64 THE TROUT ARE RISING 
were active. They rose, and kept on rising, fore 
and aft, right in front of you. But with the 
artificial fly, dry or wet, they would have no 
dealings. One of the most exasperating days I 
ever had was on private water on the Arrow in 
Herefordshire, one August. Then the trout rose 
determinedly, but scorned the artificial fly. I 
did make a small bag on that occasion, so I can 
honestly say that things were worse, much worse, 
at Milnthorpe. In a fortnight’s fishing, I think 
only two sizable brown trout rewarded me. Iam 
no Stewart, but I do reckon on most days to get, 
like the average man, just a few trout, something 
at any rate to go home with. Here, however, 
blank followed blank. It is true, the water was 
low, true also that some local anglers, who in 
the previous two or three years had nearly 
always done well, confessed to being able to do 
little or nothing now. But the fish went on 
rising! They made a perpetual challenge. Fly 
after fly was tried, but it was all the same. The 
river was full of trout, and even though one 
could see no fly on the water, the rising went on 
steadily. What were they feeding on? I tried 
a specially made-up local cast, with negative 
result. I even went to Lancaster and secured a 
special fly, which I thought must attract, especi- 
ally under the bushes, only to be told on return- 
to Milnthorpe: “Oh! we've tried that fly ; it’s 
no good!” During an afternoon or evening, 
after fishing hard, with never a rise or only very 
short ones, I would sit down and mop my fore- 
