290 FOREIGN ANGLING LITERATURE 



PLY-FISHING IN AFRICA. 



From a Cape Town Newspaper, 1852* 

 " Having a few days for sport, a friend and I set off with 

 our fly-rods, to try our luck at the c gentle craft ' in the 

 African streams. We passed through a most romantic 

 valley, but were awfully annoyed with the thick brushwood 

 which impeded our path. At length we got into open 

 ground, and neared the banks of a fine looking stream, 

 which we afterwards found was a tributary to the Ngotwani. 

 Having fitted up our rods, and put our lines in proper 

 fettle, we threw our line upon the waters, with something 

 like a superstitious fear or ominous apprehension, that we 

 had broken a spell in these solitary regions. Well ; we 

 had not thrown our line half-a-dozen times, till my partner 

 hooked a very large trout, weighing about three pounds. 

 He floundered about in fine style. It took full half-an-hour 

 to land him. Soon after I hooked and killed another, a 

 little less, but found him equally frisky and full of sport. 

 We had not fished an hour till we killed nearly three 

 dozen of prime fish. The flies we used were light- 

 coloured ones, with large wii%s. It was astonishing to us 

 how voraciously the fish seized the bait, and how firmly 

 they hooked themselves. After a fine day's ramble, we 

 found our way to a farmer's house, where we lodged all 

 night, and changed our sport the next day, by going out 

 in search of wilder sport with the gun and our dogs." 



