A SPRING DAY WITH "BOB' 55 



bank. " Bob " approached these gaps very quietly, 

 with a few quick curls of his line behind his head, 

 as if trying to dry it, and then, stepping lightly 

 forward, he dropped his flies on the water above him, 

 at an angle of not more than thirty degrees to the 

 bank, that they might come down well under it. 

 Each cast either hooked a trout or was quickly 

 repeated from gap to gap. 



He fished the length without much waste of time, 

 and at the end remarked, " Ye should nivver pass 

 such spots at this time o' t' year if yer fishen up. 

 They doan't tak much time and often carry good 

 fish." 



We had now reached the bend of the river 

 opposite the old barn-like church of the neighbour- 

 ing village, and sat down together to eat our sand- 

 wiches. From this corner we could see both up and 

 down the river. " Bob's " big wooden pannier was 

 half full of nice trout, and I proudly opened mine to 

 show him that I had not altogether failed. He 

 picked out two or three of the smallest and 

 explained in his quiet humorous way that they were 

 " raither smaw " and would have been better left 

 in t' watter to grow a bit. " Ah's nut finden any 

 faut wi' ye noo, but some day ye'll come to leuk on 

 t' as murder to tak t' babbys oot o' t' watter in t' 

 spring. If ye tak t' smaw uns at any time thers 



