66 THe Determined A.nler 



bad in color. The six decent ones are the work of an 

 artist. I could give his name, but it might look like 

 an advertisement and spoil my story. Trout like 

 choice food just as much as human beings favor savory 

 dishes. You may stick an oyster shell on a reed, and 

 decoy a summer yellowleg, but you can't hook a 

 trout on any kind of a fly. They know a thing or two. 



Tyros who angle in a trout country without success 

 go home and say there are no trout. They don't think 

 about conditions of water and weather; about their 

 line lighting in the water before their bait ; about their 

 coarse line and poor flies. 



Trout are philosophers, not only the educated ones, 

 those which have been hooked and seen others hooked, 

 but trout in general. They're born that way. A young 

 man came up here the other day with an old cane pole, 

 weighing fully three pounds, and a big salt water 

 sinker, and he went away saying there were few trout 

 in these waters. I think he had a float with him, too, 

 but am not sure. 



A word or two about appropriate tackle for moun- 

 tain streams, and I'll put up the pen and joint the rod 

 again. In the city a few weeks ago I proudly displayed 

 a four-ounce, nine-foot lancewood rod, and my 

 friends laughed at me, saying it was too frail for any 

 service. Now, I find this rod, shortened two feet, 

 just the thing for this country where trout run small 

 and where there's no long casting. I frequently run 

 across good Anglers here with five-ounce rods, and 

 have seen two four-ounce rods. There is no use for a 

 rod above four ounces in weight and seven feet in 

 length. When I come again I shall use a three-ounce 

 rod. The reel should be the lightest and smallest 

 common click, and the line the finest enameled silk, 



