114 WADING. 



school-board text books, and Nature-study 

 lectures. 



They can chase a spawning trout up a narrow 

 brook in November, and stop its retreat by a 

 barricade; doing thereby as much damage as 

 an enemy that poisons the wells. Any regret 

 I have ever felt at reading the words ' no 

 wading allowed ' upon my ticket has long since 

 faded away, or has been replaced by a feeling 

 of thankfulness that for another generation 

 perhaps fly fishing may exist for the lower ten 

 thousand, as well as for the upper five hundred. 



There are two main objects in wading. The 

 first is to enable you to fish water quite out of 

 reach otherwise : the second to cover a pool or 

 shallow from a downstream position. 



Wading is in fact strategic or tactical. On 

 broad shallow rivers interspersed with boulders 

 like parts of the Coquet, the Teme, or the 

 Manifold, wading is necessary to get at the 

 water. On smaller streams, easy enough to 

 cast across from bank to bank with a nine foot 

 rod, wading is often the only means of coming 

 into touch with the sharp sighted fish that are 

 feeding above a stickle and which cannot 

 possibly be attacked on either flank. This is 

 the form of wading that requires the education 

 of at least two seasons to be brought to work- 

 manlike efficiency. Practised on still summer 

 evenings on free water, where as we all know 

 a blank of anything over six ounces is the 

 usual reward of four hours enjoyment, it has 

 a calm fascination for the enthusiast. 



