52 SPRING ANGLING 



stream down in these halcyon spring days ! and, 

 whilst the birds and flowers and greening hills 

 are manifest to your appreciative senses, to catch 

 this beautiful Apollo of the stream with deft and 

 careful skill ! How the season, the beauty of 

 nature, and the invigorating atmosphere and sun- 

 shine combine to make a setting for this best of 

 spring fishing ! I beg of you, boys, not to miss it. 

 Many springs have I pursued it, and never once 

 has it disappointed me. 



But you must be told the best way to go about 

 it. And, first, the rod must be considered anew. 

 I really think, by this time, — by the time our 

 young angler has got to the dignity of trout- 

 fishing, — it is right he discarded the copse-cut 

 pole and arrived at a real rod. Not that the pole 

 will not catch fish, but there is additional pleasure 

 to be gotten out of the use of nicer and finer 

 tackle. The pole does well enough for primitive 

 spots yet existing, and for the olden times, when 

 only the lazy boys of the village seemed to do the 

 fishing ; but now, when young gentlemen, in the 

 intervals of their studies, go angling, and when 

 even the fish have grown educated, it is time to 

 make use of what Mr. Gladstone calls the " re- 



