1 68 Worm-Fishing. 



with the expectation of reaching this high stand- 

 ard of excellence, will assuredly be doomed to dis- 

 appointment. But whatever may be said for the 

 deadly character of the worm-lure, all are agreed 

 that worm-fishing cannot furnish occasion for the 

 display of the angler's highest art. This is afforded 

 by artificial-fly fishing alone. No angler " worthy 

 of the name," who has once mastered its nice- 

 ties in detail, and attained to such a degree of 

 perfection in the art as to feel its charm, would, 

 even with the seductive prospect of a big basket 

 before him, ever think of resorting to the worm, 

 except in such conditions and at such seasons as 

 would scarcely admit of the use of the fly. What 

 these conditions and seasons are, it will now be 

 my aim to show. 



The worm may be used with success in flooded 

 waters from March to October, or for that matter, 

 indeed, all the year round. In such waters the 

 amount of skill required to do well is very consid- 

 erable, and the "takes" of experts are oftentimes 

 large; and if the experienced worm-fisher has come 

 out mainly for a big basket, it is in a flooded water 

 that he is most likely to get it: but if he desire 

 the best opportunity for the test of his powers, let 

 him choose a " small " clear water in the hot bright 

 days of June and July. Then he must, as in fly- 

 fishing in clear water, cast up-stream with some 



