80 TROUT FISHING 



demanded nothing finicking in the way of flies, but 

 were satisfied with a substantial orange quill on a 

 No. 2 hook. After the first misadventure I think 

 I landed every trout that took the fly except the very 

 last, which got off in the dusk through being held 

 too hard. I had four brace averaging over one and 

 three-quarter pounds, and they fought so fiercely 

 that playing and landing them literally occupied 

 nearly the whole time ; there were very short inter- 

 vals between landing one and hooking the next. 

 I do not suppose I shall ever have such an evening 

 again. Very seldom indeed would it happen that 

 the fish were in a taking mood for long enough to 

 make such a basket a possibility. 



As a rule, what fish are rising so early as half- past 

 seven are taking fallen spinners, and they generally 

 seem to me to be very hard to catch. Probably 

 their shyness is due to the angle of the light at that 

 time of day, and it is possible that some portions 

 of a stream would be easier than others. Where 

 shade falls earlier one's chances are certainly better. 

 There is room for a series of interesting experiments 

 as to the behaviour of rising fish at different times 

 of day in different parts of a stream. There must 

 be a considerable variation in the perceptions of 

 trout which at a given time are lying with their 

 heads due north and of trout which at the same 

 time are lying with their heads due west. And it 



