142 Dry*Fly Fishing, 



before, but more on the alert, " meaning business " 

 as anglers often say, and in eager competition for the 

 floating morsels, and which in the stronger light of 

 noori I saw were small black gnats perhaps diptera. 

 As a blue quill was already on my cast, I presented 

 it repeatedly over the rings of the quickly rising fish, 

 but because it was not. accepted my wonted 

 confidence in the red quill revived, and I knotted on 

 to the drawn gut point of a three -yard cast one 

 dressed on a 000 hook determining not to change 

 the pattern all day, except occasionally on larger 

 hooks. At the first throw not far from the end of 

 the run (it is always best to work up a run by 

 degrees so as not to put fish down) a trout was 

 hooked ; and, drawn away for some considerable 

 distance down stream to a convenient place, after a 

 plucky fight was netted out. As I was in the act 

 of adjusting the landing net to the sling at my side, 

 half turning round to do so, the sound made by a 

 feeding fish caused me to hesitate, and I saw under 

 the bank, which was thickly overgrown with the 

 large -leafed butter-bur, the wave of an enlarging 

 ring, sufficiently suggestive to a practised eye to 

 show where the fish had just moved. The difficulty 

 was how to get below without scaring him away. 

 That, however, was accomplished by making a wide 

 detour through a swamp, and by kneeling and wait- 

 ing. Again he rose, nose out of water, indicating 



