98 TROUT FISHING 



light is of no importance when one goes 

 fishing ? 



That would be as empirical as any of 

 the misapprehensions I have endeavoured 

 to explain away. It is rather more than 

 possible that there may be some truth in 

 a few of the accepted understq,ndings on 

 the subject. What that truth may be I 

 will show immediately. For the moment 

 let us note how easily, on such an illusive 

 subject, misapprehensions, which become 

 convictions, arise. 



Only a few of us have the good fortune 

 to fish continuously for months. The 

 rest have to be content with a day, or a 

 few days, at a time. In most cases, then, 

 our craft in angling is derived from ex- 

 periences far from complete. Neverthe- 

 less, it is a settled body of doctrine, of 

 principles unshakably fixed. Our observa- 

 tions by the riverside, or on the lake, are 

 vivid and memorable for their rarity. 

 We had a week, let us say, at Whitsun- 

 tide, and sport was good on all the days 

 but one. What are our recollections ? A 



