia lateralis, 59
Chaoborus crystallinus, 74 Heptagenia sulphurea, 59
Chironomus plumosus, 73 Houghton Ruby, 44
Chironomus tentans, 73
Somhts Renae Aa Tron Blue, 42
‘innamon e, Jsoperla grammatica, 69
Claret, 26
Cloéon dipterum, 47 Jenny spinner, 43
Cloéon simile, 49 July dun, 37
Coch-y-bondhu, 90
Cockchafer, 90 Kimbridge Sedge, 65
' Corixids, 85
Lake Olive, 49
Daddy-long-legs, 79 Large Dark Olive, 40
, Damsel-flies, 88 Large Green (dun), 59
95
96 INDEX
Large Stoneflies, 69 Pheasant Tail, 38
ie or False March Brown, Phyllopertha horticola, 90
Pond Olive, 47
Lepidostoma hirtum, 65 ah Sti pseudorufulum,
Leptophlebia marginata, 24
Leptophlebia vespertina, 26 Protonemura meyeri, 69
Lesser Spurwing, 44 Purple (dun), 59
Lesser Water-boatmen, 85
Leuctra geniculata, 69 Reed Smuts, 78
Limnephilus lunatus, 64 Rhithrogena haarupi, 54
Little Amber spinner, 45 Bhitbrogess semicolorata,
Little Red Sedge, 65 5
Little Sky Blue, 44 Rough Olive, 41
Lunn’s Particular, 42
Sepia, 24
March Brown, 54 Sialis fuliginosa, 82
Maybug, 90 Sialis lutaria, 82
Medium Olive, 39 Silverhorns, 64
Medium Olive Quill, 40 Silver Sedge, 65
Medium Sedge, 64 Small Dark Olive, 37
Melolontha melolontha, 90 Small Dark Sedge, 65
Spent Gnat, 20
Needle Browns, 69 Summer Maryflies, 59
Odonticerum albicorne, 64 Taeniopteryx nebulosa, 69

Olive midge, 73 Tup’s Indispensable, 36
Orange Quill, 30 Turkey Brown, 59
Orange Sedge, 65
Willow fly, 69
Pale Evening, 51
Pale Watery, 35 Yellow Pinang 33
Paraleptophlebia cincta, 59 Yellow Pia 9
Paraleptophlebia Yellow May,5'
submarginata, 59 Yellow Sally, 0
Phantom midges, 74 Yellow Upright, 53
You will always
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+
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SEA ANGLING FOR BEGINNERS by Alan Young
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Geren

NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL

There is first a brief

A most handy book

This is the most famous and best-selling series of

L. V. Bates: Artificial Flies

LONDON : HERBERT JENKINS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

Il. EPHEMEROPTERA (Day-flies) - -

Ii. TRICHOPTERA (Sedge- or Caddis-flies)

IV. PLecopTERA (Stone-flies)- - -

V. DirTerA (Two-winged flies) - -

VI. MEGALOPTERA (Alder flies) - -

VIL. HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA (Water bugs)

VIII. OponaTA (Dragon- and Damsel-flies)

IX. COLEOPTERA (Beetles) - - = -

X. HYMENOPTERA (Ants) - -—- = 93

THERE are now quite a number of books dealing

given details of patterns of proved worth devised

WHETHER the fiy-fisher is deliberately using rep-

includes descriptions and illustrations of no less

that introduced by the Swedish naturalist, Lin-

stony margins of large lakes where the wave action

Order: EPHEMEROPTERA (Day-flies)

THE day-flies are of the highest importance to the

seemed to me that some acquaintance with their

metamorphosis, which may take place within a few

the bottom or amongst the weed-beds; as ripe

The day-fly nymphs fall into four categories: the

for the angler to learn to recognise the individual

long and comparatively slender, brown in colour,

GREEN MAYFLY, OR GREEN DRAKE

This is the common Mayfly of rivers and lakes,

domen ivory-white, marked down the back in

Whisks: Gallina dyed very dark chocolate-

Wings: A grey cock hackle divided into two

Fic. 3. Mayfly Body Markings. a, The Brown Mayfly

Despite its name,’ this species is much less

found in lakes, though I have seen it in some num-

along their bodies which enables them to live in

The vernacular name was suggested by me in a

my Own spinner patterns may be dressed in any of

Dun. As for the Sepia dun but dressed on a size

Characteristics: Four wings and three tails.

The B.W.O., as it is commonly known to fisher-

several unusual characteristics, of which the

orange undertone (which no doubt accounts for

feeding on B.W.O. duns in the evening is generally

conditions in these four places, coupled with the

on the water, the gravid female spinner extrudes

the bottom. It is a very small fly, and the duns

Characteristics: Four wings, of which the

The vernacular name, which was employed by

yellowish-white abdomen, terminating in three

Body: Wool from the underparts of a ram

SMALL DARK OLIVE

This is another of Halford’s Pale Watery duns,

These two species are so alike that some

Hackle: Dark blue dun hen or cockerel.