Getting Out the F/y Books 



one wishes that the same could be said of 

 Franck, for he was a better naturalist and 

 "all-round" fisherman than either of them. 

 But whatever may have been in his con- 

 troversial heart, there is little of " sweet- 

 ness and light " in his style. 



Now to the fly-books. There is no rea- 

 son why the fly-fisher should contemn his 

 brother of the bait-rod. Often quite the 

 reverse, if real angling skill be laid in the 

 balance. The angler's circle is quite wide 

 enough for every one who fishes in the 

 true spirit, whether he casts his fly over 

 the costliest of salmon pools, or anchors his 

 punt across the head of a gudgeon swim. 

 But there is room, also, for a proper regret 

 that he who uses bait alone has never had 

 opened to him all the delights of his pas- 

 time. Many places cannot be really fished 

 with a fly. It is a legitimate matter of 

 choice to decline to fish such places ; but 

 let the refusal be really from love of sport, 

 and not from priggish affectation. There 

 is good ground for Francis's hint that 

 the degree of Master in Angling should 

 be given only to a proficient in all its 

 branches. 



The advantages of the fly are obvious 

 enough. It is always ready; bait must be 

 procured for each occasion. " I wish," 



7 



