TROUT FISHING. 16? 



foot-line to about three yards. Put on your bob fly a 

 few inches below the middle ; or, if in a very weedy 

 river, within little more than a yard of the other ; lest, 

 while playing a fish with the bob, your toil fly may get 

 caught in a weed. More gut than is here prescribed 

 will be found an incumbrance when you want to get a 

 fish up tight : insomuch, that, of the two. I would rather 

 have a little less than more of it. 



A small fly-book may, of course, be taken ; and I 

 should recommend it on my plan, which is of Russia- 

 leather, in order to repel the moth. This no one will 

 do better for you than Chevalier. A common beaver 

 hat is the best thing to hook, and keep flies on ; and, 

 if you have not two rods by the river side,- always keep 

 a gut length and flies ready to put on, round your hat, 

 in order to avoid the waste of time and torment which 

 you would have, if you had much entangled your line. 



The beauty of fishing is to do the business quick 

 (though not in a hurry), because this sport is every mo- 

 ment dependent on the weather. Walton says, " before 

 using, soak what lengths you have in water for half an 

 hour" In the new school, I should rather say, draw 

 what lengths you want through Indian rubber for half 

 a quarter of a minute. Let a gut length or two (ready 

 fitted up with flies), and also a few spare tail flies, be thus 

 prepared to go on in an instant, and put round your hat. 

 For flies (as Barker observes for his night angling) take 

 white for darkness; red in medio ; and black for light- 

 ness. The yellow dun and red palmer, which has a 

 black head, partake a little of all ; and therefore, with 

 the addition of a white moth for dark nights, the angler 

 may, in what few rivers I have ever fished, do vastly 

 .well, No doubt, however, that an occasional variety of 



