The Fishing of Waters with the Wet Fly 45 



average day's fishing in such water is, I 

 think, disappointing. 



And now I am declaring my dislike 

 for long reaches of thin pools, without cover 

 for the trout or the fisherman ; and I repeat, 

 that to pass these over is often good policy. 



I am not speaking of them in times of 

 flood, for then I might write somewhat 

 differently ; but in a clear water of normal 

 volume, I generally go over these places 

 at a gallop. And yet, I love to fish good 

 pools in such a small river, with a nice 

 wind curling the surface as it meets the 

 flow of the stream. 



A pool of moderate depth, which you can 

 wade from your own side, with bushes and 

 high banks on the further side, is another 

 matter. Again, a pool, deep in the centre, 

 getting thinner at the further side and flow- 

 ing over layers of trap rock. What old 

 fisherman but expects, as I do, the prospect 

 of some infinitely pretty fly-fishing in such 

 a pool as that 1 Even when trout are not 

 rising at the natural fly, in these shallows 

 close to the edge of the deeps, throw up and 

 across ; then turn the point of your rod 

 down stream slightly, ready if you see a 

 rise, or even if your fly is stopped, for then 

 it is your own fault if you do not twitch 



