Captain Dick's Views criticised. 77 



recent English writer, Captain St John Dick, at- 

 tempts to minimise its importance ; for he tells us 

 that "in all ordinary rivers it is a matter of very 

 little importance the small amount of water that 

 may be disturbed when killing a fish in fishing 

 down-stream." 1 Well, if in the case of one fish 

 only, perhaps so. But if this be the angler's in- 

 variable style of angling, and if he multiply the 

 number of fish he intends to kill by " the small 

 amount of water" disturbed in killing each, he 

 will, unless he has "thrown away ambition," re- 

 quire more than the Captain's "ordinary river," 

 and much more than an ordinary day, either to 

 fulfil his expectations or derive any satisfaction 

 from the contemplation of his basket. 



Our author says that "there might be some 

 reason for fishing up a stream in which trout lay 

 every two or three yards." Now it is precisely 

 because trout are not nowadays to be caught in 

 any stream " every two or three yards," that the 

 angler must be all the more careful to fish up those 

 places where he may expect to catch them ; for if 

 the capture of one scare the others, he will be 

 guilty of extravagance in the now small mercies 

 that remain to him in over-fished and depopulated 

 streams. And when, as often, while " the take is 

 on," in that " small amount of water " lie his main 



1 Flies and Fly-Fishing, p. 24. 



