Notes and Sport of a Dry -Fly Purist. 125 



rise was nearly over I slowly retraced my steps r 

 observant of any break of the surface of the water ; 

 climbed the steep railway bank, crossed over the 

 bridge, passed down the line for a long distance to 

 the stile, and resumed the rod on the Winnall side, 

 where, from the last meadow bounded by the ditch , 

 two more trout were killed, making up 2^ brace,, 

 scaling 61b. 6oz. On my way I noticed a profusion 

 of the coral-like hips of the wild rose, haws on the 

 hedges, scarlet viscid berries on yew-trees, and 

 beautiful clusters or cymes of clear red berries like 

 currants on the water elder : also amongst many 

 other wild flowers, scabious, candy-tuft, corn cockle, 

 yellow foxglove, clover, ragwort, &c., and standing 

 erect, Lysimachia vulgaris. 



On the 16th a fine trout, weighing lib. 14oz., was. 

 hooked and landed when it was almost too dark to- 

 see where one's fly fell. 



On the 19th the wind was north-east, and there- 

 fore unfavourable ; added to which in the upper 

 half of the water mudding out was being done by 

 one man, while another, in a ballast boat, poled it 

 up and down laden with chalk to repair the banks. 

 This not only disturbed the stream, but coloured it, 

 and I was about to forego fishing, in despair when, 

 looking back as far as I could see clearly, fish were 

 rising. By a wide detour I carefully got below 

 them, and at once noticed that they were feeding on 



