28 THE TROUT 



allusion. The first is when trout are what is called 

 ' tailing.' The second, when they are * bulging.' 



With regard to 'tailing,' it is a performance fre- 

 quently witnessed in Hertfordshire and Buckingham- 

 shire waters, and in South-country streams generally. 

 As may be surmised, the phrase ' tailing trout ' means 

 that the fish are plunging their heads into the weeds 

 or poking about on the bottom of the river, seeking 

 their food amongst the fresh-water shrimps, grubs, 

 and similar appetising morsels ; and in comparatively 

 shallow streams this downward operation causes 

 the fishes' tails to appear above the surface of the 

 water. Under circumstances such as these it is no 

 use whatever trying for them with the dry fly. I 

 have, nevertheless, frequently seen considerable 

 execution done amongst trout when in this humour 

 by those who have had experience of this particular 

 phase of fish-life. The most general plan is to cast 

 down-stream with a long line, and to work the fly a 

 little. As ' tailing ' usually takes place in the months 

 when the alder is about I fully appreciate Canon 

 Kingsley's well-known eulogy on that most admirable 

 insect I cannot name any fly that is more likely 

 to prove fatal under such conditions. In fact, I have 

 often worried a ' tailing ' trout into ' catching hold,' 

 even when fishing up-stream ; nearly always when 



