Preface. vii 



It is with this motive that the following pages 

 have been put into print. As a fly-fisher for over 

 forty years at one time wandering on the banks 

 of our southern streams, intent on " trouts be- 

 dropped wi' crimson hail;" at another casting a 

 line over the deep pools and glorious rapids of our 

 northern rivers to lure the "stately sawmont " or 

 dashing sea trout ; or revelling in the beautiful 

 valleys and streams where that "lady of the 

 stream," the thyme-smelling grayling, loves to 

 dwell I have jotted down, from time to time, 

 hints and suggestions imparted by others, as well 

 as observations of my own, on the fish, the flies, 

 and the floods. 



From long experience I have generally found 

 that there was something to be learnt from my 

 brother fishermen some peculiar fad, some par- 

 ticular fly, some hint as to the weather or the 

 water which has helped me many a time, when 

 otherwise I might have gone home with an empty 

 basket ; for the maxim holds good in the matter of 

 fishing as in everything else : " The first step to be 

 wise is to know that we are ignorant." 



Byron says 



" A book's a book, although there's nothing in it;" 

 and probably to many the present little volume 

 may illustrate this line; but a little knowledge 

 may sometimes be gained where least expected, 



