72 TROUT FISHING 



The trout took it with the utmost confidence, and 

 I got him out after a good fight, a two-pounder. 

 And after that I hooked several more, landing 

 three not quite so big as the first, and losing others. 

 All were approached downstream by drifting, a 

 method which has very seldom before given me any 

 results worth mentioning. It was an eye-opener 

 to me that such shy fish should be more approach- 

 able from above than from below. And I am 

 afraid I must add that it was a pleasant surprise 

 to me to find that I could catch a trout of any size 

 by drifting. Previously I had had a sort of fatalistic 

 conviction that I should be absolutely certain to 

 pull the fly away out of the mouth of any large 

 trout to which I might succeed in drifting it. I 

 have since tried the plan again in that place with 

 some success, so I hope I may have learnt something 

 from the experience. 



Though I have proved to myself that the after- 

 noon is probably as good as the morning, and some- 

 times better, I much prefer a day on which the 

 morning lives up to its good repute. I do not need 

 many fish to make me happy. If on the chalk 

 stream I have a brace by lunch time I am well 

 content, and to have got into double figures by 

 then seems good work in wet-fly fishing. Occa- 

 sionally, though not often, it has happened to me 

 that the morning has been too prosperous. Once I 



