BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 21 



concern himself over-much, since he has his own 

 troubles. 



In stream fishing, for instance, it frequently happens 

 that after a run of good luck the fish suddenly cease 

 rising and are apparently down to stay. The angler 

 who faces this situation is usually hopelessly at sea. The 

 question of what to do obstinately remains unanswered. 

 It may be that some temporary hatch of flies upon 

 which the trout have been feeding has ceased. It may 

 be that that particular stretch of water is temporarily 

 deserted by the trout for some unknown reason. Per- 

 haps this portion of the river is permanently avoided 

 by the fish. Explanations and theories buzz merrily in 

 the angler's brain, and finally he "goes it blind." 



At every few casts he changes flies. He tries both 

 surface and submerged fishing. Without avail he em- 

 ploys every fly-fishing artifice known to him. At last, 

 when he is discouraged and about to take the rod down, 

 he gets a rise and a trout. Then another candidate ap- 

 pears and is elected to the creel. Exactly what has hap- 

 pened the angler does not know, and, since the fish are 

 again on the rise, he cares little until home again and 

 in conversation with some fellow fisherman the occur- 

 rence is brought up for argument and thoroughly sifted. 

 Generally some sufficiently plausible explanation is con- 

 cocted and confidently relied upon until a similar state 

 of affairs arises on a subsequent trip and the pet theory 

 suffers a compound fracture. 



One of the most exasperating of trout habits is that 

 of rising short. When the fish are in this mood the 

 angler's character suffers in inverse ratio to his capac- 



