184 



WILD SPAIN. 



though the wind enabled us to command the whole water, 

 an hour's fishing (with fly) only resulted in the capture of 

 sundry large silvery coarse fish, resembling dace, and 

 weighing from half a pound to a pound and a quarter, and 

 a few small fry — we imagine, bleak. We therefore decided 

 to walk up-stream three or four miles, to the point where 

 its course joined one of the hill-ranges just mentioned. 

 Here, in many places, abrupt limestone crags formed the 

 farther shore ; beneath, the stream ran deep, bright, and 

 sparkling, shallowing away to the shelving gravel on our 

 shore, and at each bend forming a pretty pool. 



For a long time this likely water produced actually 

 nothing, and we began to fear that our venture in stopping 

 at this outlandish spot was a failure. But as the shadows 

 lengthened and the sun left the water, there came a 

 change. The long-expected and welcome sensation of a 

 determined " rise " was followed by another and another 

 in quick succession ; and in the last hour of the day we 

 landed nineteen trout, weighing between seven and eight 

 pounds, of which aggregate the three largest accounted for 

 one-third. 



Fully half the trout killed on this and succeeding days 

 rose to a small orange hackle; a bracken-clock, or "coeh-y- 

 bondu," as we believe is the proper name, being the next 

 favourite. Winged flies should be small, and of bright 

 colours, and, in the clear waters of Spain, only the finest 

 gut should be used. 



Further west, in the Astorga and Ponferrada districts, 

 are probably the best streams of Leon ; but these we have 

 not had time to visit. 



The Astukias. — This province is to Spain what the 

 Scotch Highlands are to England — a 



Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 

 Land of the mountain and the flood. 



From the north, the Asturias may be reached by sea; 

 but on the south the only pass through the continuous 

 mountain-ranges which cut off this rugged province from 

 Leon and transmontane Spain, is by the jmertos of 



