4 In Pursuit of the Trout 



streams. The sport, or, as old Walton called 

 it, the art of angling, has indeed long been 

 a very favourite one with hard-worked men. 

 It has been called the Contemplative Man's 

 Recreation, and to some extent truly so, for 

 there are branches of angling which are 

 essentially suited to him who desires to 

 follow some very quiet and easy open-air 

 occupation, which will not distract the even 

 tenor of his thoughts. Float-fishing for 

 perch, for instance, when not overmuch is 

 doing beneath the surface of the stream, 

 should decidedly tend to contemplation ; 

 while as for punt fishing, as carried on in 

 dreamy Thames backwaters and byways, it 

 is so peaceful as sometimes to lead, by an 

 unconscious transition, from contemplation 

 to gentle slumber, especially on a hot 

 summer afternoon in a shady spot. 



But if these methods of angling are more 

 for the contemplative and very easy-going 

 man, fly-fishing, whether for salmon, trout, 

 or grayling, is surely well fitted for the 

 active spirit. It would be a fairly long list 



