in MAY-DAY ON THE EXE 57 



farther up-stream or turn back again and go 

 over the same water, fishing the pools he 

 has marked as the best. He decides to take 

 the latter course, as he does not feel fresh 

 enough to do justice to new water, but 

 thinks he is still man enough to take some 

 trout out of pools he knows during the 

 evening - rise. Therefore he retraces his 

 steps. He does not fish down-stream, it is 

 contrary to all his theories, but he walks 

 down to the bottom of each pool, keeping 

 well away from the river, and fishes up it 

 again. 



And now he gets good proof of the sad 

 fact that a man cannot go on fishing for 

 ever, for though the trout appear to be 

 rising well enough he misses fish after fish. 

 This may be partly due to the deceptiveness 

 of the evening-rise, but it is still more due 

 to the fact that he is tired, and that his hand 

 has in great measure lost its cunning. The 

 uninitiated do not in the least realise what 

 hard work fishing in a mountain stream is, 

 even when one is not wading ; hence come 

 their somewhat contemptuous opinions of 

 fishermen, for they class them all together, 

 whether they fish for trout or roach, as lazy 



