EARLY EXPERIENCES 21 



tell me where they may be obtained?" I gave 

 him the information he asked, and volunteered 

 some instruction by pointing out that his gear 

 was not suitable for the work, convincing him 

 that such was the case by placing my own rod 

 in his hands. We sat in the shade for a couple 

 of hours exchanging ideas, and to prove or 

 explode a theory of mine he agreed to fish a 

 certain pool with me later in the day. He used 

 my rod and rose and killed a brown trout of 

 one pound five ounces, a little later leaving the 

 fly in a heavier fish. He was an expert at plac- 

 ing the fly, but, not being used to the stiffer 

 rod and lighter gut, he struck too hard, with the 

 resultant smash. Being a good angler, he easily 

 overcame this difficulty. He now fishes only 

 with a rod of fine action and power, which en- 

 ables him to place his fly easily, delicately, and 

 accurately a greater distance than was possible 

 with the "weeping" rod he formerly used. 

 This he abandoned once and for all, and with it 

 the wet fly. He came into the knowledge and 

 enjoyment of the dry fly method, and he has 

 since then frankly admitted to me that he 

 greatly regretted having realised so late in life 

 that the actual taking of trout constitutes but 

 a very small part of the joy of fly fishing. 



