70 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



that I wonder how they manage it, when other 

 fish are obliged to keep their heads up-stream. 

 On my way up I had noticed another big 

 and very dark trout, lying in mid-stream about 

 half-way down the copse. I want to study 

 his condition, so, when about ten yards from 

 the spot, I negotiate the muddy path on hands 

 and knees, screened by the dock-leaves. This 

 part of the river is like an aquarium : trees keep 

 the glare of the sky off the top of the water, 

 and you can see every spot on the sides of the 

 trout, every undulation of their tails, and every 

 wave of their fins to keep them balanced in 

 the current. I soon spot him again, showing 

 up nearly black against the bit of clear gravel 

 at the tail of the weed-bed. He is in better 

 condition than I thought he was, and he should 

 improve in a few weeks ; an old fish, and high 

 time that he came out. I make once again a 

 mental note, and stay for a few minutes watching 

 his graceful movements as he swings leisurely 

 from side to side to take something under water 

 that is being swept off the big weed-bed above. 

 Then, just as I make up my mind to leave, 

 there appears, a few inches ahead of the trout, 

 and about a foot deeper in the water, a dimly 

 outlined form, almost indistinguishable from 

 the gravel background. 



