198 COARSE FISH. 



ing ; an angler who has caught fish at both weirs 

 could almost with certainty decide from which 

 weir any particular fish comes. 



The most likely time for sport is when the water 

 w a h r * ses ver ^ su ddenly a ft er heavy rain ; the 

 push of water then starts the trout,, and 

 seems to put new life into them. May is generally 

 the best month for game fish, particularly if the 

 weather be warm, which, alas, is frequently not the 

 case. No weather, however cold or blustering, is 

 too bad for Thames trouting ; though, as in most 

 cases, genial weather produces best sport. Never 

 let a bitterly cold day, however, discourage your 

 hopes ; for on these days there are few bleak in a 

 weir, sometimes there is not one to be seen, and 

 your bait possesses extra attractions ; bleak shift 

 to deep water in cold weather, and it will tax the 

 skill of any angler to catch one for a bait when the 

 water is chilled or there is a cold wind blowing 

 (seep 30). 



In cold weather, the angler should fish deep, 

 keeping the bait well below the surface with plenty 

 of weight. Wild days, with a south-west gale and 

 heavy rain squalls, have often proved lucky so far 

 as my own efforts are concerned in weir-fishing, 

 I fish the more sheltered spots thoroughly on these 

 days ; for stream-fishing, I prefer calm, sunny 

 weather, when trout show themselves more freely 

 in the open water. I have seen them feed all over 

 the weir in a bitter nor'-easter ; but this was in 

 bright, sunny weather, chasing the bleak out of the 

 deeper water, and pursuing them with the utmost 

 vigour. When trout leap sullenly, falling with a 

 dead splash, they are not feeding, but are possibly 

 trying to rid themselves of parasites. An ex- 



