138 DRY-FLY FISHING 



When the angler enters a pool he should imitate 

 his fellow-angler, the otter, and slip stealthily 

 into the water, taking care not to raise a wave 

 before him. It is possible to capture trout in 

 absolutely calm, shallow water, both during the 

 day and in the evening, if precautions are taken 

 not to give the trout a hint of the presence of an 

 enemy. Even to walk on the gravel is fatal ; they 

 must be fished for from deep water on the opposite 

 side, and very pretty sport it is, giving the angler 

 every reason to be well pleased with himself, if 

 he scores a triumph ; to assail them from the top 

 of the far bank is to invite defeat, in fact victory 

 is then quite impossible. 



There is no question that wading may easily 

 be and often is overdone, some anglers apparently 

 counting it their greatest happiness when they 

 find it just within their powers to withstand the 

 force of the current or the uplift of the water. 

 It may be very picturesque, but, except in very 

 rare instances, it is wholly unnecessary. If they 

 reached such dangerous depths only after search- 

 ing thoroughly the water nearer their own bank, 

 they might be excused, but some are actually in 

 the habit of commencing operations from mid- 

 stream. The trout do not all lie under the far 

 bank ; there may be anglers coming on unfur- 

 nished with waders, and it does not put them 

 in a hopeful frame of mind, when they see their 

 flies alighting where another man has just been 

 floundering. 



It is mostly the downstream wet-fly fisher who 

 is guilty of this offence as, by putting a large body 

 of water between himself and his intended victims, 



