148 NOTES ON JTISH AND FISHING. 



grass-plot, and be " entered " at dace or bleak before he 

 essays to deceive Salmofario. 



Try and make your artificial fly act on the water as a 

 natural fly would act. As the poet tells you, — 



" Upon the watery surface let it glide, 

 With natural motion from your hand supplied ; 

 Against the stream now gently let it play, 

 Now in the rapid eddy float away," 



but as little "against stream" work as possible, for 

 drawing a fly against stream causes the hackle and even 

 feather to lie close to the body. 



When a fish rises, strike quickly and decisively, and 

 up with the point of your rod directly. And let this be 

 a golden rule — " Keep It up " while you play your fish. 

 If once you let the strain come straight to your winch you 

 lose a good fish to a certainty. The only possible contin- 

 gency which justifies the lowering of the point of the rod 

 is when a fish throws himself clean out of water, as a good 

 fish often will to the height of two feet or more. As you 

 have a strain on him, your rod suddenly straightens when 

 he leaps, and you must drop the point as he falls back into 

 the water. But be on him again the moment he touches it. 



Never let your fish see your landing-net till he is tired 

 out, and never let it touch him till you have got it well 

 under him. 



The best time of the day for fly-fishing is as a rule 

 from eight till noon, and from about five or six p.m. till 

 what may be called the " evening fishing " time, at least 

 in the summer and early autumn months. If I were 

 asked to name the two best hours of the day I should say 

 from nine to eleven. But of course the fish in different 

 rivers have to a great extent different habits ; and trout 



