156 AN OPEN CREEL 



when the fish suddenly came into view swimming 

 downstream under the bushes on the other bank. 

 As its head was now more or less in my direction, I 

 feared to cast, and waited. It rose again, and then, to 

 my dismay, turned sharp to the left as it got opposite 

 to me, and came straight across. It seemed impossible 

 that I could escape observation, standing bolt upright 

 not three yards away, but as a last resource I just 

 flicked the fly on to the water between us. And the 

 trout took it about two yards from my feet ! 



In the afternoon I returned to the main river, and on 

 a gliding shallow found some grayling rising. Knee- 

 deep below them I had a brisk half-hour's sport, 

 landing seven in quick succession, but only one was 

 worthy of a place in the creel. Here again the Wick- 

 ham, in a smaller size, was successful. After that 

 there was no fishing to record till the evening, but I 

 can assert that dinner on a shady lawn at half-past six 

 is a magnificent idea ; it sends a man out in good case 

 for the evening rise, and blessing the angelic host and 

 hostess who have thought of it. And what an evening 

 rise it was ! It did not last long, and the light where 

 I was, lower down than in the morning, was poor 

 owing to trees, but big fish for about half an hour 

 came up with " plops " that did one's heart good. I 

 got three, a grayling of one and a quarter pounds on 

 a ginger quill, another grayling one pound fourteen 

 ounces, and a trout of two and a quarter pounds, both 

 on a small red sedge. A fourth fish, a grayling of 

 about two pounds, got off just at the edge of the net, 

 being held, I expect, too hard. The strange thing 

 about the rise was that there seemed to be neither 



