114 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



together for part of the day, and we had met 

 for luncheon at the big hatch by the lower 

 boundary. A curious incident happened there. 

 We were both too keen to take our eyes off the 

 water for long, in case the luck should change, 

 and, while we were having our luncheon, we 

 saw a lively-looking trout, less than a pound 

 in weight, suddenly begin to rise confidently 

 at something small which we could not dis- 

 tinguish. He was within easy casting distance, 

 and we put fly after fly over him without 

 sending him down, also without any sign of 

 interest on his part. At last, by way of experi- 

 ment, we tried an enormous silver sedge, tied 

 on a hook of about 3 or 4. He seized it at 

 once ! There is no accounting for the ways 

 of trout. Like women-folk, they are creatures 

 of " infinite variety." 



By three o'clock things had got beyond a 

 joke. The air seemed all used up and ener- 

 vating ; such trout as we could see were all 

 on the bottom, rigid, and apparently asleep. 

 Flies swarmed round our faces and wrists ; 

 flies that settle again within a few seconds, 

 however many times you brush them off, and 

 leave a sense of clammy stickiness wherever 

 they have settled. Fishing seemed more hope- 

 less than ever. We gave it up. We rested in 



