BUCKS, OXON, AND GLOUCESTER STREAMS 83 



ceptionally short thick fish with small heads ; they 

 have very red flesh ; and they are spotted with 

 black, and have silvery bellies. The trout of the 

 Antipodes are not unlike those of the Wick either 

 in form or in colour, and as a matter of fact, ova 

 of Wycombe trout were sent out to New Zealand 

 when the ultimately successful experiments in 

 pisciculture were being made there : indeed the 

 ova of W^ick trout were included in the first 

 consignment which safely reached its destination. 

 Mr. William Senior, among others, has testified to 

 the similarity between the New Zealand and the 

 Wycombe trout, and the New Zealand anglers of 

 the remote future may, perhaps, come to speak of 

 St. Wycombe ! The Wycombe trout run large, 

 averaging quite a pound, andbeingoccasionally taken 

 up to 4 lbs. and 5 lbs. in some parts of the stream. 

 Mr. Thurlow with a large wet fly once captured in 

 a single evening a trout of over 5 lbs. and another 

 of over 7 lbs. in a stretch of water above High 

 Wycombe, and both fish were exhibited for a while 

 in Farlow's window in the Strand. There is no 

 May- fly on the Wick, but alder, olive, yellow, and 

 watery duns. The artificial flies most in demand 

 are red, blue and grey quill gnats, olive duns and 

 quills, red spinner, hare's ear, alder, and black gnat. 

 Dry fly fishing is usual, though the wet fly is found 

 of service in the early part of the season. 



The High Wycombe Angling and Trout Pre- 

 servation Association has two miles of the Wick. 

 Its season begins on May i and closes on Septem- 

 ber 30, and no member is allowed to fish more than 

 two days in the week, or to kill more than two 

 brace of fish in the day. One brace of trout of 

 eleven inches or over may be taken, but the fish 



G 2 



