A UTUMN. 65 



looks upon. It is useless fishing for dace in the Thames, 

 except at particular times of the tide, and the regular plan 

 is to begin when the tide is at half-ebb, and leave off 

 when the flood makes. A working-man angler, who was 

 standing a few yards above me, on the last occasion I 

 indulged in this amusement, whipped out, with very in- 

 different tackle, his four dozen of fish, and I myself, had 

 something over three dozen of the silvery little fellows in 

 my basket. 



A seven-inch, however, or even a nine-inch dace (and 

 you will seldom get larger specimens while fly-fishing on 

 the Thames shallows) is very indifferent game as compared 

 with the really good-looking and gamesome fish of the 

 same species which are to be had in the Colne and in the 

 Lea. On the second occasion to which I have referred, I 

 was taken by a gentleman to a choice club water on the 

 Lea, between Hertford and Ware. A mill pool was pointed 

 out to me as full of dace. The mill was silent, and there 

 was no stream from the pool ; but a light breeze tickled its 

 surface, and the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. The 

 sides of the mill pool were solid masonry, and the pool 

 terminated in a somewhat sudden shelf. The stream 

 thenceforward, for some hundred yards, was of the shal- 

 lowest description. One does not often get the oppor- 

 tunity of fly-fishing from a seat, but I was in an indolent 

 humour on this particular morning, and sat me down on 

 the edge of the wall, with my feet dangling over the 

 stream, some 10 yards below the tail of the pool. The 

 fish, for an hour or so, were perfectly ravenous, and gave 

 me much entertainment. There were very few dace 

 under \ lb., and fat lively white fellows of that kind upon 

 a drawn-gut cast, and with the smallest trout-rod that 

 is made, will treat you to no indifferent sport. Within 



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