94 Fish Stories 



comfort from it; but the moral of this specific incident 

 seems to me, to be, to buy trout on any and all occasions. 



At noon the breeze died down, and the little river became 

 a disk of steel, in which the shadow of the mountains and 

 the trees cast deep reflections; but as the day wore on, it 

 came again, stronger than before, a full strong wind, blow- 

 ing from the sea; before it, I waded slowly down stream, 

 casting every few feet, with long throws, covering the 

 water in the shadow of the willows, having rises, and taking 

 trout of the broiling variety in abundance. I frequently 

 had strikes on the back cast, and turning quickly, played 

 the little game from that side, and as the shadows deepened, 

 my luck grew apace. 



The little Carmelo wound in and out, always changing. 

 Now there would be a long reach of rapid water; then it 

 would widen out, and seemingly disappear, flowing through 

 a rich undergrowth beneath which big trout were lying, 

 and tree-climbing for flies became a feature of the landscape. 



Suddenly I emerged from a narrow brush-choked chan- 

 nel, and faced as fair a stretch of water as fly ever floated 

 over. On one side the mountain rose precipitately, covered 

 with chaparral, wild lilac and manzanita with round blue 

 apple-shaped berries ; and near the water, clumps of yellow 

 mimulus; and just beyond, a blazing red patch of wild 

 honeysuckle, down from which came reaching in, a big log, 

 on which, a moment before, a jacksnipe stood. Behind me 

 rose the dense willow underbrush, and to the right a little 

 graveled beach, the white granite boulders extending out 

 into the stream like stepping stones. I waded carefully 

 out of the deep shadows, and when I had room for the back 

 cast, and while a chattering kingfisher did his best to warn 

 this trout, dropped my fly into a little pool; z-e-e-e-e-el 

 went the reel on the instant; the swirl and cry from its 

 brassy throat sounded together, the little rod bent, the fish 

 doing its best to force me out into the sunlight, taking line, 



