178 ANGLING 



districts of monotonous scenery, and of sluggish, waters, 

 must be hastily passed over. 



Taking London as our point of departure, and the 

 great leading railways as our diverging lines of travelling, 

 we shall direct the angler's attention to the class or 

 series of rivers which are intersected, or nearly ap- 

 proached, by the Eastern Counties Eailway and the 

 Dover and Brighton lines. This will comprehend a 

 large proportion of the eastern and north-eastern sections 

 of England. 



The travelling angler must always bear in mind that 

 the greater the distance from the metropolis, the better 

 will the fly-fishing be, and the less restriction will be 

 laid upon his movements by means of preserved waters. 

 The very best angling streams are those at the ex- 

 tremities of the kingdom. 



This is not a first-rate trouting district ; nor, indeed, 

 second-rate either. The class of waters in this direction, 

 including rivers, canals, and estuaries, are better adapted 

 for bottom-fishing than anything else. They contain a 

 great number of perch, chub, roach, pike, eels, and 

 gudgeons ; but the hooking of salmon and trout is like 

 angels' visits — few and far between. For this kind of 

 ground-angling those eastern and north-eastern localities 

 have long been celebrated ; and many zealous and good 

 anglers contrive to eke out of them a fair modicum of 

 sport, in spite of all the disadvantages under which 

 they labour. 



If the angler sets out from any of the rivers that the 

 Dover and Brighton Eailways cross or run near to, he 

 will find some share of sport. The county of Surrey 

 has a few trout-streams, though not of the first-rate 

 description. The Wey has some fish in it, both of good 

 size and rich flavour. It runs by Farnham, Godalming, 

 and Guildford, and falls into the Thames at Weybridge. 

 We have found light-coloured flies more successful in 

 this river than any other. There are some fine carp in 

 certain spots of the stream. The Wandle is a clear and 

 interesting water; it springs from the vicinity of 

 Carshalton, which is twelve miles from the metropolis. 



