28 TROUT LORE 



the one which asserts that trout will not rise to a 

 fly when the wind is from the east; indeed, so 

 ingrained is the belief that we accept it almost 

 without question, and it is not uncommon to see 

 carved above the angler's fireplace some such 

 statement as, "May the east wind never blow." 

 Away back in Father Izaak's time this question 

 received considerable attention and we hear that 

 gentle scholar say, "You are to take notice, that 

 of the winds the south wind is said to be the best. 

 One observes that 



'when the wind is in the south 

 It blows your bait into a fish's mouth.' 



Next to that, the west wind is believed to be the 

 best: and having told you that the east wind is 

 the worst, I need not tell you which wind is the 

 best in the third degree." Later on, that Nestor 

 of our beloved sport remarks, "He that busies 

 his head too much about them (the winds) if the 

 weather be not made extreme cold by an east 

 wind, shall be a little superstitious: for as it is 

 observed by some, there is no good horse of a bad 

 color, so I have observed that if it be a cloudy 

 day, and not extreme cold, let the wind set in 

 what corner it will, and do its worst, I heed it 

 not." 



