136 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



Press. We are often told that the writer knows that 

 he need not be at the river-bank on a specific day 

 before one o'clock, because there was a hard frost 

 in the early morning. Such a statement is founded 

 on a misconception. The hatch of fly may be early 

 or late, abundant or sparse, after a hard frost, on a 

 hot muggy morning or a brilliant sunny day. 



Two anecdotes referring to the unaccountable con- 

 ditions regulating the rise of fish occur to me. A friend 

 living on the banks of a chalk-stream, a portion of 

 which runs through his grounds, has a number of pet 

 trout which are fed with cubes of bread and other 

 dainty morsels. He tells me that an infallible fore- 

 cast of the day's sport can be arrived at in the early 

 morning by feeding these fish. On mornings when 

 they take greedily the fish in the river are always 

 well on the feed later in the day, and, conversely, when 

 the tame trout are disinclined to feed the wild ones 

 are also dour. 



In another case I have heard of a fisherman who, 

 living some distance from the river, kept on his roof 

 a tank with a few trout in it. When he observed 

 that they were near the surface he put up his rod and 

 hied to the river, but when they sulked at the bottom 

 he knew that it was no fishing-day. 



Light has undoubtedly a great effect on the dis- 

 position of the fish to feed and 

 Light. the possibility of approaching 



it. On some days there is a 

 dull, heavy leaden light on the stream, and every 



