

DACE-FISHING AT ISLEWORTH 39 



in which case the fish usually took it on the drop or 

 ''half volley," as some authority puts it, or wet and 

 drawn along more or less rapidly under water. For a 

 while they confirmed me in this belief, and I caught 

 several with the dry fly, while I missed a good many 

 in the other way. Then they ceased to come up to it 

 at all, either wet or dry, until I accidentally got a rise 

 in recovering the fly as it floated. This led to experi- 

 ments, and I found that, by letting the fly fall dry and 

 then dragging it for a few inches along the surface, I 

 got plenty of rises, and pretty bold ones too. The 

 fish came at it before it had gone six inches or not at 

 all, and for an hour I had quite a brisk bit of sport, 

 so much so that on reaching the ferry I did not hesitate 

 to estimate the number of fish kept as three dozen. I 

 was really surprised, on counting tails afterwards, to 

 find that there were only a dozen and a half. It had 

 seemed to me that for a time I was catching them as 

 fast as I could. Three dozen would be a very fair 

 basket for a good day, though takes of eight or ten 

 dozen are made once in a way. Six inches is the size 

 limit, and the majority of fish caught are about seven. 

 If your three dozen average three ounces apiece, 

 you have done very well indeed, and if you have three 

 or four six-ounce fish you may be proud. There are 

 plenty of these big ones in the water, but they are 

 difficult to tempt. 



It is worth while catching a dish of these little dace, 

 if only for the pleasure of looking at them afterwards. 

 They make a brave silvery show when laid side by 

 side, and though individually at time of capture they 

 have not the looks of brook trout, collectively in the 



