268 ACCESSIBLE FIELD SPORTS. 



autumn, however, it is the reverse, for above the dam 

 the greatest numbers and the heaviest fish are found. 

 Why trout should, at the various seasons, select dif- 

 ferent resorts, is still a matter of surmise ; our opinion 

 is, that in summer all that are able leave the river and 

 betake themselves to the locality of the springs in the 

 bottom of the lake, or lie down in such deep water as 

 has not been rendered tepid by the rays of the sun ; but 

 as the season advances, and becomes proportionably cool, 

 the fish retake themselves to the streams, either for the 

 purpose of spawning, or because the rapid water is a 

 more suitable residence during the severity of a northern 

 winter. This migration, if such it may be called, has 

 a great resemblance to the movements of salmon, ex- 

 cept that the latter have the choice of the ocean instead 

 of the land-locked lakes. From the above, our readers 

 will see that midsummer is not the season to select 

 for a visit to this picturesque neighbourhood, even sup- 

 posing that the flies and mosquitoes were less numerous ; 

 but even if the sport was then to be enjoyed in perfec- 

 tion, the assaults of the insatiable pests would render the 

 most fascinating pleasure of fly-fishing a perfect labour. 

 Turning from the house, a foot-path, sufficiently 

 clear to permit you to carry your rod ready for 

 work, leads off to the right, and soon you reach the 

 river, tumbling with a headlong, impetuous rush 



