38 AN OPEN CREEL 



Thames which has not moved in me the desire of 

 trout. At low water, however, it looks as if it ought 

 to hold one or two, and there certainly are trout in 

 the reach, though systematic trout-fishing does not 

 seem to go on there. I remember once seeing a big 

 trout feed at the head of the eyot, but whether he is 

 still in existence I know not. Almost any day at low 

 water, however, below the eyot there are alarms and 

 excursions to be seen among the dace, which argue 

 fish of prey of considerable size, trout probably. 

 Occasionally, too, a trout is caught by a dace-fisher, 

 but it is usually a small one. 



Arrived at the ferry, it is well to cross over and fish 

 on the other side, and the knowing among the habitues 

 make their way down for a third of a mile or perhaps 

 rather more to the point where the river is shallowest, 

 just above a slight but recognizable bend in the stream. 

 Here, they say, are the biggest dace, the six-ounce fish, 

 which, when caught, are to be found at the top in each 

 man's basket, like half-pound trout in Devonshire. 

 But I should say that there is a fair sprinkling of 

 these big dace all the way down, the difficulty being 

 to catch them. Some men hold by big flies, coachmen, 

 black gnats, yellow duns, etc., on No. i or even No. 2 

 hooks being considered about right, and more than 

 once I have been tempted to the same opinion. Lately, 

 however, the big fly has not served me well. On my 

 last visit nothing but a black spider on ooo hook would 

 do any good. That afternoon also upset another 

 theory, or, rather, taught me something new. My 

 belief had been that you could catch the Isleworth 

 dace in two ways one with the dry or semi-dry fly, 



