The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 131 



the river. And, I remember his saying, 

 that he gave up all hope then, and waded 

 ashore. It occurred to him, to remove 

 the wing entirely ; and then, with the nails 

 of his forefinger and thumb, he plucked the 

 hare's ear body, till, what with the tying silk, 

 and the remaining hare's ear, it resembled 

 a round knob, tied on a bare hook. He also 

 removed " the dropper," and with no hope 

 of any substantial success, once more set 

 to work. It was, to him, truly a forlorn 

 hope. 



A good trout rose ! This time, however, 

 he secured the trout ; and not only did he 

 do so, but he filled his big black varnished 

 creel nearly full about 20 Ibs. of trout ! 

 Would I had been there to see him at 

 work. What a treat ! Every cast would be 

 in its place ; no flurry, and no loss of time. 

 Ah, when shall I ever see his like ! He 

 was a very experienced and clever fisher- 

 man, yet this was a wholly new experience ; 

 nor, so far as I am aware, did he ever have 

 a repetition of it. 



I have fished about fifty years, and I 

 cannot remember, save once, observing 

 trout feeding on seeds. This was on a pool 

 called " Bedlam Home," on the Eden, in 

 Cumberland, and just below Kirkoswald. 



