PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 



wing from the dark-blue part of the quill of 

 the male Merlin Hawk ; hackle from the grey 

 part of a Jackdaw's neck ; silk, dark lead, with 

 a little Mole's fur for dubbing, very sparingly 

 introduced. 



One day, long ago, in the middle of June, 

 being in the neighbourhood of Ashburn, I took 

 my rod, and walked (about four miles) to Dove- 

 dale. The day was dark and foggy, with a 

 gentle rain, which was just sufficient to give the 

 river a faint milky tinge without muddying it. 



This was one of the best days I ever saw for 

 fish feeding upon the fly, as they were rising 

 greedily when I arrived at the water, about 

 eleven o'clock in the morning, and I left them 

 feeding at three in the afternoon. This was a 

 great day for the Merlin. After angling for 

 about an hour, I saw the gamekeeper approach- 

 ing : he asked about the fish, and I told him 

 that they were doing pretty well, and whilst we 

 were talking, I noticed several very nice Trout 

 and Grayling feeding not far from where we 

 stood. At last, the keeper wished me good 

 sport, and left me. I soon took most of the 

 fish that I had marked whilst conversing with 

 him, and then my basket was full. Fortunately, 

 I had a large hare-pocket in my jacket, and I 

 loaded one end of it, until it became very un- 

 comfortable, when I began to fill the other end, 

 and soon brought matters to a balance. I 

 believe I had eight-and-thirty fine fish, and 

 nearly all of them were taken with the Merlin. 



I once met with an old Friend who was going 

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