88 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



ing, he might just as well abandon any attempt 

 to induce a rise, because the trout, having been 

 warned by his careless approach, will have 

 scurried away. The danger of putting down a 

 fish in swift water is not so great because the 

 ripples sent in advance of the angler make little 

 headway and travel no great distance against 

 a strong current. 



To describe places where trout may be looked 

 for under any and all circumstances, is prac- 

 tically impossible. Very often the fish will not 

 be found where the angler thinks they should 

 be. They are as full of notions and idiosyn- 

 crasies as anglers themselves, and one may 

 hope to become familiar with their habitat in a 

 general way only, and this after close study. 

 I say "in a general way," because, while a big 

 trout may be known to inhabit a certain pool, 

 it does not follow that he is in the same spot 

 to-day that he occupied yesterday or the day 

 before. He may be looked for somewhere 

 about, but a distance of even three or four feet 

 from his previous known position may so place 

 him as to prevent the angler from approaching 

 without being seen. I am speaking of fish that 

 are not rising. Of course, if they should be 

 feeding upon the surface they are easily spotted. 



