92 CATCHING THE WILY SEA-TROUT 



just before eleven o'clock, but within an hour his teeth 

 were chattering, and he told me that he was perished 

 with the cold. Although some heartening plops presaged 

 the likelihood of decent creels, the youth decided to pack 

 his bag and hurry home. The nip undoubtedly contained 

 a germ of frost. 



In the darkness there are occasions when a light is a 

 paramount necessity, but at these times both hands are 

 generally engaged in duties which preclude the holding 

 of a lamp. Some device, therefore, must be engineered 

 by which a light can be shone in the right direction 

 without resource to the hands. An electric torch attached 

 to a belt worn round the waist is one simple method of 

 supplying the want. Another way is by pressing the 

 ordinary torch pattern flash-lamp into service, and the 

 manner in which this article can be satisfactorily em- 

 ployed is by tying one end of a cord round the butt end 

 of the lamp. The other end of the cord should be 

 attached to the button-hole in the left lapel of your 

 coat. The cord should then be passed round the back 

 of your neck and under the collar of your coat. The 

 flash-lamp should be carried in the left breast pocket of 

 your coat, and the length of the cord from the flash-lamp 

 to the button-hole should be about two feet six inches. 

 When the lamp is required, all that you have to do is to 

 remove it from your pocket, switch on the light and let 

 the lamp hang down in front of you. As a result, you 

 will find that you will be able to use both your hands 

 comfortably in the rays of the light, and thus you can 

 conveniently unhook a fish, mount a fresh fly, exchange 

 a cast or perform other similar tasks. 



At night you need to be certain that, when you are 

 about to net a fish, your landing net is functioning 

 properly. If a friend accompanies you, he can turn a 

 light on the proceedings, but if you are working alone, 



