HAUNTS OF THE SEA-TROUT 6l 



the haunts of the sea-trout, I must qualify my remarks 

 by stating that I have dealt, in general terms, with a 

 river as a whole. Obviously, if you divided the river 

 into a dozen sections, the description which applies on 

 one day to number one section, would not necessarily be 

 applicable to the other sections on the same day. Similarly, 

 if you selected any other section and my comments held 

 good for that particular one, you must not assume that 

 identical conditions prevail elsewhere, as the results of 

 sea-trout angling depend firstly on the state of the water 

 and secondly on the manner in which the fish are moving. 

 As I have already stated, the fish are here to-day and 

 gone to-morrow, and I cannot stress that fact too much. 



Another important point to be borne in mind is that 

 while salmon require an ample flush of water to make 

 them come in from the sea, old sea-trout can always be 

 relied upon to make valiant efforts to struggle upstream 

 through the shallow water. Thus there is ever present 

 a possibility, even in. bad seasons, of connecting with a 

 fish of decent proportions ; so do not despair if the 

 fruits of your first venture's labours are not as you would 

 wish, but persevere in likely places and then, if unre- 

 warded, try other spots. 



Without doubt salmon seasons fluctuate considerably, 

 but the variations in the running of sea-trout are not so 

 impressive, as, in the summers which are deficient in rain, 

 there is enough water for a fair number of sea-trout to 

 come through, even if they are checked here and there. 

 At the time of severe drought the upper reaches naturally 

 suffer the most from a paucity of fish. 



If you gaze in the water as you saunter along the 

 river-bank you will see plenty of brown trout darting 

 away as you near their haunts. You will also espy a 

 salmon that has not been alarmed at your approach, 

 but you will have to be very wary to light upon a resting 



