ON RAPID STREAMS. 141 



shallow of the grateful branches, rubbing himself 

 in the sandy or shingly bottom, and sucking in 

 the flies which, from the shallowness of the stream, 

 seem to fall directly into his open jaws. Shallow 

 though the water, and trivial the current, if you 

 throw directly up stream, arid well under the 

 bushes, you are sure of your fish. 



It is often useful to flip your beetle under these 

 bushes, by holding it in your left finger and 

 thumb till your rod is well bent, and then 

 suddenly releasing it ; the rod, by its spring, will 

 start the beetle straight as an arrow from the 

 bow ; don't fear a splash ; I ,can assure you, if 

 you are concealed, which, by -throwing straight 

 up stream, you must be, the splash, great though 

 it be, will only wake up the trout and attract his 

 attention. You cannot suppose that a cock- 

 chafer would tumble into the water from a tree, 

 without a splash : your beetles are as large or 

 larger, and the splash as natural. It is not weil 

 to look on these beetles as something which the 

 trout has only to see to insure his wanting to 

 devour. With the more delicate May fly, one 

 must ever remember that the bait is alone useful 

 from its natural character to tempt the trout, 

 and the more the bait is fairly exposed, and the 

 more time as a general rule the trout has to 

 catch it, the greater are your probabilities of 

 taking the fish, provided the means or instruments 

 of your offering are entirely concealed; hence you 

 dap it in and out of the water in quiet still places, 

 and even pull it up and down several times over 



