FIRST EMPTYING. 13 



supposed by inexperienced anglers. One of the most 

 frequent remarks of old anglers is, " I can't see now." He 

 can see a splash on the river which every novice can see, 

 denoting an unmistakeable rise of a feeding trout, but he 

 can no longer discern the faint often very faint silvery 

 gleam far under the surface which is equally a " rise," and 

 means a hooked fish, if the strike is done at the right 

 instant ; miss that instant and the fish will spit out your 

 fraudulent fly with the speed of Vesuvius. The art of 

 striking fish in this way is not to be acquired by any 

 paper teaching ; it can only be learned at the river-side, and 

 even then it requires long years of watchful practice and 

 very often different methods to suit the varying antics of 

 fish on different days; perseverance, good eyesight, and 

 attention to small matters will accomplish much, and if you 

 can't manage it at first you must keep it up until you can. 



SPRING FLIES. 



On any ordinary rough stream during the spring it will be 

 sufficient for any angler to confine himself in a general way 

 to six flies, and with these chosen six he may fish day in 

 and day out, anywhere and at anytime, wet or fair, big water 

 or little, sunshine or cloud, hot or cold. Take no notice of 

 what thickheads tell you on strange rivers " that they are 

 no use there "; just keep on fishing, in places where fish are, 

 and if you do not find trout rise at your flies you will 

 understand their refusal is due to one or both of two 

 very good reasons : first, because they do not want flies of 

 any kind just then ; second, because you are unconsciously 

 playing the part of a scarecrow. You cannot expect any 

 reasonable fish to have much appetite when a man is in 

 full view brandishing an enormous pole over their heads, 

 which, for ought we know to the contrary, may seem to 

 them as big as the mast of an old three-decker does to us. 



