TROUT-FISHING. 31 



of a sudden the water begins to " bell " with noses 

 poked up to catch the drowning flies that suddenly 

 come down the stream in myriads the angler must 

 redouble his exertions ; and as he ought to get a rise at 

 almost every cast, if he is in a proper place, he may 

 remain stationary as long as the trout continue to 

 seize his flies. Such golden minutes are not to be 

 thrown away, for " the take " seldom lasts long. It 

 seems to be caused by the bursting forth of a swarm 

 of insects, which, issuing in the fullness of their time 

 and of their wings from below the stones, begin their 

 precarious dance along the surface of the water, in 

 which they soon terminate their few minutes of winged 

 existence. It is, we may remark, a mistake to suppose 

 that the life of these insects is ephemeral. They have 

 been alive, and pretty active, for months before, under 

 the stones in the water or at the water-side, and their 

 wings are merely the garb which they don to dance 

 merrily to their death. 



As it is chiefly the necessity for the concealment of 

 the angler that renders it desirable for him to fish up 

 the stream, he should take every means in his power 

 to render that concealment complete. He must take 

 care that his shadow, or the shadow of his rod, does 

 not fall on the water ; and he should also constantly 

 consider whether, when standing erect, he is not 

 likely personally to attract the attention of trout lying 

 where his fly has fallen. In most cases, indeed, he 

 must stoop to conquer. He must often creep, he must 

 some times crawl not only emulating the wisdom, but 

 imitating the motion, of the serpent. When he stands 

 erect, the trout's line of vision towards him is only 



