Imean,^' continued Mr. Spenser,^^that there is a great deal of virtue^in the source from which you pel^your hackles, feathers, etc., from^which you make your flies. At least^I have testtxl this in several instances^and have found my theory correct.^One day I was aeajapai in making a^sort of mongrel nondescript fly. I^put it together as a curiosity more^than anything else, thinking thai^some time a good opjxirtunity to try^a novelty might come. As I was fin^^ishing the fly I needed something to^make the tail,and just as I was think^^ing what would be most appropriate^my old black cat came mewing into^the room. (Something attracted my^attention to the cat's whiskers. They^were quite long and of the color 1^wanted. Without waiting to consid^^er, I concluded those bristling cat^whiskers would make a good tail for^my mongrel fly, so eUppad them oft'^with my shears. Well, there was a^fly the like of which I had never^seen before. 1 showed it to several^experienced trout fishermen, and^they began to laugh. 'Use that^^^they generally said, 'why, you will^scare all the trout out of the stream^with a thing like that.'
Well,I tried it one day while 1^was alone and caught ono of the^largest trout it was ever my good^fortune to get apoa my lino. I used^it with groat success after this, al^^ways catching largo fish with it, until^one day it was snapped off by a big^speckled beauty. 1 made another as^nearly like it its possible, using the^same feathers, but substituting some^dog's whiskers for the cat's whisk^^ers I had placed in the first fly.^Strangely, that fly acted as a scare^^crow to the fish. They would swim^from if as if it was a dreaded mon-^ster. Thinking that the cat's whisk^^ers might have some peculiar effect,^I took out the dog's whiskers and re^^placed them with some 1 took from^a black cat. It worked like a charm.^In fact, I believe it was a charm, for^never did I catch so many fish with^anyone kind of fly as I did with this^mongrel type. It seemed to be suited^for all conditions and places, and^when other fishermen would go^home with empty baskets I would^reach my limit, for I make it a rule^never to catch more that 30 fish any^ono day and always throw fish under^7 inches back into the water. So, I^believe, there is a charm for fish in^cat's whiskers. All of my experience^points that way.''^Pittsburg Dis^^patch.
