54 TROUT FISHING 



tion channels where no doubt they get very good 

 feeding of minnows, slugs, beetles, and other 

 sustaining things. To me there is something very 

 fascinating about these outliers, and fishing the 

 carriers is a joy. These carriers are the more 

 amusing because they are so tiny. Getting a three- 

 quarter-pound trout out of a runnel two feet wide 

 and eighteen inches deep is the queerest adventure. 

 It is not orthodox fishing as a rule, for the fish 

 seldom rise — ^there is no hatch of fly to speak of. 

 But deft casting in the likely spots will often fetch 

 up a fish whose existence was only hypothetical. 



One day in one of these carriers I saw what looked 

 like a dimple under a dockleaf. I put a ginger quill 

 on the place, had an immediate rise, and then for 

 about five minutes walked solemnly up and down 

 in attendance on the biggest trout I ever hooked on 

 the fishery. He never hurried himself, but cruised 

 to and fro, and in the end the fly came away just as 

 I was wondering whether it would be a matter for 

 the taxidermist. I think that trout was a two- 

 pounder, though, of course, estimates of lost fish are 

 suspect by general consent, and it does not do 

 to be rash. Anyhow, I can say without hesitation 

 that I was filled with grief that bordered on 

 despair. 



One of the two biggest fish I caught during the 

 season was the result of long-continued efforts on 



