1 80 Worm- Fishing. 



expecting a supply of their natural food that good 

 baskets are got with this or with any lure. Trout 

 seldom take worm until they have been satiated 

 with surface-food ; and hence worm-fishing is best 

 during June and July, when the flies, having served 

 their end, are passing off. Should there be a long 

 period of dry weather during these months, the 

 trout are ready to welcome with eagerness the 

 ground-bait which the first flood brings down to 

 them. A succession of floods, on the other hand, 

 is unfavourable to sport, as the fish, now gorged 

 with worms and grub, can afford to play the 

 epicure. 



Trout take for a short time at the beginning of 

 a flood ; but after the water has risen considerably, 

 and while it continues rising, there is generally a 

 complete cessation of sport. If the flood be a full 

 one, and the river run thick and muddy, the fish 

 seek the eddies and shallows near the sides, and 

 the angler will meet with little success until the 

 water has to some extent subsided. Should he live 

 at some distance from the stream, he would do well, 

 if he be a worm-fisher, to start as soon as possible 

 after the rain has ceased, so as to reach the river- 

 side ere the favourable opportunity has passed ; for 

 in these days of hill-drainage and improved farming, 

 a few hours may suffice to reduce a swollen and 

 highly flooded stream to the condition which the 



