British Medical Journal

Objective To investigate the importance of the type of dry fly (artificial floating fly) in catching trout (brown and rainbow) in an English chalkstream. Setting River Kennet, Berkshire. Design Five anglers on five separate occasions spent five hours using a randomly allocated fly from a sample of five types. Participants Five anglers of considerable but varying experience, determination, and opinion. Main outcome measures Number, weight, and species of trout caught. Results One fly (Black Gnat) performed significantly worse than the others. The fly most successful in catching brown trout was the Cinnamon Sedge. Conclusion The possible prolongation of doctors’ leisure time consequent on the use of unproductive trout flies has resource implications for the NHS. Urgent funding of a definitive, large multiriver trial is needed.