FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



seemed to tempt them most. It is not necessary nowadays to paint pictures 

 of the delights of fly fishing, in glowing colours, in order to attract fresh 

 devotees to our shrine. 



Everybody fishes for something, and as for trout fishing in the more 

 accessible districts, the puzzle is to provide sport for the many, not more 

 rods for the fish. The preserves will take care of themselves, or rather the 

 owners will; but in the case of waters that are free to all I should stock with 

 hardy fish of rapid growth — brown trout or rainbows — in the large streams ; 

 the former seem to do well everywhere, while the latter are not always a 

 success. If one species thrives and affords good sport it is unwise to try 

 experiments with foreign fish. The Commissions have accomplished much 

 good work in the country, and not many mistakes have been made. The 

 carp was one of these, and once in possession they cannot be got rid of; 

 yet it is consoling to know that there is a sale for them among the poorer 

 classes in the large cities. One is inclined to grumble when favourite 

 streams are over -fished and he meets strangers at every pool or bend, 

 but as a matter of fact excellent sport may yet be had quite near the 

 great centres of population; at the proper season, of course. If one 

 steps into the water on a summer morning and notes that it is warm 

 (particularly during a drought), he need not expect to find good trout in 

 feeding humour. 



Our favourite sport is an uncertain one at the best of times. It is affected 

 by the weather and moods of the trout, even by the condition of our own 

 minds and bodies. There are many puzzles and contradictions, so that it 

 affords a limitless field for study, theorizing, argument and discussion. It 

 leads us on and on through the years and never becomes dull or stale. 

 We are constantly learning, yet never receive a diploma. In fact, the more 

 we learn and the wider our experience the less cocksure and confident 

 we become. Lessons learned in one school do not apply in another, yet 

 there is something gained every season. Men drop out of other sports as 

 they grow old, but this is not true of angling. The fly -fisher is as enthusiastic 

 at ninety as he was at nineteen, and nothing but ill-health or extreme 

 weakness of body will keep him from the water side. An old friend of 

 eighty summers travelled from Georgia in the south to the Restigouche in 

 New Brunswick as soon as the ice went out of the river in spring and stepped 

 out of the car into a snowdrift. The next day he fished for many hours from 

 a leaky canoe, caught one 25 -pound salmon and a severe influenza, was 

 put to bed and ordered home by the physician, but when he arrived he was 

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