190 A SCOTTISH FLY-FISHER 



been curiosity alone that had drawn him from his lair. 

 If so, it was quickly gratified. A short scrutiny sufficed 

 him, and, mysteriously as he had entered it, he faded 

 out of sight. He was incorporeal as a vision, and his 

 reabsorption into the water from which he appeared to 

 have materialized was complete ; not even a grin re- 

 mained to mark his place. 



The trout is proverbially quick of sight, and he 

 detects the presence of the fly from a great distance, 

 even when the fly and he are on or near the surface. 

 Fishing some time ago, I was aware of a trout busily en- 

 gaged in the shallow water by the margin of the stream. 

 With what he was occupied I could not see, but his 

 movements gave me the impression that he was picking 

 minute objects from off the bank. Almost the whole 

 length of his back was visible above the surface. I 

 cast towards him, though, as he was much beyond 

 reach, without the faintest hope of attracting his atten- 

 tion. My fly fell behind, and quite six feet short of 

 him, yet he saw it at once, and, rushing on it with 

 extraordinary velocity, was hooked before I had time 

 to recover from my surprise. 



The time of the rise is uncertain. Cold, especially 

 early in the season, tends to delay it. Rarely it does 

 not occur at all, and throughout the day the water may 



