164 MAY-FLY FISHING. 



for four or five hours. They take again in the 

 evening, but not so readily. A bright sunny day, 

 with a breeze, or a thoroughly wet one, we consider 

 most favourable. 



Trout take the May-fly most readily when it 

 has been about a week on the water ; and should a 

 small flood occur, they will take voraciously. If a 

 heavy flood occurs when the flies are all out, it will 

 carry them away, and finish May -fly fishing for the 

 season. The beginning of June -is generally the 

 time when this fishing is at its prime ; about the 

 middle of the month, or even sooner, the flies get 

 scarce, and the angler must, with great regret, have 

 recourse to something else. For the time it lasts, 

 it is splendid sport. The trout are of large size, 

 and, being in prime condition, run most vigorously, 

 and test to the utmost both the angler's skill and 

 tackle. There are some rivers where the flies are 

 not to be had ; and unless there are plenty of stones, 

 they are never found in great numbers ; but where 

 they are, trout take them in any size of water, from 

 Tweed to the smallest hill-burn. 



Cod-bait, maggots, and the larvae of some other 

 insects, are very much esteemed by some anglers 

 as baits for trout ; but for our own part, we have 

 always found a clear red worm more effective. It 

 is also more easily got, and certainly more agreeable 

 to handle. 



