138 AN OPEN CREEL 



8.30 p.m. practically gave it up in despair. Then in a 

 deep, narrow, rather sluggish reach I found four trout 

 rising well, and a sparse hatch of duns coming down. 

 Two of these fish I caught in quick succession with the 

 blue upright, and both weighed about a pound. The 

 others I pricked and lost owing principally to failing 

 light and ill-timed striking. But, with five fish in the 

 basket and ambitions limited by southern experience, I 

 was well satisfied with my first day on the beck. My 

 host, I found on our meeting, had got seven fish, one of 

 them a handsome fellow of one and three quarter 

 pounds. He also had taken advantage of the brief 

 evening rise, securing four of his trout during the last 

 hour. 



Since then I have had several opportunities of visit- 

 ing Driffield, always eagerly seized, for the stream 

 grows upon one mightily. I know no dry-fly water 

 where there is so much variety. At Driifield, though 

 you have as many fishing moods as there are days in 

 the week, you can find water to suit them strong water, 

 deep water, slack water, quick water, moderate water, 

 even, an it please you as why should it not ? it can be 

 extremely interesting dead water. And there are 

 trout everywhere. 



The size of the Driffield fish is stated to have gone 

 up of late years. Time was when a two-pounder was 

 an event, and when anglers hurried from up river and 

 down to look at one which had actually been caught ; 

 but now a fish of that weight is no rarer than it would 

 be on many parts of the Itchen, and the average weight 

 on a good day should be a full pound. Some there are 

 who say that this result has been reached by a reduc- 



