148 Trout Flies. 



heavy thunder-storm. I have constantly observed 

 this. 



"June 1 8th. — On the Frome, at Stafford, near 

 Dorchester; May fly strong on the water. The 

 water meadows had been flooded, and the small 

 canals down each meadow were full of fish, taking 

 the May fly. On the main river were two fly- 

 fishers, fishing with the natural fly and blow line ; I 

 fished the smaller streams ; drowned my May fly, 

 an invariable custom with me, and soon had two 

 brace of magnificent fish, not one under 2 lbs., and 

 one nearly 3 lbs. ; not one of these took the fly 

 on the surface ; but as sure as I let my fly come 

 over them (I was fishing up stream) below the 

 water, so surely did I see a slight swirl, and very 

 slight movement of my wrist told me I was fast 

 in a fish. In the afternoon I fished the main river, 

 with equal success — always fishing up with a wet 

 fly. The gentlemen with the natural fly had got 

 one or two fair fish ; in one hatch-hole (in some 

 counties called Pills), with a slight flow into the 

 water meadow, one of them had hooked a large 

 fish, which broke him. Towards evening I knelt 

 down and threw my wet fly into this pill, and kept 

 my head high enough to see all that was going 

 on. The fly had sunk about three inches, when 

 I saw the monster come out from under the 

 boarding and just suck in the fly. I had him 



