THE ALDER AND CANON K. 105 



well sunk. These Alders, therefore, were tied with long 

 wings of a soppy game hen's wing, tied slanting well back 

 from the shoulders over a peacock's herl body, and there 

 was a soft black hen's hackle tied in front of the wings. 

 The hooks were Nos. 3 and 4 eyed Snecky Limericks. 



The May fly was not well on when I arrived, though it 

 had begun to hatch ; but at a little distance the water-side 

 bushes looked as if they wore plummy-dun haloes, which 

 on approach disclosed themselves as clouds of humming 

 alder flies. I began fishing on the afternoon of my arrival, 

 and tied on an Alder. I caught a big grayling with it 

 at first cast, and soon after, with the sodden fly, I hooked 

 a trout under the far bank which, judging from the distance 

 between the tip of his tail and the place where my line 

 was cutting the water, I put down at five pounds. I fought 

 him down a couple of hundred yards, he boring all the time 

 under his own bank. Then he turned and forced his way 

 irresistibly, still under his own bank, right back to the 

 cut-weed pile close to which I had hooked him, and 

 of which I had steered him clear, and there he came 

 unstuck. 



As I subsequently killed another trout of four pounds 

 six ounces on the same stream, on the same rod with 3X gut 

 on an Alder, and that between two trees which would not 

 let me move up or down, I do not think my estimate of 

 five pounds for that last ftsh was excessive. At any rate, 

 the incident encouraged me to persevere with the Alder, 

 and next day I took eighteen brace nearly all with the 

 same pattern of Alder. I was fishing not many yards 

 behind my companion, who had therefore put down every- 

 thing on our side of the water, and I got nearly all my 

 trout under the opposite bank with a sunk Alder. Two 

 only were under one pound weight. Next day, on another 

 length, I had sixteen and a half brace, nearly all with the 



14 



