JUNE 93 



fly I was using was Dyed Mallard. The fly was quite 

 fresh and had about an inch of gut attached to the eye. 

 This was possibly one of the fish in which the successful 

 fisherman of the day before had broken away. In any 

 case, the occurrence throws an interesting light on 

 several points. Thus it is repeatedly stated that a trout 

 which has been hooked and the fly broken in it will not 

 rise again that mayfly season. Here the fly was 

 embedded in the fish's gullet, and yet it rose and took 

 another fly within certainly a day or two. Again, the 

 voracity with which trout on the feed take the mayfly is 

 shown by the fact of the barb of the hook being 

 embedded in the gill arches, just by the gullet. Thirdly, 

 if this fish was hooked by the gentleman of the day 

 before (who had alone fished the water before us that 

 week), then the incident shows that it is not always the 

 biggest fish which break away, as all the trout he took 

 were over 21bs. in weight. There is, in my opinion, but 

 little doubt in this case that the gut, weakened by 

 previous struggles, was cut by chafing against the sharp 

 teeth, the hook being fixed in the throat. However, to 

 return to our muttons, The fly rose right briskly, but 

 the big trout would have none of it ; so we wandered 

 up and down disconsolately, casting in a half-hearted 

 way over dace, and "cussing" them when they hooked 

 themselves. As evening came on, a slight change for 

 the better occurred, and at last, in a few difficult 

 positions, decided trout rises appeared. No pattern of 

 fly seemed of any use, except a small, dark-barred wing 

 variety, with a red cock hackle and a straw body. I 

 happily had a few of these with me, tied by Mrs. 

 Richardson, and putting one up, started to work. v The 

 first result was that I rose, hooked, and landed a trout 

 of llb. Next I got hold of a small fish, which I 

 returned, and then walked off along the bank, keeping 

 a sharp look-out for rises. Over on the big shallow in 

 a long glide I found a fish feeding steadily, taking every 

 one of the few flies that came over him, and taking 

 them so quietly that hardly a dimple marked the water 

 when the fly disappeared. Here at last was a large 



