254 TROUT FISHING 



they will come on to blue-winged olives or sedges 

 with much the same eagerness as the fish of Itchen 

 or Test. But in the da^i^ime there is considerably 

 less visible activity in the Kennet than in either of 

 the Hampshire streams. I believe that a good deal 

 could be done to make it a " better-rising " river, 

 but that is beside the present question. 



The fact is, that on the Kennet in the dog-days 

 you see little to fish for if you judge solely by rings 

 on the surface. And yet you can catch trout, and 

 good trout, in certain places if you give your mind 

 to the business of hunting for them. I find it almost 

 essential to have the help of strong sunlight and a 

 fairly calm surface, because my aim is to spot the 

 fish and to try and tempt them without necessarily 

 having seen them rise. But here I may mention 

 what seems to me an odd circumstance. Supposing 

 I sat on a seat with my rod spiked in the traditional 

 manner and waited for rises to appear, hours might 

 pass without any definite encouragement to make a 

 cast. But if I prowl slowly along, find a fish lying 

 quietly near the bank, and watch him, it is very 

 probable that in a few minutes I shall see him tilt 

 himself and take some floating trifle, or, which is 

 even more likely, I shall see him turn and take 

 something beneath the surface. What, I believe, 

 it amounts to is that many fish in hot weather are 

 feeding so quietly that from a little distance you 



