326 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



Spawning shallows cannot be too clean. In addi- 

 tion to the severe weed-cutting 

 Spawning shallows. they should be well raked over 



to remove any vestige of mud, 

 and leave the gravel clean and bright. A fairly heavy 

 iron rake, worked easily or forcibly according to the 

 depth of the water, should be used for this purpose, 

 and some care is required to avoid tearing up the 

 roots of water celery, water crowfoot, and other weeds 

 which are the home of the nymphs and larvae of the 

 water-bred insects and of the crustaceans and mol- 

 lusks, so necessary to get fish into condition. Wher- 

 ever there is a ford which is frequented by the cattle 

 and horses walking in and feeding on any weeds 

 growing there the gravel will always be hard and 

 bright. The fisherman may object to the disturb- 

 ance caused by the traffic, but he must remember 

 that these fords are ideal shallows for fry and 

 yearlings, and as a rule, too, are natural spawning- 

 beds. 



On this subject Mr. Corrie is of opinion that he can 

 point to many fords on the Itchen, all of which attract 

 large numbers of good fish, and adds that he can 

 instance cases where the number and condition of the 

 trout have rapidly deteriorated when the river cross- 

 ings were abolished. He says, too, that he hardly 

 knows of a ford in a moderately well-stocked water 

 open to light farm traffic (milk-cart traffic for choice) 

 where an extra fine class of trout is not present on 

 the ford or in its immediate vicinity. 



