COSTA. 43 



fly fisher. Costa is an ideal dry-fly river, with 

 slowly eddying pools, wherein the grayling lie 

 in wait for autumn duns, and placid stretches 

 of water, broken here and there by the ring of 

 a rising fish. See the same placid stretch in 

 June, during the " duffers' carnival," and it 

 is one continuous boil as each trout strives for 

 his share, and more than his share, of the host 

 of .Mayflies weaving their mazy dance above 

 his head. 



It was Tuesday, to visitors a dies non 

 for fishing, so, laying aside the rod and assum- 

 ing the duties of gillie instead, I accompanied 

 my host along Costa's banks. Trout were 

 sacrosanct, for October was already three days 

 old, but there remained to us their sporting 

 cousin, the grayling. 



A dour and gloomy morning with a north- 

 east wind which bit shrewdly, did not augur 

 any too well for the chances of a heavy basket, 

 and we were not surprised to find but few 

 surf ace -feeding fish. The fly was put over 

 the most promising of these, and in one or two 



