=3 ON THE ITHON 



I can only say he gave as much sport as a trout 

 of the same size. 



It certainly has a tendency to disturb your 

 equanimity when you fancy you have got hold of 

 a big trout to find that you have a chub. Follow- 

 ing Izaak Walton's advice when "Venator" had 

 a similar grievance, I did not hang him up on a 

 " Willow twig" ; I took him home, and requested my 

 good landlady to give him away with my blessing. 



It is also a further disturbance to one's com- 

 placency to see big chub, 3 Ibs. or 4 Ibs. weight, 

 floating about a-top of the water in almost every 

 inaccessible place. No wonder this river is full of 

 chub, they told me that it is constantly poached 

 by netting. The poachers keep the trout and 

 throw back the chub ! A little legitimate netting 

 by the riparian owners, reversing the foregoing 

 order of things by keeping the chub and putting 

 back the trout, would be a public benefit. 



Chub afford good sport, if but indifferent eating, 

 and as they roam about like thieves all over the 

 deep pools, one can catch them more easily than 

 the lordly trout. I fancy they drive the trout out 

 of such places. At all events, it is difficult to get 

 at any decent-sized trout. 



Doubtless wading could be profitably done here 

 and there, but I had no waders with me ; there 

 are many whole meadows' length where, owing to 

 depth of water, even wading could not be adopted. 

 I reached home tired and footsore, but quite 

 conscious that I had gained pleasant experience. 



