INTRODUCTION xxix 



delicately, and more effectively than one less light. 

 For any particular stream, then, the most suitable rod 

 is the lightest that will throw a fly, without undue 

 strain, to any part of the water, in the ordinary course, 

 where a trout may be rising or lurking. I myself 



flnd that three rods are equal to all the opportunities 

 of a holiday on well-varied waters. One of them, nine 



feet long, weighs four ounces and a half; another, 

 eleven feet, weighs eight ounces ; the third is twelve 



feet, and weighs twelve ounces. 



Other passages in " The Practical Angler" tempt 

 to comment. There is an account, for example, of 

 the " drag " that Mr. Stewart attached to his spinning- 

 tackle. The drag was " to catch by the outside of the 

 body those trout which bite shy or miss the minnow." 

 Happily, there having been enactments which may be 

 construed as rendering it unlawful, that device need 

 not be discussed. Then, as to the qualities of light, 

 the colour of water, and the eyesight of trout, our 

 author acted and advised upon questionable assump- 

 tions. " Highland lochs" we read, " are generally of 

 a dark colour, which helps to disguise the angler's 

 tackle." That is an illusion. To any one walking 

 by the side of a Highland loch, or even afloat on parts 

 so deep that the bottom is invisible* the water does at 

 times seem dark; but in truth, excepting in extreme 



flood, it is always crystal-clear from the trout's point 

 of view, much clearer, as a rule, than that of a stream. 

 I mention this because Mr. Stewards error has a 

 strange persistence. It is repeated in book after book 

 about Angling. The aspect presented by water to 



