LARGE V. SMALL STREAMS. 219 



require to work very hard to get the required 

 quantity. Nor is it at all possible to accomplish 

 it by a continuous use of any one method of 

 angling. The fly-fisher cannot do it ; the worm- 

 fisher cannot do it ; the minnow-fisher cannot do 

 it; and, as a matter of course, the May-fly fisher 

 cannot do it. It can only be done by a judicious 

 use of the four methods, according to circum- 

 stances. Nor can it be done by fishing continually 

 in one stream ; the stream also must be varied ac- 

 cording to circumstances. 



In order to fulfil the promise made to the reader 

 of explaining how this can be done, we shall now 

 go over the whole angling season, and mention the 

 occasions when the angler wishing weight should 

 employ the different methods ; but before doing so 

 we shall mention some points which apply equally 

 to all seasons. 



One of these is, that large rivers are not so 

 much to be depended upon as small streams, partly 

 because they do not contain so many trout in pro- 

 portion to their size, and partly because, from un- 

 known causes, the trout in them are more capricious. 

 In the time of a take, large quantities of trout may 

 be caught in them with very little trouble ; but at 

 other times the angler will have great difficulty 

 and will occasionally find it impossible to kill the 

 required twelve pounds. For this reason, if the 

 angler is not meeting with success in large rivers, 

 he should have recourse to the smaller rivers and 



