268 FLY FISHING 



of the local anglers returning from above with a 

 lighter basket than usual. He stopped me and 

 asked what I had done. I told him, and he then 

 asked to see the fish. I opened my basket. " You 

 can't have caught those to-day with fly," he 

 said. " Yes," I replied ; " I caught them with 

 a dry fly." " Dry fly," he said very sternly, " we 

 know nothing about a dry fly here." Then he 

 went on his way, with thoughts, I fear, that were 

 not very kind. 



The next reminiscence goes back to about 1880, 

 and has to do with a river in Ireland. The first 

 time I saw this river was late in August. There 

 were said to be trout, and good ones, and it 

 was believed to be possible to catch some with 

 fly earlier in the season, when the water was in 

 order. The river had in parts a very wide bed, 

 which when low it did not nearly fill. The 

 water ran in all sorts of channels between beds 

 of bright green weeds. Here and there was a 

 long stream with a stony bottom, free from 

 weeds, and now and then there would be a huge 

 pool, full of peaty-coloured water of unknown 

 depth, in which one or two salmon lay. One 

 could wander for miles all day about the most 



