66 BY HOOK AND BY CBOOZ. 



anything about the river, can put his hand, as it were, 

 upon the exact spot where the fish lie, although they 

 may not be showing, so, after having cast over all the 

 catches, even should there be no result, he may be 

 pretty sure that every fish has had a chance ; but in 

 trout-fishing, except when feeding on the surface, the 

 fish are scattered over the river, so the angler has to be 

 content with fishing "blind,''^ which is unsatisfactory 

 work at the best. 



A resident of the waterside, who has daily oppor- 

 tunities, can afford to pick out the best hours during 

 the day, and otherwise occupy himself during the 

 intervals, and very probably will do as much execution 

 as if he had been fishing all day ; but this method will 

 not suit the keen angler who only has a day or two 

 now and again at his disposal, so he had better fish 

 the streams until the fly makes its appearance. 



In clear chalk streams it is rather a different matter, 

 as the fish can often be seen, and the angler can try 

 his hand over each individual fish, which, to our 

 thinking, is far more interesting than fishing " blind " ; 

 but rivers must be taken as they are, and the angler 

 has to make the most of them. For this reason it is 

 absurd to generally condemn the practice of fishing 

 with worm for trout, as during the summer months on 

 many rivers, especially in the north, it is the only 

 method by which fish can be obtained. It is also a 

 mistake to imagine that worm-fishing for trout in fine 

 waters is easy work : such is far from being the case. 



