CHAPTER III 



WEEDS AND WEED-CUTTING 



No apology is needed for devoting an entire chapter 

 to the all-important question of weeds and weed- 

 cutting. The presence of weeds in a chalk-stream is 

 an absolute necessity, because all the insects in their 

 immature forms and the crustaceans and mollusks 

 which con'stitute the chief food supply of the fish 

 live and flourish in the subaqueous vegetation. The 

 fish, too, require beds of weed to shelter them from the 

 rays of the sun in hot weather, and as a refuge from 

 their numerous enemies. When scared by the sudden 

 and unexpected appearance of the fisherman on the 

 bank, when it has come short to his fly, and has been 

 pricked and alarmed by the sharp point of the hook, 

 often, too, when hooked and trying to escape from the 

 restraint of the rod, the trout naturally looks for a 

 hiding-place. If there are no weed-beds in the imme- 

 diate vicinity it will make its way up or down the 

 stream for a great distance when frightened, and this 

 engenders an increase in the natural shyness of its 

 fellows. 



I do not suggest that the weed- beds are of any great 

 benefit to the angler when dealing with a hooked trout, 

 but I have attempted to show in a previous chapter 



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