MEMORIES OF EARLY DAYS 255 



try to separate the worm from the hooks with 

 their lips, which results in the angler's touch- 

 ing without hooking them when he strikes. 

 There are other days when burn trout dash at 

 the worm and endeavour to make off with it 

 immediately at speed. On these occasions the 

 angler feels a quick tug and all is over before 

 he can strike ; he probably does strike too late, 

 and his line having no resistance at the end is 

 jerked out of the water into a bush, if there is 

 one near. 



Three other moods are common to burn trout; 

 they are those of indifference, suspicion, and ab- 

 normal fright. When the trout are indifferent, 

 they simply ignore the worm, and appear not 

 to notice its presence : one might think from 

 their behaviour either that they were blind, or 

 that they habitually lived with worms before 

 their eyes. When they are suspicious, they will, 

 on the contrary, swim up to the worm and 

 investigate it as if they had never seen such a 

 thing before, or dash about it as if its presence 

 excited them. On other days, and these are not 

 necessarily the brightest, it is almost impossible 

 to keep out of sight of the trout, which seem 



