THE COMMON TROUT. 885 



rest of tlie day : in the swiftest and shai^est currents, pro- 

 vided the day be warm and bright, and in the deeps, early and 

 ]ate ; but if the water be discoloured, try the gravelly shal- 

 lows, near the sides and tails of streams, with a worm only, 

 to run on the bottom, with one large shot at least a foot 

 from it. When there is a small fresh, or the water is clear- 

 ing off, and is of a dark brownish colour, first use the worm, 

 which should be a well-scoured brandling, cast in as a fly at 

 the head of the stream, and moved gently towards you, still 

 getting it to go down with the current, so as to keep it a 

 little under water : the line should be rather short, with no 

 lead upon it, and the hook fine ; then use minnow, real or 

 artificial, and as the water clears, artificial flies. 



When the water is clear and low in sultry weather, if the 

 trout will take at all it will be with beetles, blue-bottle, 

 palmer, cud-bait, wood-fly, earth-bab, and the like. 



" The Thames, at various places," says Mr. Yarrell, " pro- 

 duces trout of very large size. Among the best localities 

 may be named Kingston, opposite the public-house called 

 The Angler ; Hampton-court bridge and wear, and the wears 

 at Shepperton and Chertsey. These large trout are objects 

 of great attraction to some of the best London anglers, who 

 unite a degree of skill and patience rarely to be exceeded. 

 The most usual mode practised to deceive these experienced 

 fish is by trolling or spinning with a small bleak, gudgeou, 

 or minnow ; and trout of fifteen pounds are occasionally 

 taken.'' 



The trout generally spawns in the month of October, and 

 may be said to be in season from March to September. In 

 March, or if mild weather, trouts begin to leave their winter- 

 quarters, and approach the shallows and tails of streams, 

 where they cleanse and restore themselves to health ; as 

 they acquire strength they advance still higher up the rivers, 



