Captain Dick's Views criticised. 79 



favourable opportunity for striking against and 

 securing the fish. In fishing down a clear stream 

 these advantages are in great measure lost. For 

 then the fly hangs against the current, if, indeed, it 

 does not appear to the fish to be frantically en- 

 deavouring to stem the current ; and even should 

 the trout overcome his well-grounded doubt as to 

 its nature and attempt to seize it in this position, 

 the angler will, in two cases out of three, lose the 

 fish through the necessity of striking up-stream. 

 Captain St John Dick tries to escape the force of 

 this argument by affirming that, "although fish 

 always lie with their heads up-stream, they never 

 by any chance take a fly in that position, but 

 always make a decided turn in the act of rising, 

 and take the fly with their heads pointing down 

 stream." Now every observant angler can have no 

 hesitation in characterising this statement as not 

 only hypothetical but fabulous. The trout, seeing 

 the fly coming down towards him, rises to meet it, 

 and in doing so his head is up-stream towards the 

 fly. He certainly makes a " decided turn " in the 

 water ; but, luckily for the angler, it is not " in the 

 act of rising and taking the fly," but after having 

 seized the fly, he turns to descend. Captain Dick 

 himself thinks it necessary to qualify his statement, 

 for he says, " It must be borne in mind that when 

 trout are gnattiny they do not follow this rule ; " 



