ERRORS OF FLY-FISHERS. 59 



of extermination upon the finny tribe, lie rolls his 

 hat round with cast after cast of flies, which bear a 

 far greater resemblance to humble-bees than river 

 insects ; and thus accoutred sets out to put his 

 acquired information in practice. Arrived at the 

 river-side he finds his mistake : if the water be 

 swollen, and of the dark porter colour so celebrated 

 among anglers, he may be rewarded with the capture 

 of a few trout; but if it be clear, he plies his lure 

 to the terror and alarm of almost every trout in the 

 water, and returns, if not with an empty basket, at 

 least with a very light one, to confirm the prevailing 

 opinion that it is of no use fishing when the water 

 is clear. If this opinion were correct, it would limit 

 the time when angling could be successfully prac- 

 tised to a few weeks in the season, and sometimes 

 to a few days ; but fortunately for the angler it is not 

 correct, being merely the natural result of a mode of 

 angling which ignores the habits and instincts of 

 the trout. Trout are just as much inclined to feed 

 when the waters are clear as when they are coloured. 

 In a clear water they may be seen rising in immense 

 numbers at the natural insect, showing that they are 

 not inclined to starve in these circumstances. 



When the water is of a dark colour, it conceals 

 the angler from view, and disguises his tackle, and 

 so he meets with fair sport. If the body of water, 

 though clear, is sufficiently large to conceal him from 

 the sight of the trout, as in Tweed, Tay, and other 

 first-class streams, he may still meet with tolerable 



