134 THE MAYFLY AND THE TROUT 



gluttony. You may put one of them down by an 

 awkward cast, you may even hook him and lose him 

 in the weeds it is no matter for mourning ; plenty 

 of other fish are rising steadily elsewhere ; and if you 

 have a special hankering after this one because of 

 his size, or shape, or some other quality, return to the 

 spot a couple of hours later, and the chances are 

 you will find him quite ready to do business with 

 you again. 



In truth, it is not very delicate work this mayfly 

 fishing. You may use gut as stout as would utterly 

 wreck all prospects of success when fishing with a 00 

 or 000 quill ; in fact, strong gut must be used, because 

 this is the only time in the year when the biggest 

 trout cruise near the surface, and the most delicate 

 handling cannot avert disaster with fine tackle among 

 weeds, and a violent creature of five, six, or seven 

 pounds at the end of it. Nor does a fish after sucking 

 down, say, sixty succulent mayflies bestow very minute 

 scrutiny on the sixty-first object that comes over him, 

 provided it has a fair general resemblance to the others 

 and passes within convenient reach. There is none of 

 that prolonged, agonising stare which a wary customer 

 directs upon the artificial dun or ' fancy,' whereof the 

 result is so often either to make him dash away in 

 terror or sink out of sight in disgust. The chief diffi- 

 culty, indeed, in the thick of the rise is to persuade 

 a trout that yours is the best insect out of the scores 

 which are passing over his head in a continuous 

 stream. 



