TODAL AND LILLEDAL 173 



Todal possessed one distinct advantage over most 

 of my other holiday quarters in Norway ; there was 

 excellent brown-trout fishing in the higher reaches of 

 the stream, where it flowed through two fairly flat 

 valleys bounded by meadows and woods. It was a 

 delightful change when the salmon pools were not in 

 order to charter a little stolkjaerre with a particularly 

 quiet pony, and drive up to Kaarvand for a picnic and 

 a day among the trout. These did not run very large, 

 but were free risers and plucky fighters ; and there 

 were plenty averaging a little over half a pound, while 

 one got a certain number of pounders. One charm of 

 the sport was that there were many places where it 

 was feasible to fish with a dry fly, though truth com- 

 pels me to admit that the trout had not been educated 

 up to the standard of their brothers in the Test or 

 Mimram, and were not particular about " drag," or fas- 

 tidious as to the precise shade of insect offered to them. 

 Indeed, I am not sure that a " chuck and chance it " 

 angler who understood his business would not have 

 been quite as successful as any of my party, but he 

 would have lost the pleasure of the stalking and 

 engaging each particular fish, and the delight of drop- 

 ping the fly lightly just in the right place, and seeing 

 the trout rise to take it. The water was as clear and 

 translucent as any Hampshire chalk stream, and al- 

 though there were no weed banks to form a refuge for 

 the hooked trout, there were plenty of other obstacles 

 sunken snags, branches, roots, and whole trees washed 

 into the water, which furnished many an exciting 

 moment. As I waded through the stream, carefully 

 testing the depth with the stout iron-shod handle of 

 my landing-net, there were endless objects of interest 



