GENERAL MANAGEMENT 333 



ting of the shallows for pike. It is well to draw the 

 piles early in the morning before commencing the 

 netting, and to replace them as soon as the day's 

 netting is finished. I know of a shallow on the Test 

 which was studded with great numbers of piles. The 

 lessee, wishing to net for coarse fish, had them re- 

 moved, and arranged to have them replaced the 

 following day. The poachers, who were evidently 

 aware of this, took the opportunity of sweeping this 

 shallow down with silk nets during the night, and the 

 lessee found it bare of fish the next morning. 



Piles on a shallow serve another purpose which is 

 an invaluable aid to fishery management. Wherever 

 a pile is driven the cut weeds hang up and the masses 

 of floating vegetation form most effectual hides for the 

 trout, besides diverting the current and making a slack 

 place immediately below the pile. What with the 

 shelter from the sun's rays given by the weed masses 

 and the quiet water just below them, it is safe to 

 predict that there will be at least one large trout 

 lying under each mass of weeds and rising at the flies 

 floating down slowly in the slack water. Another 

 favourite position for a big fish is just ahead of the 

 pile, with its tail almost touching the pile itself 



Then, too, consider for a moment the effect of the 

 diversion of the current caused by the weeds in contact 

 with the pile. The flow of water is forced downwards, 

 and will in a few weeks wash out even the roots of 

 the weeds and leave a bare, clear gravel patch. The 

 favourite position for a rising trout is over a clear 



