TROUT OF LITTLE BROOKS 99 



heart to jump. I courted that stream assidu- 

 ously until I could cast from a distance and hit 

 just where I should, so that the fly would be car- 

 ried back under the bank or around the end of 

 a snag, and I caught fish, lots of fish. It is still 

 considered "fished out," but I can go back there 

 any old day and catch a mess of glorious fish. 



Now not every one can fish the little stream: 

 a plethora of patience is a prime requisite. You 

 must be content to make many a fruitless visit, 

 but perseverance will surely reap its reward. 

 "Use all the skill of which you are possessed and 

 then some," is the cryptic advice I give would-be 

 fishers who look to me for information. I know 

 of no fishing where slyness on the part of the 

 angler is so important, for the denizens of the 

 brooklets seem to have the senses of sight and 

 hearing developed to an unusual degree, though 

 probably lack of water and circumscribed area 

 of pools are responsible. I have learned my les- 

 son thoroughly. I never let my shadow fall upon 

 the water, neither do I tread the marge of the 

 streams. My casting is all done from a distance 

 of ten or fifteen feet. I study out a pool, if un- 

 acquainted, and fish on downstream, returning 

 in an hour or so to catch the fish. If I hook a 

 goodly fish and lose him, I mark the spot with a 



