ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING IN RIVERS AND LAKES. 85 
that described in the chapter on Tackle, it is better 
when playing a fish, to remove the hand altogether from 
the line, so as to allow of its yielding freely to any 
hidden springs or rushes, 
WHEN TO FISH. 
1. Some rivers and lakes are early and some late, 
whilst there are a few, like the Devonshire “ Otter,” in 
which it is said the Trout rise best in a snow-storm. 
This of course is a very exceptional case ; but, taking 
the ordinary run of early and late waters, there are few 
months of the year from early spring to late autumn in 
which the Trout-fisher cannot find- sport somewhere or 
other. 
2. In all Trout fly-fishing, whether on lake or river, a 
moderate, rippling breeze and a chequered sky are great 
advantages ; principally, doubtless, because they help to 
conceal the counterfeit fly, and lessen the glitter of the 
gut. é 
3. A bright sun, a dead calm, or water that is very 
low and clear, are always bad, for the converse reasons. 
4. Water that is thickened by rain or other cause is 
always bad. It prevents the fish seeing the flies on the 
top, and brings down with it a quantity of ground-food 
which fixes their attention on the bottom. 
5. The rise that precedes, and the fall that follows a 
flood when the water has cleared, are generally favourable, 
more particularly after drought. 
