USING THE WET FLY. 103 



as an overgrown puppy looks less mature than an 

 adult dog of similar size. But for a novice the 

 safest plan is to return all fish under a certain size ; 

 Sin. is not too high a standard for west-country 

 trout, and it practically removes the danger of 

 killing parr, which seldom or never grow to such a 

 size in the river. An Sin. fish should weigh about 

 3oz. or a little more, and such a trout is nothing to 

 be ashamed of where half-pounders are about the 

 utmost one can expect. In many a stream Sin. fish 

 are hard enough to catch. 



Having returned his parr, the angler works 

 steadily on up the shallow, moving a couple of 

 steps at a time and making three or four casts 

 between each move. Presently he drops his flies 

 too far across the river, and the end one catches on 

 a low bush, where it takes hold. A gentle twitch 

 from the rod may dislodge it. If not, the line must 

 be taken in the hand. A succession of light pulls 

 with the hand will often bring the fly away without 

 disaster ; but if this method fails one has either to 

 wade across or to break. Wading across is not 

 always so easy as it looks, for clear water is often 

 deceptive in the matter of depth. It is better to be 

 over-cautious about wading than over-rash. The 

 stronger the stream the less deep should one go, as, 

 even if one does not lose one's balance, the water 



