WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 123 



WEEDS 



It may well be asked ! If these weeds are so dangerous 

 and so often rob the fisherman of his fish, why are they left 

 in the river ? 



There are several considerations which have to be taken 

 into account with reference to the water plants or weeds in a 

 trout stream. The owner has to consider the necessity of 

 keeping open his water way and preventing these rapid- 

 growing plants from choking up the channel of his stream, a 

 fault which would lead to the flooding of the adjacent 

 property, damage to the river-banks, and the probable loss 

 of many good fish. 



On the other hand, he has to remember that these 

 weeds, when kept within certain bounds, are most beneficial 

 to trout life. They keep down the temperature of the water 

 and are a refuge to the trout, not only from mankind, but 

 from the otter, the heron, and other enemies ; they provide 

 a never-failing supply of natural food, as well as acting as 

 filters and natural purifiers of the waters in which they exist. 

 The Ephemeridae and other water insects are always plentiful 

 in weedy rivers. The fresh- water shrimp, one of the prin- 

 cipal foods of the trout, abounds and multiplies amid the 

 shelter of the weeds. Several trout-breeding establishments 

 make a regular business not only of supplying fly larvae, 

 fresh-water shrimps, and other water insect life, but of 

 cultivating and supplying the best weeds and water bushes 

 for trout streams. Riparian owners, therefore, who wish 

 to afford shelter or create a natural food-supply for their 

 fish would do well to remember this fact. 



The Riparian owner must also take into consideration the 

 valuable effect which the water plants have in checking 

 the down-stream flow of water in the dry seasons, and 

 by this natural damming action keeping a plentiful supply 

 of water in streams which would otherwise soon run very 



