98 TROUT-FISHING FOR THE BEGINNER 



a cast. ... If you have a " smash " or 

 get " hung up " somewhere, a pocket flash- 

 lamp will be found very handy in giving 

 sufficient illumination to set things right. 



2. Flies and method on the river. 

 Lying in the shallows, the trout cannot see 

 far in the darkness and readily take a large 

 fly, often rising close to the angler's feet, so 

 long as he is careful to avoid making a dis- 

 turbance. It is generally understood that a 

 white, yellow or light-coloured fly is best for 

 night fishing, as being more visible to the 

 trout. I think, however, a fallacy lurks in 

 this theory. The definition of colour is : 

 light in subtle distribution amongst matter. 

 When the light fades, colour fades too. It 

 is quite easy to prove this. When darkness 

 falls, step out into the garden, where, during 

 the daytime, the beds are a blaze of colour. 

 What do you see ? Nothing but a general 

 blackness, in which colours are absolutely 

 undistinguishable. If further proof be needed, 

 fish a stretch of river at night, and it will be 

 found that the trout then take a black fly 

 quite as readily as a white one or one of 

 brilliant yellow. By using a large fly at 

 night, the angler is not offering the trout 

 anything abnormal in size or shape, because, 



