OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING 221 



morning, and at first I could do nothing ; 

 but when the storm burst, the trout 

 began to rise, three out of four taking the 

 Mayfly, and I was kept fully employed. 

 I therefore took off the Alder and con- 

 tinued with one Mayfly, as there were 

 many weeds and stumps. It was quite a 

 small stream, a brook that one could cover 

 with a line as long again as the rod. . . . 

 I was wet to the skin in no time. By 

 about two the storm ceased, and so did I, 

 for the rise was over, but I had caught 

 22 trout weighing 17 J Ibs. As far as I 

 know, it was the best bag ever made in 

 that water, and I have fished it for over 

 fifty years. Alas, its glory is departed, 

 and it is no longer worth fishing, for the 

 good little river now supplies three water 

 companies ! " 



Colonel Deane's capture of three in the Black- 

 salmon in the Blackwater, directly after 

 a thunderstorm, has been already quoted. 

 On the Blackadder, Mr. Noble, fishing 

 with a friend, caught his share of a basket 

 of fifteen trout during a raging storm. 



