24 Sporting Sketches 



the windings of the water for miles, taking mud and 

 slop as they came, to wade when needful, to get wet 

 and outrageously dirty as a matter of course, and to 

 finish off with wading through the headwaters and 

 tramping home as best one could. The shorter 

 grains, easy to throw, were most serviceable for this 

 work. By following the stream thoroughly, one 

 stood a chance to find all fish that had passed up, 

 and a miss with the grains might be rectified later 

 on, for a missed fish was certain to go upstream, 

 and might be overtaken and tried again if it kept 

 to the channel. 



The best costume for this method was the oldest 

 and most useless clothes one possessed, for the man 

 who couldn't afford to get covered with mud was 

 safest at home. Many grainers wore long rubber 

 waders, but the value of these was doubtful. One 

 was almost certain to fall over or off of something 

 ere the trip was done, and waders wet inside are an 

 abomination. Besides, they are unpleasant things 

 to walk across country in during a return tramp. I 

 used to rig my feet with old stout boots, with enough 

 cracks in them to let water run in or out at will. 

 Any kind of ancient trousers was good enough, 

 and a pair of strong leggins amply protected the 

 shins. Thus equipped, I would walk into the first 

 water I reached, to get wet and be done with it. 

 After that it was easy to take what came, and if one 

 slipped and fell into the mud, a wade through deep 

 enough water fixed matters first rate. 



For carrying the fish, we invariably used a long- 

 ish supple switch, with a short stub left near the 

 lower end to keep the first fish put on from slipping 



