132 FLY FISHING 



a wasteful and irreverent habit. Fishing is to be 

 enjoyed, but it will not be enjoyed any the more 

 by hurrying past what Nature has to give us on 

 the way. There is no need to hurry, for if the 

 start is made in proper time, the rise will not 

 have begun before the water is reached. On 

 the bank the first thing noticed is the height 

 and colour of the river, two things which are 

 taken for granted on chalk streams, but which 

 vary very greatly on northern rivers, and make 

 a great difference not only to the result, but to 

 the method of fishing. 



In April the water will probably be low rather 

 than high, for February and March are on the 

 average the driest months of the year, and April 

 is not generally a month of heavy rains. On 

 the other hand, the winter rains should have pre- 

 vented the river from being as low and as clear 

 yet as it may become in midsummer, though the 

 water should be cleaner and free from the small 

 particles of vegetation, which come from the 

 stones and banks and pools in warmer weather 

 later on. A fish may be seen to rise now and 

 then, but it will be nearer the middle of the 

 day before the rise becomes at all fast and lively, 



