Fish and Fishing 



smoke; fly-fishing and smoking hardly fit. 

 All beginners in the art of fishing, if they wish 

 to excel, should commence in streams where 

 the trout are remarkably shy, and they will 

 thus sooner become skilful. If they commence 

 in private, well-stocked streams, they will get 

 into a careless style of fishing and be ill-tempered 

 on a well-fished stream, where they ply their lures 

 to the terror and alarm of almost every trout in 

 the water, and return, if not with an empty bask- 

 et, at least with a very light one, with the excuse 

 that the water is too clear. Perhaps the easiest 



of all fishing is the small mountain 

 Fishing brooks. It' s a matter of choice to fish 



up or down. If down, the flies can be 

 guided thirty feet ahead and run to every nook 

 and corner, practically without casting at all, the 

 force of the current doing most of the work. In 

 fishing up, however, the case is different; repeated 

 casts are required. I have done both and the 

 catch is about equal. Fishing up is certainly 

 harder work, both in wading and casting; much 

 depends upon the water. I like better to fish home 

 than to fish away; in the latter the long walk back 

 is not so agreeable as to end, with a full basket, 

 right at my temporary home. 



Before I reach the stream to fish my fly-book is 

 prepared with half a dozen leaders with the flies 

 attached, so that all there is to be done is to tie the 

 cast to the line. It is better still to have the pre- 

 pared leaders in a small round flat box, arranged 

 between layers of damp blotting paper. In this 

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