ON TROUTING WITH THE FLY 119 



during the day, should have recourse to the smaller 

 waters and more backward districts of the country, 

 where the trout are not yet indeed in some places 

 they never are satiated with surface food. Fly- 

 fishing at this season is more difficult than at any 

 other ; for, unless in a very favourable day, the trout 

 will not rise in the pools ; the angler, therefore, 

 must have recourse to the streams and rough broken 

 water, and to fish these successfully with the fly is 

 very nice practice indeed. The flies alone should 

 touch the water, and they should never be thrown 

 into the main current, but into nooks and eddies, 

 and all those places where the worm -fisher would 

 look for sport, and which will be indicated in a sub- 

 sequent chapter. The trout that will take a worm 

 will generally rise at a spider if thrown lightly over 

 it ; but in fly-fishing the angler cannot capture one- 

 fourth of the trout that rise, whereas in worm-fishing 

 he can make sure of one out of two offers, which 

 accounts for the comparatively few trout in the fly- 

 fisher's basket at this season. 



In clear sunny days, trout may frequently be seen 

 basking in shallow water which, at first sight, seems 

 scarcely sufficient to cover them. On such occasions 

 they will rise greedily at a spider, if the angler keeps 

 well out of sight, and throws lightly over them ; 

 he must also take care that the shadow of his rod 

 does not fall upon the water in their neighbourhood. 

 The capture of one will, however, scare away the 

 others, and they will not return for some time. 



Trout will rarely, even in the heat of summer, 



