82 BROOK AND RIVER TROUTING 



control of the captive is regained as he re-enters the 

 water. The spUt cane soon tells on his strength, and 

 quietly he is coaxed down stream to the net, but 

 instead of floating in he merges indistinct into the 

 shadowy water, and an upflying rod tells of a light 

 hold and the loss of a stout-hearted fish. 



Leaving this stream, and incidentally the friend whose 

 methods have been studied, let the reader give his com- 

 pany up the river to the next stream ; and, to realize 

 how failure may be caused by wrong approach, let 

 him listen to an incident which happened to one of 

 the writers in his early days of upstream worming. 

 But first the stream must be described. 



A long deep pool (or dub, as it is called on the 

 Eden) breaks away in a short characterless rapid, 

 narrowing towards the tail and then rushing under 

 willow trees which hang right out over the river from 

 the right bank. The strong stream has dug out a 

 deep channel under these willows, while the left or 

 near bank is a bed of fine gravel gradually sloping 

 into the deeper water at the far side. This deep 

 channel holds many good fish, but they are quite 

 unassailable so long as they remain well under the 

 willows. 



Now for the incident. The day was blazing hot, 

 the month July, and the river low and clear when 

 the writer in question first essayed to fish it with 

 the worm. Entering the water at the tail of the 



