OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING 223 



Two experiences of Continental 

 streams in districts much visited by 

 English fly-fishers, further illustrate this 

 biting mood of trout in storms : 



"I once had a remarkable experience Lightning 

 in the Black Forest, in a river which l S^f v 



Black Forest; 



opens out into a wide, still, shallow pool, 

 which, I thought, contained only white 

 fish. One day, in one of the most terrify- 

 ing storms I was ever out in, trout rose 

 madly all over it. This was the only 

 time I had ever seen them rise there, 

 and, being young, I was fool enough to 

 stay out and make a big bag of them, 

 though to this day I cannot understand 

 how the rod did not attract the lightning." 

 (G. A. D.) 



"Thunder is supposed to affect fish in 

 the same way in which it depresses or 

 alarms hypersensitive and nervous men 

 and women. The theory is that fish 

 know when a storm of thunder and 

 lightning is brewing, and that they seek 

 shelter and refuse to feed. My own 

 experience is that, generally speaking, 



