78 FLOATING FLIES 



cially brook trout, and the same thing is true of 

 brown trout in somewhat lesser degree. 



To enlarge upon the matter further would be 

 impracticable here. In point of fact, stream ex- 

 perience alone will enable the angler to spot 

 confidently and with precision the places where 

 a good trout may be lying. Each trout taken 

 by an observant fly-fisherman adds to the an- 

 gler's sum of knowledge regarding " where the 

 trout hide " ; it would seem that a mental pic- 

 ture of the place is retained subconsciously 

 the trend of the current, the character of the 

 banks and stream-bed, and where, in relation 

 to some prominent object, such as a large 

 boulder or possibly a sunken log, the trout rose; 

 all these and other details are noted and men- 

 tally recorded, and eventually the angler, by the 

 correlation and association of these mental pic- 

 tures, comes to recognize instantly, almost to a 

 matter of inches, the places where a rise may 

 be expected. That an experienced fly-fisherman 

 can tell " almost to a matter of inches " where 

 a trout will rise may seem, to the casual reader, 

 to be putting it rather strongly. However, in- 

 quiry of some sportsman of many seasons' ex- 

 perience with the fly-rod will definitely settle 

 the matter one way or another. 



While, indeed, the character of American 



