FISHING AS A FINE ATiT. 113 



skill, could not hold a candle to the most moderate of them 

 were he to revisit " the glimpses of the moon." 



There are few things which annoy me more than to hear 

 persons with no taste for fishing, and utterly ignorant of 

 its practice, speak of it as a contemptible sport, and utterly 

 unworthy of being called by the name of an art. Of 

 course one's conceit is a little hurt, and something akin to 

 anger naturally rises at hearing one's favourite craft 

 despised) and the skill of anglers absolutely ignored. It 

 almost seems that some persons have an idea that any rod, 

 any line, any float, any hook with any bait, in any part of 

 the water, and at any depth, will do for any kind of fish ; 

 that all days and seasons are alike for all fish ; and that 

 one fisherman is as good or as bad as another. I suppose 

 it is part of our trial in this sublunary state to " put up " 

 with ignoramuses. To try and put them down is hopeless ; 

 to instruct them is impossible. To tell them that an 

 angler has to know and to think of more things than any 

 other sportsman only provokes an incredulous smile or 

 elicits something like a personal insult. 



And yet such is really the case. The angler, to be 

 worthy of the name, must be like a general — a man who 

 can make comprehensive dispositions, and at the same time 

 grasp details. He must be ready to adapt himself to the 

 circumstances of the moment, and to meet all sudden emer- 

 gencies and difficulties. How great must be his knowledge 

 and experience in all that concerns his art ! He must know 

 the haunts and habits of all different fish generally, and 

 how these are modified in different waters and in different 

 states of the same water, and at different seasons of the 

 year. He must know the different kinds of tackle proper 

 to be used for different fish and under different circum- 



