Chapt. vii. The fly takers of Southern India. 1 1 1 



south of Mudradi in South Canara. At Mudradi there is 

 a district officer's bungalow. The fish in this large pond 

 simply rose at every throw, and not unfrequently at every 

 fly on the collar, and it wanted very sharp striking to get 

 them, and then they came out two and three at a time. 

 A friend and self made a very pretty little bag, and were 

 quite sorry when the sun relentlessly set, and closed our 

 sport ; but I think we should have done much better had 

 we had better fly rods with less limp tops, tops with which 

 you could strike more quickly. I have had sport too with 

 the small fly amongst the dacelike fish in other parts of 

 India, particularly in the tank at Ossoor, but there the 

 natural fly was a light fawn colored dun, or as we are in 

 India I suppose I should say bamboo colour, and it was on 

 the water in abundance, consequently you were obliged 

 to imitate it pretty closely to get them to take you at all 

 freely. 



But I should not omit to mention an absurd little ad- 

 venture. As we rode into camp, we found the tents pitched 

 close to a large pond, and the pond covered with circles. 

 "Just look there," I cried before I was well out of the 

 saddle, "we will have a dish for breakfast," and the trout 

 rod was very soon put together, and two expectant friends 

 watched the line fly deftly out, and light with fairy grace 

 amongst the circles, when lo and behold! they were only 

 frogs that were rising so freely at the small flies on the 

 surface! Dear reader, don't tell any one. 



But it must not be presumed, that because the fish are 

 small, they are not shy. There is no sequence at all in 



