394 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



the water is very small I have occasionally omitted the mallard 

 and teal wings, for the sake of lightness, and fished with the 

 liies as palmers. At Coltbridge especially, the trout, from 

 being constantly harassed with anglers, require very fine fishing. 

 I have taken most of the fat heavy ones either with the mouse- 

 body and snipe or bunting wing, or a small black palmer, hook 

 a No. or No. 1 at the largest. If the water should be rather 

 swollen and discoloured, always use the mallard-wing and red 

 hackle for the trail, and it is a good plan to clip off a piece of 

 the shank of the hook before tying the fly. You may thus fish 

 with a No. 2 as lightly as a 1, which is a great point in all 

 still waters where the trout are shy. 



To fish these deeps with success, the angler must not only 

 be able to throw a long line most delicately, but also attain 

 the art of making his fly alight within an inch of any given 

 point, in order to take advantage of the rises of the trout. 

 When the fly is dropped in the centre of the ring, the instant 

 after the trout has belled up, it is ten times more likely to rise 

 again than if the fly touched the water at ever so short a dis- 

 tance, even if thrown as lightly as possible and clearly seen 

 by the fish. There is more art in this than most anglers 

 are aware of. In dragging the cast, the gut should not 

 cause the slightest ripple ; to prevent which the flies must 

 be sunk a little, and the motion be slow. It is also very 

 desirable to attain the knack of throwing well when trees 

 are close behind you ; as trout, especially in summer, are apt 

 to harbour under them for the sake of the insects that are 

 blown off into the water beneath. 



There is often in summer a small black fly that keeps play- 

 ing on the top of the water, and every now and then alighting 

 for a moment, as if tempting its aquatic foe. When the angler 

 sees this fly thus sporting with the jaws of death, let him 

 always have a small black hackle on his cast. There is also 

 another summer-fly which comes down upon the river in great 

 numbers, they keep all together, and hover about two or three 



