168 Dry-Fly Fishing. 



that all the usually swampy places were easily 

 passed. 



It was a new and odd experience to fish this 

 water in winter, where until 1901 never a grayling 

 was seen, and, compared with the many happy days 

 with trout I have enjoyed on it, the surroundings 

 were now sadly altered and drear. Not a flower 

 could he seen, scarcely any haws or hips among the 

 tangled bushes, or red berries* pendent from over- 

 hanging branches ; the birds had feasted well. It 

 was half-past eleven o'clock as I put my rod to- 

 gether and looped on a long and fine gut cast (an 

 advantage, I think, for grayling fishing) to a light 

 running line, and selected a hackle fly dressed as 

 follows on an eyed double hook of 00 size : badger 

 hackle, green peacock herle, three twists of gold 

 wire under it, and terminated by a crimson tag. 

 This lure was lately recommended to me by a 

 friend to whom it had brought very excellent sport, 

 especially, perhaps, because the dual barbs held 

 more securely than the ordinary hook in the tender 

 lips of artful thymallus artful in the sense of 

 twisting off the hook at the critical moment, when 

 least expected, because he seems vanquished and 

 surrendering to the ready net. 



I was much taken with the idea of this double hook, 

 but I thought it would float better for dry-fly work if 

 dressed with double wings. I had therefore ordered 



