Trout Dry-Fly Fishing. 



73 



angler, and on his sangfroid much 

 will depend. Firmly tightening 

 up the line is sufficient to hook 

 the fish. The moment the trout is 

 hooked he will go under to fight 

 it out. The harder he plays, the 

 sooner he becomes exhausted, 

 and the more easily will he be 

 landed. Beware of the last 

 struggle close to the net, and 

 keep the reel free to counteract 

 it. The line and fly after this 

 submersion are dried by casting 

 half a dozen times in the air. 



the fish that will be seen poising 

 near the surface. I think one 

 would be better employed to go 

 after them than to seek a shady 

 retreat, and give oneself up to 

 the contemplation of a novel and 

 tobacco, a prescription much 

 commended by some angling 

 authorities. By stealing along 

 the bank, or carefully wading, 

 these possible feeders may be 

 discovered. You may cover 

 th'em half a dozen times without 

 effect, and then fatally tempt them. 



THE ITCHEN (CHALK STREAM), ABBOTS BARTON. 



Whenever the fly seems inclined 

 to sink, its floating power is 

 restored in that way. While the 

 rise is on, the possibility of sport 

 continues, and every moment 

 should be used to the best ad- 

 vantage. It is the brief harvest 

 of the angler interspersed by long 

 and uneventful hours. Between 

 the morning and evening rise 

 trout are apathetic. It is possible, 

 however, to find some of them 

 with unappeased appetites, and 

 ready to take the fly. Such are 



It does not follow that all rising 

 fish are capable of being beguiled 

 by the dry fly. Some are indulg- 

 ing in the habit known as tailing. 

 These are trout that lie over or 

 among weeds, and are feeding on 

 water shrimp or crustaceans fre- 

 quenting such places. Their tails 

 break the water as they assume 

 almost a perpendicular attitude 

 in search of their food. But they 

 rarely condescend to give an up- 

 ward glance, and it is idle to waste 

 time over them. Other fish seem 



