CHAPTER VIII. 



The Fly-Fisherman's Aftermath. 



pHE Mayfly Festival has gone by, and with it has gone all but 

 * the memory of its attendant triumphs and defeats : the 

 trout, after having held high carnival amongst a superabundance of 

 food, are now heavy and languid with repletion. Homeward has 

 returned many an angler to ruminate upon glorious achievements, 

 or to lament singular and heart-breaking failures. But that fisher- 

 man, who resides within easy reach of the trout-stream, and who 

 refuses to lower his dignity by angling for any fish excepting those 

 categorised as " game," still pits his skill against the wary, summer 

 trout. The use of a tiny dry-fly on the finest of tackle may bring 

 success to the man aforesaid during the hot days ; whilst less 

 delicate methods may serve in the dusk of evening ; but, in any 

 case, considerable skill is needed to tempt the fish that have become 

 shier and more fastidious since the earlier days of the season. 



The amount of sport afforded by the trout-stream in the 

 summer months depends to a great extent, however, upon the 

 weather, inclement conditions being more favourable for the capture 

 of the " speckled beauties " than the heat and glare usually to be 

 looked for at this time of the year. But we must leave the man 

 who fishes the pleasing haunts of the trout and turn our attention 

 to the doings of the angler for whom the opportunity of trouting, 

 for the time being, is past. 



This is the angler whose home is far removed from troutland, 

 whither the scanty leisure at his disposal prevents his journeying. 

 And he, thus exiled, is forced either to lay aside his fly-rod, or else 

 stoop to the less romantic pursuit of the so-called coarse fish. If he 

 should choose the latter alternative, he will discover that dace, 

 chub, roach, rudd and even perch belie the term rudely bestowed 

 upon them, and that they give by no means trivial sport on the 

 fly-rod during the halcyon days. 



