K:.' PROSPECTING A FISH. 



fish out is a very uncertain remedy, and, unless you can 

 see and manage the weed very well, cutting or hooking it 

 up is unsafe, and sometimes results in cutting the line. 

 There is one thing the angler must remember in fishing 

 weedy water, and that is to eschew the use of a dropper j 

 for if his trout takes to weed, towing a stretcher or dropper 

 fly after him, the angler's chance is of the smallest. 



As in bait-fishing so in fly-fishing, the angler should 

 always make a mental note of any good fish he may see, 

 and take careful stock of his lying-ground, of any obstruc- 

 tion or bushes, in what manner he feeds, hpw the flies 

 come down to him and are taken, the set of the eddies and 

 wind, curl of weed, &c. ; and study how he may best be 

 fished for, in order that he may know, without being 

 obliged again to look at him, or even to come within sight 

 of him, how to fish when he repasses his lair. If he does 

 so, he can then approach without exposing himself in any 

 way to the watchful fish, knowing at the same time 

 exactly when and how to cast. In casting, he should also 

 bear in mind that the first time a fly passes over a fish is 

 far more likely to be successful than any subsequent cast 

 winch he can make, and consequently he cannot use too 

 much care or caution in making it neat and effective. 

 Let him be sure, therefore, by a wide cast or two away 

 from the fish, that his line and fly are in good order, and 

 then let him make his cast with all the care and skill he 

 is capable of; and nine times in ten the cast will be 

 lucky. 



I always like to illustrate my advice if I can from actual 

 experience, and I will do so now. Some years ago I was 

 fishing the Duke of Rutland's water on the Lathkill : I 

 was approaching a bridge, when the keeper came up, and 

 as we were conversing, he pointed to a fish rising just at 

 the mouth of the bridge-arch. ' Now, sir,' said he, ' there 

 is a fish that's worth catching. He's a sort of a pet of 



