140 FISHING FOR PLEASURE 



which was quite unnecessary as far as I was 

 concerned. 



Ledgering with a light fly rod and fine gut 

 has always a certain kind of fascination for me, 

 for any kind of fish. I would not use a worm if 

 there was any chance with the fly, any more 

 than any other angler would do so. A curious 

 part of this fishing is that there are only certain 

 limited spaces in these pools where the fish will 

 " take," and the only worm which appears to be 

 attractive is one about 2 in. or 3 in. in length, 

 obtained out of local road sweepings one of 

 those slim, lively, pink fellows found chiefly in 

 light clay soil. Mr. Tayler told me they had 

 turned in large numbers of trout fry, and from 

 the number of yearlings I saw afterwards higher 

 up the Elwy Valley, I think there is no doubt 

 they are doing well. As regards the sea-trout 

 and salmon, what the Elwy wants is a thorough 

 overhauling of its high weirs, which are impass- 

 able, except in high floods. I was told by two 

 anglers I met at St. Asaph one evening, when 

 waiting for a train, that it was sickening to see 

 the fish dashing themselves time after time, until 

 they were cut and bleeding, against the stones 

 of one particularly bad dam a mile or two up 

 stream. I saw other dams higher up which were 

 quite bad enough. Then, it is absurd to expect 

 that a couple of keepers could possibly "watch " 

 so many miles of river, which in a dry season 



