104 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



the flowering weeds which in places obstruct the 

 channel. Trout love the shelter of those weed- 

 beds in the daytime. Neighbours have paid 

 no attention to their wants, and have shaved 

 off closely all the luxuriant water-plants ; the 

 result has been that every big fish for miles has 

 fled to these two meadows, and the average 

 weight of those I have caught this year is the 

 greatest I have ever known 2 Ib. 10 oz., all 

 deep fish in prime condition. To-day I have 

 landed three of these monsters and two others 

 have escaped, the fly having come away after 

 holding only for a few seconds. 



It has been a glorious day, with everything 

 for once in favour of the fisherman, including 

 a gentle air up-stream to take out the last twenty- 

 inch link of the finest gut and the tiny fly. There 

 was a long wait before the trout began to show 

 themselves. It is impossible for a keen fisher- 

 man to remember that our new idea of keeping 

 " summer-time " has not yet spread to the 

 water- world, so, of course, I went to the meadows 

 much too early ; but with everything freshly 

 coming out and no signs of decay anywhere, 

 there are plenty of compensations for an hour 

 or two's idleness in water-meadows in May or 

 June. I will not enlarge upon them. There 

 are those who jeer at the dry-fly fisher because 



