THE ENGLISH LAKE COUNTRY 



high road takes a brief leave of the lake and is blasted 

 through the neck of Styborough crag. The fish was 

 feeding and nosing about in the clear shallow water 

 close to the shore, and being lifted well above him 

 I was able to watch him for two or three minutes at 

 my leisure, to see the spots on him and to assure my- 

 self that he was at least five pounds. 



All I have said about UUswater trout relates mainly 

 to the upper half of the lake, though as a matter of 

 fact it is applicable to the rest of it — that portion, 

 namely, from Howtown to Pooley bridge, where the 

 Eamont flows out. A few odd fishermen do come to 

 Howtown in April and May, and there are two or three 

 well-known anglers in the country about Penrith who 

 come up for an occasional day. As a matter of fact I 

 cannot recall ever having seen another boat out fishing 

 with visitors in it beyond that of myself or my 

 party. Yet here is a lake nine miles long, and beyond 

 any doubt full of trout, that can be fished for nothing 

 but the very moderate hire of a boat ! One constantly 

 reads and hears complaints regarding the difficulty 

 of getting fair fishing reasonably accessible. People 

 living in London and the non-trouting counties are 

 continually uttering these plaints, and no doubt for 

 the detached individual with no ties in the troutful 

 regions and possessed of the average topographical 

 vagueness regarding his native land, it does appear 

 something of a problem. Moreover, ' the man who 

 knows ' is traditionally reticent on the subject for 

 obvious reasons. I make no claim to complete im- 

 munity from that merely human weakness myself. 

 But rather exceptional circumstances not immediately 



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