NOTES FROM A DIARY 135 



the caddis in the mud. Now, if for a season 

 the dry-fly was prohibited, and only the 

 . . . but this, of course, is rank profanity. 

 Hitherto I have avoided all reference to 

 the implements of the modern fisherman, 

 but there is one possibly unknown to 

 many anglers that will be found most 

 useful under certain conditions. It is 

 a bag of butter-muslin, made exactly the 

 same size as the landing-net. This can be 

 fixed inside the net by a length of string, 

 or, better still, by a few small "dress- 

 hooks " sewn round its top, which catch 

 the upper meshes of the net, and so keep 

 it in place. You have then an excellent 

 contrivance for scooping against the 

 current and ladling out any subimago, 

 nymph or freshwater shrimp, thus ascer- 

 taining what underwater happenings are 

 afoot. Nine times out of ten the scoop- 

 net will be found to contain the unsus- 

 pected. For example, on this particular 

 day the trout had been taking floating 

 Mayflies for an hour past, then for no 

 apparent reason they suddenly ceased 

 to rise. Yet certain underwater swirls or 

 the faint flash of a turning fish indicated 



