ON LAKES, POOLS, ETC. 143 



over the stern, but one seldom tires of fair sport with 

 the fly amongst fish from lib. to 41bs. or 51bs. -weight.* 

 I may take occasion here to point out a singular fact, 

 ■which has often been noted, but not attempted to 

 be accounted for, and that is, that many lakes have 

 numbers of these very large trout, running from 71bs. 

 or 81bs. to lOlbs. or 121bs. weight, and sometimes 

 even much larger, and at the same time they have 

 only very small fish as well. I know of many 

 lakes where this is the case; of course, there are 

 also many lakes where this is not so. How is it that 

 there are so very few middle class fish, fish of lib. and 

 21bs. or 31bs. weight, such as the fly-fisher loves to see 

 rising quietly and unobtrusively, just within the cast 

 of his fly, sucking in the insects that play over and 

 alight on the lake, as day begins to wane, and the 

 purple shadows of the mountains begin to lengthen 

 and deepen ? Oh, for that quiet delicious hour when 

 the cool evening breeze begins to spring up, and 

 Nature to awake from her noontide siesta, when we 

 can wander along the lonely strand, light of heart and 

 freed from care, casting the seductive flies over each 

 little circlet which betokens to the angler a goodly 



1 Some who may have had better success at trolling for the ferox 

 than I or any of my friends ever had, may be disposed here to differ 

 with me. " May difference of opinion," &c. 



