NIGHT-FISHING ANTICIPATION 95 



the reason for the irritation. I had no difficulty in 

 locating my friend and, when I reached him, I found him 

 in a state of unsuppressed annoyance. From what I 

 could understand, he had foul-hooked something on the 

 opposite bank. He had tried gentle persuasion in the 

 early stages, but as that was unavailing, he had been 

 incited to resort to more robust measures. He certainly 

 had made a sorry mess of his tackle as, in addition to 

 relinquishing the whole of his cast and entangling his 

 line in a near bank-side bush, he had fractured the top 

 joint of his rod. 



As rain began to fall heavily, and as a spectator could 

 not be expected to amuse himself in foul weather, we 

 decided to pack our belongings and turn for home. On 

 our way my friend said he wished that he had put a piece 

 of worsted round his line, as he had formed the opinion 

 that, in the darkness, to overcast is very simple. 



On the following day we walked up the far bank to see 

 if we could discover the obstruction which my friend had 

 hit, and, in a direct line from where he had been casting, 

 we found the cast tightly twisted round a length of barbed- 

 wire which passed through the undergrowth. Little 

 wonder was it that mild coaxing had failed. 



The preparations which I have described may seem to 

 be trivial in themselves, but in the aggregate they are 

 bound to have the effect of simplifying the task at the 

 pools. No battle is won without detailed plotting, and 

 the discomfiture of the sea-trout at night demands 

 careful planning. The chief benefit of prescience in this 

 case is that you can devote the whole of your attention 

 to fishing. In the dark, you do not want to think about 

 anything except the actual business of placing your fly, 

 and most decidedly you do not want your thoughts dis- 

 tracted from that artistic work by giving heed to minor 

 affairs. While, when you feel a welcome thud at the 



