OF WIND 165 



perhaps the most important of all weather 

 conditions. Of itself, it may, accord- 

 ing to its direction upstream or down, 

 render fly-fishing pleasant and profitable, 

 or the reverse. Its absence may, on 

 the still water of lakes, put fly-fishing 

 out of court altogether. In sea-fishing, 

 it may blow off the land and thus ensure 

 a calm sea and immunity from the dread- 

 ful condition in which, as the historian 

 relates of Philip the Handsome, the fisher- 

 man is " unquyeted in mynde and bodie." 

 Even apart from its intrinsic influence on 

 sport, wind is viewed apprehensively on 

 account of the rain, hail, or snow that it 

 may bring on its wings, or the sudden fall 

 in temperature, which, to the destruction 

 of the natural fly, may result when it 

 blows from an unfavourable quarter. 

 Apart, then, from its direction, it must 

 be apparent that the mere occurrence 

 and force of wind may be of the greatest 

 importance. As a general rule, the fly- 

 fislier looks for the best trout on the most 

 windy days and, in consequence, uses his 



