STONE-FLIES. 77 



hands, its six bifurcated legs tickle the holder so 

 alarmingly, that it is frequently thrown down with a 

 malediction that may be imagined better than related. 

 It is, nevertheless, a famous bait, both as regards the 

 quantity and quality of the fish it catches. A per- 

 son may have threshed the same pools for years with 

 the artificial fly, and never seen anything larger than 

 half or three-quarter pounders. When lo ! the 

 creeper brings out its one and two pounders, to the 

 great surprise of the fisher who never imagined 

 that there were such trout in the water. I am 

 alluding particularly to the many tributaries of the 

 Tweed where the trout, though delightfully plentiful, 

 generally run small that is to say, small in com- 

 parison to those said to be caught near Fairford, 

 where, according to a recent letter in The Field, 

 there are none under three pounds, and these only 

 in a certain season of the year termed Tib's Eve, 

 which the learned editor of Notes and Queries ex- 

 plains to be neither before Christmas nor after it. 

 The creeper is baited by placing two on a largish- 

 sized hook, and is fished in what is termed the 

 sinking and drawing manner. The line must be 

 short, and worked very gently, or the bait will very 

 soon be destroyed. The Scotch method of fishing 

 with the creeper is much superior, as the bait lasts 

 longer, and the fish are hooked with a greater cer- 

 tainty. Two No. 7 or 8 hooks are tied with yellow 



