68 Wei-Fly Fishing 



I used to fish, and fish with success, two 

 miles of the river Tummel ; but had I been 

 compelled by circumstances to fish the mile 

 or two immediately below the boundary, 

 would I have done equally well? Would 

 I have had, as I had for many years, the 

 highest average on that well-fished stretch 

 of river ? 



With a conviction that I am simply 

 stating a plain fact in plain English, I 

 declare that I should have been nowhere. 

 I had one or two days on that lower water 

 and I saw so few trout rising, and I did so 

 little execution, that I avoided it ever after- 

 wards, even when I had permission offered 

 me. And yet it was not one-tenth so much 

 fished as the water above. 



It is such problems that trouble me, when 

 writing a book, for are they not parts of the 

 same river? They, nevertheless, must be 

 attacked by methods which are in many 

 essential features, widely different. I re- 

 member some parts of the Coquet, which 

 likewise ran sluggishly between high banks, 

 whilst an adjoining stretch was very dif- 

 ferent. It is, indeed, true of many " waters " 

 and " rivers. " And my decided opinion is, 

 that, whenever the angler finds a river of 

 moderate dimensions and yet too large to 



