6 SOUTH COUNTRY TROUT STREAMS 



is not often practised in the south. In the case 

 indeed of the great majority of the south country 

 trout streams, east of Devonshire, " worming " in 

 any form whatever is not commonly regarded as 

 a legitimate style of angling. The rules of the 

 chief clubs and associations on the chalk streams 

 of Hampshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, strictly 

 forbid the use of any lure save the artificial fly, 

 and in some cases the artificial fly does not in- 

 clude the notorious and — as some anglers allege 

 — most deadly Alexandra. The same rule is laid 

 down by the owners of many private fisheries ; 

 and all anglers are expected to rigidly adhere to 

 it. Of course, it happens that here and there 

 proprietors and leesees of waters not over well 

 preserved are careless in these matters, and do 

 not trouble to conform to what has certainly be- 

 come a recognised custom among sportsmen on 

 the chalk streams ; while other instances occur 

 where certain folk, who think perhaps more of the 

 booty than of the sporting sentiment, having what 

 are called commoner rights, will not think twice 

 about worming in the most delicate dry-fly water. 

 But, so far as the regular trout streams are con- 

 cerned, this class is a small and not a very growing 

 one. 



In addition to the two ordinary methods of 

 angling with the dry and the wet fly, there is one 

 branch of the latter which deserves particular 

 notice, and that is fishing with one large sunk fly 

 such as an alder or a Wickham over a "tailing" 

 trout, or in rough water, or during a high wind 

 when the dry fly is out of the question. I have 

 long been convinced that this method is an art in 

 itself, in which neither good wet nor good dry fly 



