CLEAR WATERS 



perhaps perverted standpoint, being an infinite ad- 

 vantage. I am not, to be sure, a very enthusiastic 

 fisher from a drifting boat, and still less enamoured of 

 the all-day company of the average boatman, unless, 

 of course, he is a man of parts and character, which 

 makes a vast difference. Otherwise, if he is not bored 

 and blase, I cannot help putting myself in his place 

 and feeHng sure that I should be. I would sooner 

 have a brother fisherman at the other end and share 

 with him the toils of the oar, or, failing that, as often 

 happened on Tal-y-llyn, manage the boat myself. 

 Indeed, this gives a Httle extra interest, though a 

 little too arduous when a strong wind is blowing. 

 Tal-y-llyn, a curious feature for a mountain lake, is, for 

 the most part, less than ten feet deep, with a soft, weedy 

 bottom, and has, in consequence, fine feeding quahties. 

 April, May, and early June, speaking broadly, consti- 

 tute its season. After that I think the sport is gener- 

 ally poor. I have occasionally gone up there for the 

 day in the after months, not generally on fishing bent, 

 but for the mere charm of the place, or for a day's 

 outing, in the company of friends, and the resident 

 anglers at such season, if not actually depressed, were 

 never in serious or industrious mood. When they 

 have kindly offered to take me out in their boat, as 

 has sometimes happened, they have been always 

 suspiciously ready to take the oars while I wielded 

 their rod, an entertainment I never found profitable 

 at that season, nor they either, I think. 



I once, however, spent a good part of May at Tal-y- 

 llyn and then all was energy, and we caught lots of 

 fish which averaged about half a pound, an excellent 

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