i22 Sporting Sketches 



itself, in its effort to seize a fly carelessly left hang- 

 ing against the side of a mossy boulder and sev- 

 eral inches above the water. The eye is not always 

 reliable, but I gravely suspect mine has seen a big 

 trout gather in a white moth flitting a foot or more 

 above the stream. This would not only suggest an 

 ability to see out of the water, but to see most 

 amazingly well, for a moving mark the size of a 

 miller demands deadly accuracy. Furthermore, the 

 neatness and despatch displayed by a big trout in 

 getting into deeper water the instant a man appears 

 upon the bank, shadow or no shadow, is strongly 

 suggestive of an ability to see. 



The advantage of fishing' downstream is twofold, 

 i.e. the fly or bait comes to the fish with the stream, 

 as the fish has learned to expect prey to come. 

 Hence, to meet pleasant possibilities, he is lying 

 with his nose to the current, which can be made to 

 assist in getting the lure where desired. Also, the 

 man on any ordinary stream should have the need- 

 ful space behind, while retaining the power to cover 

 every yard of water below. The sole disadvantage 

 of fishing with the stream is that accidental disturb- 

 ance of stones, etc., may be carried to fish directly 

 below, while sometimes one's extended shadow may 

 cause trouble. The wise man, of course, does not 

 make a habit of suffering his shadow to shift over 

 every pool, but the trouble with shadow of man and 

 rod may be overcome by shifting from side to side 

 of the water as occasion may demand. 



In regard to lures, the truth is that only a small 

 proportion of early fish are taken with the fly. It 

 is true that a host of anglers glorify fly-fishing and 



