FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 31 



moved by the trout hurrying about just underneath 

 the surface to secure the tasty morsels which are 

 rising to the top ; and there must be always a general 

 impression that, with all these fish apparently ' look- 

 ing about/ by some means or other a few should 

 be secured. But believe me, brother anglers, to 

 succeed when fish are * bulging ' is an extremely 

 difficult task. Some weird, odd, fancy fly is, I think, 

 then more likely to entice a trout than the regulation 

 dun or alder. 



I have as yet said nothing about those most 

 aggravating of all created insects, * the smuts/ or 

 'fisherman's curses.' Now, whether the latter 

 nomenclature was applied to them because of the 

 nuisance they are to the angler, or because they 

 cause the wearied fisherman to use strong epithets, 

 I am unable to decide ; all I can say of myself 

 is that many and many a time have they utterly 

 destroyed the remnants of my. own temper, and 

 I know of nothing which can compare with them 

 in this respect except the game of golf ! These 

 infinitesimally tiny creatures, when they do appear in 

 force not that they are even then clearly visible 

 to the eye of man seem to deprive the trout of the 

 power of attending to the charms of any other 

 insect. After a toilsome hot day's fishing, when but 



