58 CATCHING THE WILY SEA-TROUT 



and in day-time they keep under bushes which spread 

 far out from the bank. 



The big fish remain in the deep pools, and in daylight 

 they should be sought near the head of those pools. 

 At night-time, however, the place to expect them is at 

 the tail of the pools. 



Of course, these are not rigid rules : they are merely 

 quoted to serve as a rough guide. I generally start 

 operations in conformity with these ideas, but if they 

 fail to achieve their purpose I relinquish them and adopt 

 other guiles. 



Perhaps the best testimony in support of the notion 

 that the big fish frequent the tail of the pool when dark- 

 ness falls is the practice adopted by poachers. These 

 knowledgeable nomads ford a pool, dragging a trammel 

 after them. When the net extends from bank to bank, 

 with the corks floating and the leads resting on the 

 bed of the river, the other members of the gang work 

 up from the tail of the pool, casting stones into the 

 water as they go. The fish are thus frightened and 

 driven into the net. You can always learn a lesson or 

 two from the unwritten laws of the poacher's code, which 

 are always based on personal and persistent observa- 

 tions. 



Although sea-trout are ever journeying upstream and 

 leaving excellent reaches to the sole enjoyment of the 

 brown trout, there are many pools wherein the large sea- 

 trout seem satisfied to stay for lengthy periods. These 

 pools are, in most cases, very deep and are bounded by a 

 bank completely obscured by trees and thick under- 

 growth. In some instances both banks are thus wooded. 

 The fish apparently know that they are safe in these 

 shaded depths, as, if both banks are protected by natural 

 barriers, the sea-trout are never molested by fishermen, 

 while if one bank gives accommodation to a mass of 



