VII: THE WORM IN SPATES 



I AM not sure that I ought to deal with this 

 subject at all. I can almost hear such 

 opprobrious epithets as ' poacher/ ' pot- 

 hunter,' ' no sportsman,' etc., levelled at me for 

 even mentioning it, let alone seeming to en- 

 courage such piscatorial perfidy. Yet I am not 

 dismayed. If I sin, I sin in good company, for 

 that famous angler, the late Francis Francis, and 

 many more that I could name, have been brothers 

 in iniquity. 



The pros of the matter may be argued as 

 follows. First, a brook is not like a club or 

 association fishery ; secondly, there are many 

 unaesthetic anglers who love catching trout 

 anyhow ; thirdly, life is short, our angling days 

 are all too few, and where is the use of throwing 

 away an excellent chance of making a good 

 basket ? and, fourthly, I am in no doubt that any 

 fisherman unaccustomed to the work may worm 

 fish for all he is worth in a flooded brook, and yet 

 return without his pannier-strap inconveniencing 

 him in the least. 



