132 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN 



has been developed. That, I venture to say, is 

 a wrong theory. It is more Hkely that the educa- 

 tion has been brought about by over-fishing and 

 the fact that so many fish are returned to the 

 water because they are undersized. However, 

 whatever may be the right theory, trout are un- 

 doubtedly more difficult to catch now than in 

 years gone by. This has led to a vast amount 

 of interesting literature on the various forms of 

 fishinor. Yet I suQi^grest that to ijain knowledcre 

 as the result of experience, supported by observa- 

 tion and intuition, is the only way to become an 

 expert angler. 



There are many perplexing problems that present 

 themselves. For instance, why trout on certain 

 days rise freely, but will not take either natural or 

 artificial fly. Do fish "sport".-* I think they do. 

 I have watched one rising to every fly that passed 

 over him without seizing a single one, but merely 

 poking them with his nose. The performance of 

 this particular trout is very different from what is 

 termed "coming short" — a term which, I take it, 

 implies that trout when rising like this are satiated 

 and lazy. It may also be that when they make a 

 closer inspection of the fly they discover it is not 

 the one they are looking for, and what is sup- 

 posed to be a rise is merely the trout breaking 

 the water as he turns away dissatisfied. The true 



