204 TROUT FISHING 



caught in relation to the amount of time and 

 enthusiasm expended. One season, I remember, 

 which I spent on a portion of the Kennet noted for 

 its big fish, yielded almost no trout to me though 

 other rods were getting their three-pounders and one 

 got a beauty of over five pounds. 



I hardly got a chance of a three-pounder that 

 season, the reason being that I spent practically 

 the whole time right at the bottom of the water 

 waiting for my. eight-pounders to begin to rise. 

 There were eight-pounders there at any rate there 

 was one, for I saw him one day but a few inches 

 from my eyes; I was looking over the camp- 

 sheathing and he was swimming slowly upstream 

 close beside it but the trouble was that there was 

 no Mayfly, or not enough to make the big fish rise. 

 Day after day the appearance of odd flies en- 

 couraged a hope that the rise was just about to 

 begin, but day after day it stopped short of the 

 desired point. So I got no sport worth mentioning 

 and never saw one of my eight-pounders take a fly. 



I have spent other seasons quite as unprofitably, 

 but I have usually succeeded in getting at least 

 one rise out of a fish which has seemed to me worth 

 long waiting. The ambition to get a monster has 

 of course given me some thoroughly dull days, dull 

 at least so far as active employment is concerned. 



