122 Wei-Fly Fishing' 



the clouds floating near to the earth's sur- 

 face ; or a day with a heavy mist, are seldom 

 propitious for the fly-fisherman. 



Rain, again, is a very queer factor 

 very queer, indeed for or against our 

 sport. Sometimes, during rain, trout rise 

 well; and, occasionally, I have done well, 

 even on a dark, misty, lowering day. Hope 

 is the angler's angel ! 



Who, with a long experience of Scottish 

 rivers, is not familiar with that peculiar 

 phenomenon for which it is so hard to find 

 fitting words ? 



It is best illustrated by one of my many 

 experiences. 



I was giving a lesson to a worthy clergy- 

 man one dull afternoon, on the Deveron. 

 I made an unusually poor show of it on 

 that day. Trout would not rise; and if, 

 perchance, they came for my fly, it was 

 in a lazy, sleepy sort of fashion. It re- 

 minded one of a used-up young man who, 

 towards the close of the London season, 

 sits out his dances. I had seen the same 

 phenomenon before, and said to my clerical 

 pupil, " I feel convinced that we are in 

 for a flood/' "How so, Mr. Tod?" "I 

 judge by the way the trout are behaving 

 to-day," I answered. 



