140 SHYNESS OF BIG TROUT. 



Constantly under his very flies which, tied on almost imper- 

 ceptible gut, fall like gossamer above him, and float fruit- 

 lessly down o'er his head as like the real thing as human 

 cunning can contrive, so like it indeed that the very birds 

 will often pick them off the water. Nay, you shall even 

 float the live fly, drake, stone, or what-not, over him so 

 -deftly that nothing in your deception seems to you wanting. 

 You shall offer him worm, minnow, and cad bait, or drop 

 the all but irresistible cockroach or cricket within his 

 ken, while you remain concealed. He may wave his fan- 

 like tail coyly, and take a nearer glance askance at your 

 bait, but proves a very St. Anthony to your temptation. 

 He will perhaps come to it like a bulldog, making your 

 heart jump into your mouth, but ho will even then ' pull 

 up sharp on the post,' as turfites say, and refuse it. Do 

 what you will, 999 times out of a thousand his virtue is 

 ancient Spartan, and his cunning modern Spartan ; but 

 haply on the thousandth, in some sheltering flood, a fair 

 deceiver, which proves to be the ' worst devil of all ' to 

 him, in the shape of a fat worm or minnow, tempts him 

 he gobbles it down, and dies the death. Happy you if 

 it be your worm or minnow. There is far greater skill, 

 caution, patience, and cunning required to delude such a 

 fish than is thought of in the landing of the noblest 

 twenty-pound salmon that ever sailed up Tweed or Tay. 

 A good trout-fisher will easily become an expert at salmon- 

 fishing, but a very respectable practitioner with the sal- 

 mon rod will often have all his schooling to do afresh, 

 should he descend to trout-fishing, before he can take rank 

 as a master of the art. 



As fly-fishing is at once the most popular and most 

 sportsmanlike method of fishing for trout, I will take that 

 branch first. It is the custom in many rivers, particularly 

 in the more southern counties as in Devonshire, for 

 example to commence fly-fishing for trout as early as the 



