FROM GAME FISH OF THE NORTH." 



BY 



R. B. ROOSEVELT. 



THERE are innumerable rules applicable to trout- 

 fishing, and innumerable exceptions to each ; neither 

 man nor fish is infallible. A change of weather is 

 always desirable ; if it has been clear, a rainy day is 

 favorable ; if cold, a warm one ; if the wind has been 

 north, a southerly one is advantageous ; a zephyr if 

 it has been blowing a tornado. Generally, in early 

 spring, amid the fading snows and blasts of winter, a 

 warm day is very desirable ; later, in the heats of sum- 

 mer, a cold, windy day will insure success. Dead calm 

 is dangerous, although many trout are taken in water 

 as still, clear and transparent as the heavens above. 

 The first rule is never to give up ; there is hardly a 

 day but at some hour, if there be trout, they will rise, 

 and steady, patient industry disciplines the mind and 

 invigorates the muscles. A southerly, especially a 

 south-easterly wind, has a singular tendency to darken 

 the surface, and in clear, fine waters is particularly 

 advantageous ; a south-wester comes next in order ; a 

 north-easter, in which, by-the-by, occasionally there is 

 great success, is the next ; and a north-wester is the 



