DOWN THE BECK 39 



never experienced the deceit of an artificial fly. 

 The associations of bank, stones, tree-trunks, &c, 

 in his hole, act like visible mentors, and remind 

 him, as the fly passes overhead, that it was when 

 surrounded by their associations he was simple 

 enough to rise to its fascinations. Solving such 

 questions as these is one of the numerous secondary 

 delights of fly-fishing. Another speculation which 

 may be pointed out to anglers of an inquiring turn 

 of mind, is to demonstrate why sluggish, muddy 

 streams invariably produce better fish than the 

 sparkling Devon or Welsh brooks. Thus in the 

 Beck, down which our ideal fisherman is wandering, 

 the largest fish which has been taken of late years 

 weighed three pounds and a half, while trout of a 

 pound and a half in weight are by no means un- 

 common. Three-quarters of a pound is a fair size 

 for the fish of mountainous streams, while the 

 majority of their trout do not exceed half a pound. 

 Doubtless, the greater abundance of worms and 

 ground bait in a muddy brook contributes to the 

 larger size of its fish, but it certainly is not the 

 sole cause of their superiority. 



The flies which the modern angler imitates in 

 fur and feathers, belong mostly to the families 

 which entomology knows under the names of 

 phrygancce and ejphemerce. All anglers should 



