xiii THE MIDLAND BROOK 223 



effect, I do not stand out for strict and 

 invariable orthodoxy. An Alexandra the 

 pot-hunter's pet will sometimes kill a 

 brook trout which would not look at an 

 ordinary fly, and in that case I think its use 

 perfectly legitimate. In fact, it comes to 

 this : brook trout are so hard to catch by 

 any means short of actual violence that the 

 angler need have no scruples about trying 

 anything up to the said limit. He will 

 have been fortunate if at the end of a day's 

 fishing, during which he has tried every 

 known lure, his basket contains two brace of 

 fish, and may justly look for applause even 

 though he took them all with a worm. 



I am not sure, though, that the worm is 

 altogether the best bait, except when the 

 water is very thick. A rather large March 

 brown has served me excellently at times, 

 and as a general rule I should say that the 

 fly quite holds its own. Whether it should 

 be used wet or dry depends entirely on local 

 conditions. As a rule, one is only too 

 thankful to be able to get a fly onto the 

 water anyhow ; but here and there one 

 always finds a certain amount of open water, 

 and if in it a fish or two may be seen rising, 



