230 THE TROUT ARE RISING 
weight—rise merrily in the sunshine. If it isa 
grey, cloudy day (in Natal) go by all means, 
The best time with the artificial fly for big trout 
in the summer is before breakfast and for half an 
hour or an hour before sundown: the latter 
period is bewitching when the trout are rising. 
Keep out of sight. If there is only one tall blade 
of grass by the riverside, get behind it for cover’s 
sake. Never give up hope. When you do, give 
up fishing. If you hook a trout for the first 
time, and things go awry, experience will teach 
you where you erred. Peg away until you a 
land your first trout. Every fisherman, even of 
the highest repute, was once at the stage where he 
had not yet caught his first trout. To Theodore 
Roosevelt is attributed a pithy, an inspiring state- 
ment, “I put myself in the way of things happen- 
ing, and they happened.” Some fishermen pride 
themselves on getting their trout into the net 
in extra quick time, which is all very well if the 
fish does not get away in the process ; others— 
for instance, Mr. K. Suter, one of the most 
capable fly-fishermen in Natal—play their trout 
until it has not a kick left in it. 
An English angler, by the way, asks whether 
the rule in South Africa is “up stream or down.” 
One has a natural preference for the up stream 
plan, but as a matter of fact experience shows 
that advising it as a general rule for South Africa 
would be a counsel of perfection. You can 
effectively fish up stream, down stream, or across 
stream. In other words, you must adapt yourself 
to the conditions of the water on which you are. 
