26 TROUT FISHING 



succeeded in his destruction ; no smaller fish 

 dared, and no larger one cared, to turn this fel- 

 low out, and so he held his own retreat, which 

 after his removal was speedily occupied by 

 another. This rule of particular retreats of trout 

 applies of course most forcibly to the very small 

 streams, or to such portions of the larger ones 

 as are from their subdivisions of the main cur- 

 rent allied to them ; to keep in mind the rule on 

 any river however will be of much importance, 

 since it will teach us to pick out, as it were, the 

 very fish we particularly desire, rather than leave 

 our fly to the many who may pursue it, and all 

 of whom often from over-eagerness in the chase 

 will fail in catching it. 



I believe we may safely assert that when a fly, 

 worm, grub, or no matter what attractive article 

 rf food is cast into a pool, where many trout in dif- 

 ferent parts of it are lying, all take a look at it, and 

 if it prove sufficiently attractive to him, the largest 

 trout will seize it; if he declines the offer, the next 

 trout in size and power is permitted his refusal 

 of it, and so on till some young green-horn starts 

 off, and in case of the baited hook, discovers his 

 mistake too late. This is often seen when one 

 is fishing with the worm or artificial minnow, the 

 latter especially as being more exciting, a bright 

 piece of metal is drawn swiftly through a pool, 

 and in an instant all the fish seem in movement, 

 and if the master of the pool is inclined to take 

 so large a mouthful, he at once mingles in the 

 race, and immediately the small fish in fear will be 



