NOR -EASTERLY WINDS FATAL. 105 



two such days running I once, in Derbyshire, killed in the 

 brightest possible water forty-six brace of capital trout 

 each day. I could have killed more on the second day, 

 but did not care to carry them, and I have often had good 

 sport on similiar days ; some of the best days I have had 

 were on bitterly cold days with a north-east wind, and 

 little or no fly on ; and some of the worst on warm cloudy 

 days with a south and south-west wind and plenty of fly. 

 Upon the other hand, how often will the angler go out 

 upon a day which he would have picked out from the 

 whole year, had he the choice, and do little or nothing. 

 There are some days nice, brisk, cloudy days with a 

 steady breeze, and not too much fly, and the water in 

 good order, which the angler may pretty well count upon 

 as being good days, and be seldom deceived, though he 

 may sometimes, even then ; but as to picking out a day 

 when he can be sure that the fish will not feed, it is 

 beyond his skill. He may of course chance to be right 

 and he may chance to be wrong, and the longer he is a 

 fisherman the more he will discover that he does not know 

 how a day may turn out until he turns out his creel at 

 night. It not unfrequently happens that some very slight 

 and unexpected change will take place, some new fly will 

 begin to hatch out, or some other insect will put in an 

 appearance, which sets all the fish feeding suddenly, and 

 will thus afford him an hour or two's capital sport, turn- 

 ing a bad day into a good one. My advice to the young 

 angler is : always carry your macintosh, be patient and 

 persevering, and leave the weather to take care of itself. 

 As regards a bright, hot still, day, although I do not say 

 that I should prefer such a day, yet I would not go far 

 out of my way to avoid it if the water be in fair order ; 

 on a similar day some years ago I caught in the Kennet 

 (which is one of the hardest streams to kill a dish of trout 

 in that I know) six-and-a-half brace of trout, several of 



