OBJECTIONS TO FISHING UP. 69 



to dispute the practice. One reviewer the only 

 objector we recollect of who gives a reason says, 

 " that so long as streams run down, carrying the 

 food of the fish with them, so long should anglers 

 fish down," This seems said purely for the sake of 

 appearing to give a reason ; and while his premises 

 are undeniably correct, we entirely dissent from his 

 conclusions. Streams certainly run down and carry 

 the food of the trout with them, but along with that 

 food they do not carry an apparition in the shape of 

 an angler with rod and line upon the bank ; and as 

 nothing will familiarise them to such an apparition, 

 we draw the conclusion that that apparition had 

 better keep out of sight and fish up stream. More- 

 over, the fact that the natural food floats down is 

 anything but a reason that the artificial lure in imi- 

 tation of that food should be pulled up. 



We must confess, however, that fishing up 

 stream with fly has not been adopted by a large 

 portion of the angling community, and that for 

 various reasons. In spite of the strong manner in 

 which we cautioned our readers about the difficulties 

 of fishing up stream, numbers who read the argu- 

 ments for it, and were struck with the soundness 

 of the theory, thought they saw at a glance the 

 cause of their previous want of success, and that in 

 future the result would be different. Having equipped 

 themselves a la Practical Angler, and even taken a 

 copy of that excellent work in their pockets, they 

 started with high hopes on their new career, but the 



