204 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



Thinking that this was because of a 

 small white insect that had come out in 

 myriads, he had put on a small white 

 lure ; but it was useless. Not a fish 

 would look at it. He had come ashore 

 at eight o'clock. He would not have 

 thought much about the matter had not 

 another angler, heavily burdened by his 

 basket, entered the inn shortly before 

 eleven o'clock reporting that between 

 eight and ten the trout had taken ordinary 

 flies unusually well, and that the hours of 

 dusk had been the best of the day. The 

 question was, Why had artificial flies 

 been ignored between six and eight ? 



Meekly I suggested that perhaps 

 neither of the anglers had tried the right 

 midge. Always at this time of the year, 

 I reasoned, there were black midges and 

 dun midges on the water for two hours 

 or so before dark ; and it was probably 

 either a black or a dun midge, instead of 

 a white one, that had attracted the trout. 

 Surely the bill-of-fare for a summer day 

 was well known : ordinary flies while the 



