THE WET-FLY EQUIPMENT. 79 



to absorb impressions. It is understood, then, 

 that the novice has a fortnight which he proposes 

 to spend in fly-fishing for trout. Fly-fishing for 

 trout, as he probably knows, is of several kinds, 

 but the impulse which has made him yearn for 

 rocks and heather has practically decided which 

 kind he shall first essay, fishing with the wet fly. 



It has also to some extent indicated whither he 

 must go, to one of the districts where streams run 

 down clear and swift from the hills, either in the north 

 or west. It matters little which he chooses. Ceteris 

 paribus mountain streams are very much alike, and 

 their trout much of a muchness, if the term is 

 applicable to things so small. Where the fish run 

 three to the pound the fishing is good, and in most 

 waters five, or even six to the pound are considered 

 a fair average. But neither sport nor pleasure is 

 wholly to be estimated in terms of avoirdupois in 

 this fishing, so the novice need not be discouraged 

 by the prospect of catching only little fish. 



Having decided to spend his fortnight in, let 

 us say, Devonshire, the novice bethinks him of 

 tackle. Of what he already possesses only two 

 articles are likely to be of much use to him in his 

 venture, the landing-net and the creel. Therefore, 

 he has a good many things to procure. First there 

 is the rod, a matter in which an immense variety 



