in MAY-DAY ON THE EXE 47 



West Country, which considers no cast 

 complete without it. One is loth to go 

 against public opinion, but in the Exe I 

 have caught four fish with the March 

 brown and three with the hare's ear to 

 every one with the local fly, not that this 

 is conclusive, far from it ; it is merely 

 related as an individual experience. It has 

 seemed to me that the large March brown 

 kills best when there is a good head of 

 water, and the smallest pattern of hare's 

 ear when the river is very fine, while the 

 blue upright has served me well in a 

 sudden evening rise. 



To-day, however, the river is running a 

 good height, for April has done its share of 

 weeping, and though there may be a touch 

 of east in the wind, its main characteristic 

 is south. The sun is shining, but light 

 clouds here and there give promise of inter- 

 vals of shade ; and altogether it is as good a 

 day for fishing as a reasonable being could 

 desire. Our friend makes the first cast of 

 the season from behind the bush with a 

 due sense of the gravity of the occasion. 

 The first cast of the year is undoubtedly a 

 solemn thing, and it has been the subject of 



