88 AN ANGLER'S HOURS v 



The tackle ready, the next point is to 

 consider where and how to fish for chub. 

 On a strange river the experienced fisher- 

 man will first look for a mill-pool or weir- 

 pool, next for the mouths of tributary 

 streams, ditches, and backwaters, and lastly 

 for rows of trees along the bank. These 

 places are the natural homes of chub be- 

 cause they all ensure an abundant supply of 

 food. I myself always make for the nearest 

 backwater in the daytime, if it is possible 

 and permissible to fish it, and for the weir- 

 pool or mill-pool in the evening. In the 

 ordinary river it is to be presumed that the 

 biggest fish of all will be in the mill-pool 

 because of the grain and flour which come 

 from the mill. Some mills stop working 

 about six in the evening, and then is the 

 time to see what a rise of chub really means. 

 It is almost as exciting as a rise of trout at 

 the May-fly, but, as Sir Edward Grey says 

 in his delightful book, the look of the 

 evening rise is, alas, the best part of it. I 

 do not know why it is, but the mill-pool 

 chub has always been to me harder to 

 catch than any other ; perhaps he is too 

 well fed. However, one is sure to get a 



