172 BY ROOK ANB BY CEOOK. 



thinking perhaps its occupants were all of the same 

 nature. 



The next pool we came to was only accessible by the 

 descent of a huge sandstone cliff literally covered with 

 trees and undergrowth, which would evidently take a 

 good deal of precious time to negotiate : we looked at 

 it twice^ and as there only appeared to be about twenty 

 yards of casting, by reason of the trees, we made up 

 our minds to miss it out, until it occurred to us that in all 

 probability others were in the habit of doing the same ; 

 therefore the pool was very likely never fished, so we 

 made a dive through the woods to the foot of the rock. 



Awkward as this pool looked from above, it was ten 

 times worse in reality — the water at the base of the 

 rock flowed thigh deep, the bottom most uneven and 

 apparently unfathomable in most places, while branches 

 of the trees growing on the bank protruded over the 

 fast-running stream. 



It certainly was a dangerous pool, and as we medi- 

 tated that even if we were to hook a fish it would be 

 long odds against landing him, were very nearly giving 

 it up, and probably would have done so had we not 

 recalled the trouble experienced in reaching it, which 

 decided us to give it a cast down. 



Overhand casting was out of the question, so we 

 switched it as well as the boughs and deep water would 

 permit. When about halfway down a fish took the 

 fly at the edge of the swirl and made straight away 

 into the deep water, where he remained stationary for 



