148 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



one of those superstitions which out- 

 stay generations of experience disproving 

 them. 



The truth, I think, is that neither 

 cloud nor bright sunshine has a direct 

 influence on the sport. Whether the 

 sky is clear or it is clouded, the trout 

 rise particularly well immediately after 

 the passing of a storm. Only, the sky is 

 usually either clear or but thinly veiled 

 at that time, and usually there are thick 

 clouds when a storm is impending and 

 the fish are in the sulks. 



That day I noticed, not for the first 

 time, a very interesting peculiarity in 

 the ways of trout. When the fish do 

 rise under a heavy sky they come at the 

 flies in a comparatively languid manner, 

 and into the landing-net without much 

 more ado ; but just after a storm, when 

 the atmosphere is fresh and brisk and 

 buoyant, they rise with arrow-like direct- 

 ness and rapidity, and fight with dash. 

 This seems to show that trout are as 

 much as human beings, or even more 



