30 TROUT FISHING 



down into it. There was a trout immediately below 

 me, and we were apparently looking at each other. 

 Sardonically I plumped the cochybonddu down onto 

 his nose. He took it. I pulled him out of two 

 bushes and a hole and swung him up the precipice 

 into the meadow. He was quite half a pound. 

 This occurred again a little higher up, and I had 

 a brace. Presently I had two brace. And then 

 I sat down on a knoll overlooking a half-moon shaped 

 pool two yards and a half wide and five or six yards 

 long. Comfortably and leisurely I dibbled three 

 more here. And from a pool just below it I got 

 a beautiful pounder. I should mention that I 

 happened to have a worm with me, and I may as 

 well confess that there was another worm as well 

 and that another fish fancied it. But all the others 

 were caught on the artificial fly, if it can still be so 

 called in spite of the manner of its presentation. 

 If it had not been for tea time I am confident that 

 I should have got the catch up to double figures. 

 There may have been a third worm in the tin. Also 

 I had found myself the brook's master in spite of 

 everything. 



But how or why it happened like that I cannot 

 explain. I had another day there afterwards, 

 pursued the same bold policy of the successful 

 afternoon, and terrified the trout into non-existence. 

 Just one fish rewarded me and for him I crept and 



