TWO COLNE TROUT 299 



sometimes feel inclined to take off my hat to the worm- 

 fisher as to one who is in touch with the infinite. I 

 cannot emulate him, but I can admire. 



For my own fishing I have a theory that the trout 

 which will not come to a fly, or to a salmon-fly, which 

 is not the same thing, will come to a spinning-bait in 

 the fulness of time. It is catching time at its fulness 

 that is the trouble. One day I had a presentiment all 

 the morning that I ought to be fishing ; I also had a 

 conscience, which informed me that this was not so. 

 The opposing forces conducted a brisk campaign among 

 the work that I was trying to do. To a certain extent 

 I did it, and was fishing in the evening, which shows 

 the value of a compromise. When I got to the water 

 I found another angler in possession of the weir-pool 

 and in touch with the infinite. So I went off to the 

 mill-tail, which also holds a few trout, very like those 

 of the pool so like them that I could not move one ; 

 but using tiny dace on snap-trolling tackle of trout-size, 

 I hooked, played, and landed four pike typical Colne 

 pike. I did not weigh them, but the largest cannot 

 have been far short of three-quarters of a pound, while 

 the smallest was at least six ounces. For pike-fishing 

 this kind of pike-fishing the Colne in most parts 

 would be hard to beat. I sometimes cherish a guilty 

 hope that the larger Colne pike are inclined to canni- 

 balism. They have plenty of opportunity for indulging 

 in the practice. Having thus wasted four beautiful 

 little baits, I left the mill-tail, enjoyed a cup of tea, and 

 pottered about with the trolling-bait in some deepish 

 water in the hope of a perch, and ultimately got back 

 to the weir-pool about 7 p.m. 



