THAMES TROUT. 191 



resting-place and leave it to feed, dashing amongst 

 the shoal of bleak like a pike, but moving much 

 more quickly, and pursuing the baits with greater 

 vigour. It is quite exciting to see a large trout 

 scattering the bleak. The angler should keep a sharp 

 look-out, and on seeing a fish move should get his 

 bait over him at once. If the trout misses his prey, 

 and has not been alarmed, he is almost certain to 

 take it instantly. Getting the bait over a feeding 

 fish often requires much skill ; and a good know- 

 ledge of the current, particularly in weirs, adds 

 considerably to one's chance of success. A dozen 

 bleak, or more, will suddenly dart in all directions 

 from one particular spot, making long skips on the 

 surface of the water ; a greedy trout soon shows 

 himself, pursuing one particular bleak, which may 

 make half a dozen skips before the trout takes him, 

 but in most cases the trout has that particular bleak 

 and no other. From the elevation of a weir plat- 

 form, the movements of a feeding fish can be seen 

 plainly ; and I have often watched a trout in pursuit 

 of his prey. The darting bleak above the surface 

 of the water and the eager, ravenous trout immedi- 

 ately beneath him present a sight that stirs the 

 patient angler to immediate action. If your bait 

 is not in the trout's immediate vicinity, it must be 

 got there with as little delay as possible, , 



* Method 



whether a spinning or live bait I have of 



actually seen a trout abandon pursuit of a fishin S 

 fast-flying bait and take the apparently disabled 

 fish on my spinning flight ; this happened, for in- 

 stance, in Sunbury Weir, on the 28th of April, 

 1893. The fish was an old one, and evidently knew 

 the difficulty of securing a lively bleak. Old fish 

 frequently miss a strong, quick-moving bait, and it 



