I 4 THE TROUT 



accompany our angler to the spot where he proposes 

 to start operations. 



It must be here premised that in this particular 

 river the trout are carefully preserved, are large in 

 size, and wonderfully well educated as regards taking 

 care of themselves. Therefore much caution must be 

 observed when proceeding against them. But see ! 

 our friend, after standing still for some moments, 

 during which time he has been steadily gazing up- 

 stream, has sunk on to his knees, and, keeping his rod 

 low and behind him, crawled a few yards towards the 

 bend of the river where the first rises were noticed. 

 At least two fish are moving there now, the nearer 

 one being apparently the larger ; which is fortunate, 

 as thus no disturbance of the water is probable, 

 which would have been the case had the reverse 

 happened and our fisherman been obliged to try for 

 the smaller trout first. If hooked, his struggles 

 would in all probability have scared the other, bigger, 

 fish away ; whereas it does not matter if the little one 

 be alarmed and retires. 



Before the first cast is made it may be worth 

 while to mark carefully the peculiarities of the water 

 wherein are the rising trout. They are lying in a 

 kind of small angle of the river close to the side farthest 

 from the angler. A couple of yards above them is a 



