Fly Fishing for Trout. 123 



with much rain, and we were fishing the Rams- 

 bury portion of the Kennett. I tried the Major 

 (sedge fly), with silver twist, and could not get a 

 rise ; changed it to one without any silver twist, 

 and I immediately rose a fish. My friend followed 

 my example, and before two o'clock we had landed 

 with this fly twenty brace of fine fish, not one 

 under a pound, some of them between two and 

 three pounds, and three over three pounds each, 

 returning to the water all but the very large ones. 

 I was obliged to leave for town in the evening, 

 but my brother fisherman remained and fished the 

 next day, still dark and stormy, but not much 

 rain. The Major would not take a fish, but with 

 the Alder, dressed without twist, he took, in four 

 hours, twelve fish, weighing twenty-seven pounds, 

 returning to the water all below two pounds. 



The trout of the Kennet are particularly fine, 

 and the nearer you get to the source, the brighter 

 are the fish. Many years ago, before railroads had 

 cut up the country, and there was only the Great 

 Western running through those parts, I had a day's 

 fishing at Savernake, near Marlborough. The 

 pleasant drive in a post chaise over from Swindon ; 

 the disappointment on first getting to the river, 

 to find it thick ; the pleasure of seeing it gradually 

 clear. A bright breezy day, with cloud and sun- 

 shine in alternation, so that by twelve I tried a 



