92 AN ANGLER'S HOURS v 



behind a clump of reeds which come about 

 up to his chin. His first action is to peer 

 very carefully over them ; he sees that there 

 is a sort of still pool just at his feet, formed 

 by a surrounding belt of weeds. If the 

 chub in the river are at all right-minded, 

 there will be a fish of size and importance 

 basking on the surface of that little pool just 

 as surely as I am writing these words. 



Having seen his chub it becomes some- 

 what a matter of chance. If the chub has 

 not seen his head, if he can flick his fly just 

 in front of its nose, if it does not see his rod 

 as he does so, if he hooks it when it rises, as 

 granting the other contingencies it certainly 

 will, and if when he has hooked it he can 

 keep it out of the weeds and land it through 

 the reeds, that chub is his. But it sounds 

 easier than it is. As a rule the chub will 

 see his head, or his rod, and will disappear 

 at once. Very often the angler will strike 

 too quickly and jerk the fly out of its 

 mouth ; for it is a thing to test the strongest 

 nerves to watch a big fish taking a fly, and 

 to make sure of not missing it through 

 excitement. Then again, beds of reeds or 

 rushes are excellent cover, but they are bad 



