A DAY ON THE ITCHEN 93 



easily picked off the water than one sodden 

 and waterlogged. A good recovery of the line 

 is more than half the battle in casting. So 

 before starting, and again during the day, as 

 much of the line as will lie on the water must 

 be well greased. Deer-fat is good, spread on 

 chamois leather. So is an equal mixture of 

 vaseline and candle-wax, boiled together and 

 then cooled into a little cake. 



Now we can really start upon our way. The 

 place that occurs to me for the moment as 

 the best to wait for the rise is on the Itchen, the 

 finest dry-fly river in England. 1 A nice shady 

 spot to wait, as the river there runs through 

 a wood with high trees over the water, no low 

 boughs to interfere with casting, and a pathway 

 to follow, close to the river, on the right bank. 

 The shaded light enables you to see every spot 

 on every trout within range, and the trees 

 prevent you and your rod from showing against 

 the sky. We will begin fishing as soon as a 

 hatch of flies come floating by and the trout 

 begin to take them. Meanwhile, we can observe 

 their habits and learn much about the cross- 

 currents in the water : we notice some trout 

 heading up-stream; some few, in deep places, 



1 Above Winchester, perhaps ; below, the road-tarring 

 has practically ruined the fishing. 



