Dace and Chub. 



11 



fish are arrant cowards and pas- 

 sive resisters at best, rarely put- 

 ting forth their full strength or 

 making a long run in the fight for 

 freedom. No ! up he comes to the 

 surface with scarcely a kick, and 

 suffers himself to be winched in 

 and netted ignominiously. 



The only fish that I know that 

 takes the fly and yields to fate so 

 sheepishly is the American rock 

 bass. All head and a tapering 

 body like the red gurnard, he 

 gives a couple of pulls and then 



his weight serves him as a resist- 

 ing force, and the issue will be 

 determined by the strength of the 

 casting line. A dozen chub may 

 be hooked in this pool, some 

 breaking away through light 

 hooking, others on the first strong 

 pull. No break is made on taking 

 the fly under water ; they are 

 sluggish risers as well as players. 

 Chub are also to be found under 

 the overhanging boughs of trees 

 by the river's side, where a 4 Ib. 

 or 5 Ib. specimen is frequently 



Alexandra. 



Cock-y-bondhu. 



comes to the surface with his 

 great mouth agape, and can be 

 dragged 20 yards without a flip 

 of the tail. The angler who 

 knows the plucky fight of a pound 

 trout, his gamey springs from the 

 water, and helter-skelter rush 

 down stream, will be disposed to 

 hold in contempt the white- 

 livered valour of the chub. All 

 the same, he can give trouble if 

 there is a clump of weeds within 

 reach in which he can hide. Then 



CHUB FLIES. 

 Red palmer. 



Soldier palmer. 

 Hackled bee (on gut). 



taken. The soldier palmer and 

 cock-y-bondhu are excellent pat- 

 terns to try in such places. Skil- 

 ful casting will tell, dropping the 

 fly under the boughs with a good 

 splash they?)', bear in mind, not 

 three or four yards of line with it, 

 which is bad fishing. Imagine a 

 fat, hairy caterpillar falling from 

 a high branch of an alder into the 

 river, and the kind of splash it 

 would make ! Palmers are imita- 

 tions of caterpillars ; there lies 



