DRY-FLY ON LOUGH ARROW 193 



fish cruising fish means going out abroad and hunting 

 them ; this requires very careful boat handling, and 

 even with the greatest care, especially when oars are 

 used, many fish are scared and set down for the very 

 few brought to the net. There is no doubt that the 

 dry-fly affords most fascinating sport if the boat "is 

 well handled and the fisherman is a good quick 

 caster, and if both boat handler and fisherman 

 thoroughly understand each other and the game ; 

 but on public or open waters it certainly leads to 

 spoiling sport for others by scaring and making the 

 fish shy." 



"Trout occasionally cruise and feed in pairs, and 

 towards the end of the hatch of mayfly often in 

 schools of twenty and more. They will travel on the 

 surface like a school of porpoises, but when travelling 

 I have never known them feed (although there may 

 be plenty of fly on the water) if there is a breeze on 

 and the surface ruffled, but when they come on some 

 sheltered shore or bay where the spent drake are 

 lying thick on the surface they feed greedily and soon 

 clear off what flies there are ; they will then cruise off 

 abroad for a time and return when flies have had time 

 to collect again. When in a bay or on a perfectly 

 calm evening they often feed in circles. On a shore 

 where the wind strikes so as to leave a calm streak 

 along it they will feed up and down it sometimes if 

 there is much fly, coming close in amongst the stones. 

 They are then best fished from the shore. After the 

 mayfly is over, in some years they have been seen to 



o 



