50 THE WAY OF A TROUT WITH A FLY 



proportion, is not of consequence to him, except to guard 

 him against the angler. Innumerable natural flies come 

 down to him partially entangled in their shucks (is it 

 possible that the bronzed hook is ever taken for an adhering 

 shuck ?), or in disarray through some misfortune or another, 

 and all that is essential for feeding purposes is that he 

 should take that which in size and in combination of 

 colours is like that on which he has been feeding. Any closer 

 noting of detail would be as much thrown away as would 

 minute observation of the detail of each fish be thrown away 

 in the case of a diner eating whitebait at the Carlton. 

 Each fly is too tiny a morsel, and passes too quickly, for 

 much leisure to be spent on inspection. 



II 



A SPECULATION IN BUBBLES 



In the oft-repeated description of the imagined intro- 

 duction of the novice to the dry-fly art, the typical classic 

 touch in the drama is the disappearance of the dun and 

 the single bubble floating where a moment before the dun 

 had been. But never in all the papers and articles in 

 which I have read this description have I seen the faintest 

 speculation as to how the bubble comes about. Yet it 

 may be worth while to consider the way in which it is 

 produced. 



It is true that, if one lies supine in a deep bath full 

 of water with one's arm submerged and brings one's finger- 

 tips to the surface, like the neb of a trout taking down a 

 fly, and then turns them sharply down under water, one 

 may produce a bubble or bubbles — generally the latter. 

 It will, however, be found that some degree of violence is 

 needed to produce the effect. But when a big trout is 



