64 AN ANGLER'S YEAR 



may be got early in the season, and later with small 

 loch flies ; indeed, during the glassy summer evenings 

 some success has been arrived at by anglers using the 

 orthodox dry fly. A moderate charge is, in most 

 instances, made to any stranger who may wish to fish : 

 in all cases the number of rods is limited, and notice is 

 required to be given some days before the angler pro- 

 poses fishing. In the past some tremendous catches 

 have been made in two or three of the reservoirs ; thus 

 at Ravensthorpe, one reverend gentleman one day took 

 the limit, six trout (three brace), which weighed 341bs., 

 while at Teeton another angler in a season took 148 

 trout, averaging 3^1bs. apiece. 



One Easter a small party, including the writer, 

 decided to try one of the less -known reservoirs, and 

 fished three days; but owing to the storm which raged 

 and the backwardness of the season they did but little 

 good, the boat-angling being about on a par with the 

 shore fishing. The reservoir was reached from the 

 town each day on bicycles, and fishing was solidly 

 indulged in from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The 

 best trout taken during the trip went 31bs., 21bs. 12oz., 

 and 21bs. 6oz. respectively, all being taken on salmon 

 fly ; none of these fish were in any thing like good 

 condition, although they cut pink ; later in the year, 

 or with milder weather, they would be evidently in 

 fine fettle. As an agreeable change a day or two of 

 this fishing may be confidently recommended to anyone 

 who has the facilities for obtaining tickets. There is 

 no apparent reason why the reservoirs of all our great 

 towns should not be stocked with trout of some sort, 

 either brown trout or rainbows, and this would go far 

 to meet the demand created by the destruction of game 

 fish in our rivers by pollution. Of course, the great 

 size of the individual fish is a suspicious circumstance, 

 when one comes to judge of the permanence of the 

 breed. It is due to one or both of two factors : paucity 

 of numbers or plenteousness of food. The paucity in 

 numbers is in most instances due to the fact that the 

 fish do not breed, while the abundance of food may be 



