78 TROUT FISHING. 



the landing-net, and be careful to use this 

 gently, so as not to frighten your fish at the 

 last moment when you might possibly not be 

 prepared for a violent plunge ; but sinking 

 your net, bring him quietly over it, then lift it 

 steadily and secure your prize. 



Before closing this chapter on Trout-fishing, 

 I must remark that there is a great deal more 

 necessity for attention to the colour of one's 

 clothes when angling than many people seem 

 to imagine. Of all the senses of a Trout, that of 

 sight is I am quite sure the most acute. I have 

 noticed this continually ; once, I remember, 

 when fishing in the Lea with a friend, we 

 observed a nice fish of about four pounds 

 weight lying close to the wall on the apron 

 of a weir, over which very little water was 

 running, but there he lay waiting for insects 

 dropping from the overhanging bushes or 

 stray minnows wandering from home. Telling 

 my friend to watch his movements, I crossed 

 the weir bridge, crouching so that I could not 

 see him ; but still he saw me, owing to the 

 refraction of the rays of lig'ht, and, slipping back 

 almost imperceptibly, he gradually reached 

 the edge of the apron and slowly sank into the 

 deep. 



Another time, I was using an artificial 

 minnow in a mill-tail, standing behind a low 

 fence and fishing over. Knowing what an 

 extremely likely hiding-place for a good fish 

 is formed by the long wooden apron, with 



