The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 37 



uncertain, and the deeper the water the 

 more likely to be uncertain, are these long, 

 still, deep reaches. The reason is not quite 

 so obvious. There are many such problems 

 to be solved by the wet-fly fisherman. I 

 presume that in deep dead water, if there 

 happens to be at the time an absence of the 

 natural fly, the trout, when hungry, go 

 down to grub at the bottom, and in fact 

 are apt to become bottom feeders. Yet, 

 should a few flies be shaken off any over- 

 hanging trees or bushes, it is astonishing 

 how quickly the trout find them out. 

 Therefore, while there is no sign of the 

 natural insect and as a consequence no 

 rise in the surface you must learn to 

 use your flies as (more or less) sunk flies, 

 always contriving to impart to them, 

 cunningly, an appearance of vitality which 

 can only be done by a slight but deft move- 

 ment of the rod hand, the flies being thrown 

 up and across the pool, and then worked, 

 but slightly, towards you. You must 

 " strike " when the line stops, or when you 

 see the surface break, in a rise. But, the 

 moment you observe the trout " are rising," 

 you must cease to sink your fly. When 

 trout are really rising keenly, when in fact, 

 the rise has fairly developed, you can hardly 



