BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 23 



the trout fly-fisherman is now and again confronted is 

 when the trout are jumping continually, feeding upon 

 some certain fly, or, it may be, in play. At such times 

 the angler's desire to obtain a few "specimens" of the 

 brook trout is greatly increased by the sight of the leap- 

 ing fish, while at the same time, if he is an experienced 

 angler, he is fully aware of the fact that no possible 

 conditions could be more unpropitious for success. Very 

 rarely it will happen that if the trout are rising to some 

 natural fly the angler can make a killing by hitting upon 

 the most approximate artificial. It seldom occurs. The 

 right fly, somehow, is hardly ever in the fly-book. Here 

 again the angler realizes his utter helplessness, and very 

 acutely. 



The whys and wherefores of the brook trout are in- 

 numerable and as unsolvable as numerous. To the 

 sportsman they are a never-ending source of interest and 

 of difficulty. The wise angler will thank Heaven each 

 time he creels a trout it may be the very last one. 



