148 HAMPSHIRE WATER MEADOWS. 



little cover or protection on open water meadows 

 such as one gets on streams which are bounded 

 by a steep bank or cliff on one side. It is for 

 a fortnight prior to the mayfly that I have 

 during each year always obtained my best 

 baskets, a black gnat, alder, and Welshman's 

 button being at that time the most killing flies. 

 The twenty seventh of May is a date I cannot 

 help always associating with red letter luck. 

 On the twenty seventh of May, on a Devon- 

 shire river, the best angler of that district 

 caught twenty seven trout, * several of them 

 pounders,' a catch which was the envy and talk 

 of the club at the time and first caused a limit 

 (six brace) to be fixed by the owner of the 

 water. 



On the twenty-seventh of May, on the Itchen, 

 I had the best day's sport I ever enjoyed in 

 point of size and number. During the entire 

 morning the fish rose and accepted nearly every- 

 thing that was nicely offered to them so much 

 so that when a thunder storm brewed up at 2 

 p.m. the opinion of each man passing down the 

 water was * all is over for to-day.' Everyone 

 left the river but myself. For some dogged 

 reason chiefly that being out for the day I 

 wanted to have my full measure I made up 

 my mind to stick it out until the storm was 

 over. 



It proved a thoroughly nasty time; the 

 thunder storm working round and round with 

 many alarming lightning flashes and torrents of 

 rain which made me feel a fool for my pains. 



f 



