CLEAR WATER WORM FISHING 103 



exactly what we wanted at the bottom of a tip of 

 road-sweepings and decayed leaves. In the course 

 of a few days the worms were scoured bright in soft 

 moss, and were as lively when touched as steel 

 springs. 



After all the years that have passed I cannot quite 

 remember the details of that first hot day with 

 upstream worm, but I can certainly remember cover- 

 ing a lot of ground, and finding myself some miles 

 away from home at tea-time. Sufficient trout were 

 caught, however, to warrant further effort, and, in 

 the evening, we made sundry alterations to tackle 

 and bait as suggested by the day's experience. 



Both the size of the hooks and the distance 

 between them were lessened. All the bigger worms 

 were discarded, and the bag filled with inch-and- 

 half ones. Missing one day I was up betimes on 

 the next, and on the water soon after eight o'clock. 



Upon this occasion things went much better, and 

 I began to realise that " up and across " was better 

 generally than " straight up," also that the trout 

 were quite fond of those bright, lively little worms, 

 if they saw them coming quietly down past their 

 doorways under the streamy banks, and the top- 

 side of large stones. 



I also found that, if I faced the sun (and morning 

 fishing up the Eden allows of that) trout were to 



