SOME HEAVY BASKETS AND BIG FISH 129 



the midst of weather which was cold and thoroughly 

 unseasonable. This goes far to prove that no one 

 should bother his head when he goes fishing as to 

 what 'airt ' the wind may be in, or what the weather 

 may be, so long as he can fish the river properly, and 

 the water itself is in ' order.' 



But to return to the Itchen. This same gentle- 

 man, fishing on July 14, 1892, killed 12 trout weigh- 

 ing 23 Ibs. The best fish weighed respectively 3!, 

 and 3 Ibs. i oz. The wind was N.E., the rise being 

 between eleven and half-past three. Four fish were 

 killed between eight and a quarter to nine in the 

 evening. The flies used were a small Red-quill, 

 and a Pink Wickham's Fancy. (Here the ' Fancy ' 

 fly comes in.) My correspondent adds: 'These are 

 the three best days I have ever had with the dry fly ; 

 but I always call 10 Ibs. weight of trout a good day, 

 whether with a " dry " fly and large trout, or a " wet " 

 fly and small trout in the North, at any rate in any 

 water which, though well preserved, is often fished. 



' I well remember one fish of over 8 Ibs. being 

 caught with a fly in the Itchen one evening. This 

 trout, however, lived just below a town and a mill, 

 and was not therefore a fair test of what a fish might 

 grow to in the open river.' 



These Itchen reminiscences, coming as they do 



K 



