STONE-FLIES. 77 
hands, its ‘six bifurcated legs tickle the holder so 
alarmingly, that it is frequently thrown down with a 
malediction that may be imagined better than related. 
It is, nevertheless, a famous bait, both as regards the 
quantity and quality of the fish it catches. <A per- 
son may have threshed the same pools for years with 
the artificial fly, and never seen anything larger than 
half or three-quarter pounders. When lo! the 
creeper brings out its one and two pounders, to the 
great surprise of the fisher who never imagined 
that there were such trout in the water. I am 
alluding particularly to the many tributaries of the 
Tweed where the trout, though delightfully plentiful, 
generally run small—that is.to say, small in com- 
parison to those said to be caught near Fairford, 
where, according to a recent letter in The Field, 
there are none under three pounds, and these only 
in a certain season of the year termed Tib’s Eve, 
which the learned editor of Notes and Queries ex- 
plains to be neither before Christmas nor after it. 
The creeper is baited by placing two on a largish- 
sized hook, and is fished in what is termed the 
sinking and drawing manner. The line must be 
short, and worked very gently, or the bait will very 
soon be destroyed. The Scotch method of fishing 
with the creeper is much superior, as the bait lasts 
longer, and the fish are hooked with a greater cer- 
tainty. Two No. 7 or 8 hooks are tied with yellow 
