THE WAYS OF A TROUT 



195 



prick of a hook is quite insufficient to daunt an active and 

 inexperienced trout, so long as the tender tongue or gills are 

 not injured. A fish which carried away the fly at his first 

 meeting can sometimes be caught again in a few minutes 

 with the fly still fixed in his lip. Only salmon parr, which 

 need to grow much faster, are more muscular and voracious 

 than young trout. 



By watching a pool or lakeside carefully day by day, 

 it is possible to acquire a fascinating knowledge of the 

 movements and probable size of the trout which it holds. 



AMONG THE WEEDS 



Where the stream spreads level on the ford, we see the heavy 

 arrow-head line in the water as the large trout come up to 

 the shallows to feed for minnows at evening, or perhaps see 

 one lurking in a cart-rut, or gliding on the pale chalk road. 

 Some trout in lakes and open pools cruise regularly round 

 and round on the same track for a certain time each day ; their 

 line in the deeper water is much less conspicuous than the 

 ripple ploughed by trout moving on the shallows, and needs 

 careful watching before its recurrence is clear. Prone 

 observation on the bank of a trout-pool for half an hour often 

 reveals much life which is hidden on a casual inspection ; 

 half-transparent shapes detach themselves from the waver- 



