66 THE TROUT ARE RISING 



programme. They apparently enjoyed the pro- 

 ceedings, and the pleasure was reciprocal. For the 

 most part they kept well away from the banks, 

 the vital matter. And in the cool of the evening 

 it was a pleasant sight to see the lads of the 

 village squiring the maidens along the meadows. 

 Darby and Joan came too. It was a favourite 

 spot for the youngsters who, on their way to or 

 from a dip in the sea, were always attracted by 

 the sight of a fisherman. With hushed voices 

 they would come nearer and nearer, until a 

 bolder one would inquire about the sport. One 

 intrepid youth came up, at something like a 

 gallop. Then he waltzed round me. I stopped 

 fishing, interested in the lad. Looking up, he 

 asked eagerly : <( 'An yer catched any ? " 



For sea-trout flies I used the local patterns 

 left over from Dumfriesshire, and they answered. 

 One angler, however, succeeded with a small 

 trout fly. For gut I first tried 4X well soaked, 

 but after the furious fight a sea-trout gave on it 

 I was glad to revert to 3^, and did well with it, 

 though nothing of any great size came my way. 

 A London friend of mine sticks stubbornly to 

 4X gut in all winds and weathers for trout and 

 sea-trout. He takes his risks, and often takes 

 the trout, and the sea-trout too. But it is fine 

 gear. With 3X one feels that there is a sporting 

 chance should something beyond the common be 

 hooked. Sea-trout fight very hard, and where 

 they run big, of course, they want something 

 more substantial than drawn gut. 



