MAY 133 



large numbers ; fleets of mayflies had been sailing along 

 the gentle current for more than an hour before the 

 tish seemed to recognise the delicious banquet prepared 

 for them in such lavish abundance ; indeed, the pre- 

 sence of so many large insects on the surface seemed 

 at first to scare the trout, and to put down those that 

 were rising at smaller flies. 



This hesitation on the part of the trout to begin 

 their annual banquet is one of the best known, and, 

 at the same time, least explicable, features of the 

 mayfly fortnight. Trout have good memories, other- 

 wise they could not profit by experience and be 

 rendered so suspicious when much fished for. One 

 would say, then, that such a remarkable event in the 

 piscine year as the rise of the mayfly should be one 

 to leave a lasting impression on their recoUection, and 

 that they would be keen to recommence the feast 

 which had contributed so greatly to their enjoyment in 

 previous summers, and also to their proportions. But 

 it is not so. Every angler knows how suspiciously 

 trout regard the mayfly at first. The big fellows wait 

 till impetuous youngsters of half or three-quarters of 

 a pound have sampled the consignment. If it turns 

 out genuine and according to contract, they know 

 that for ten days or a fortnight they will simply 

 have to lie near the top of the water in some con- 

 venient lodge where the wind or current will bring 

 within easy reach more than the most robust digestion 

 can deal with. But when once these patriarchs begin, 

 they lose their heads and abandon themselves to 



