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BAILY S MAGAZINE.
[March
one's frugal lunch, and one may
miss the glorious languor Buy Rythmol of the
summer day, but with luck the
angler should have the first fresh
rush of the water, such as rarely
runs in our short-lived mountain
streams in summer, and many a
nook and cranny of the little
stream will now be accessible to
the skilful cast, where in summer
a wall of rich and bending green
will protect " king trout " as he
feeds at peace.
To fish in March, moreover, is
(for the trout fisher) to yield to
the strong impulse of the " fishing
fever " while it is in its first
strength. Who does not know
the symptoms ? Wherever he
may be, in form-room, on office
stool, in barrack ante-room, the
angler with returning spring feels
the fever steal into his system.
Rods are unpacked from their
winter quarters, flies passed in
strict review, and in spare mo-
ments maps are brought out, old
angling expeditions lived over
again, and endless new ones
planned. Happy the man who,
with the first weeks of March,
can satisfy his longing by the
brook side ! Such was my for-
tune the other day, and may it
soon fall to the lot of my brother
anglers now tied to desks and
duties !
" If the wind be in the south,
it blows the bait in the fish's
mouth " ; but it needed but a
moment outside my front door to
convince me that March was true
to his " north-easter " that morn-
ing. But " he that observeth the
winds " Cheap Rythmol in March will never fish,
and there was a gleam of sun
which promised an hour or two
of warmth before the day was
done, so a start was made without
misgiving. As for equipment,
give me wading kit with the
lightest of nine foot rods (that of
Ogden's, yclept tnultum in parvo,
could not be bettered for the
purpose).
An anxious moment is that
when the first glimpse of the
stream can be obtained, especially
when recent rain has scarcely had
time to run off and let the water
clear. Welcome sight ! the brook
is rushing and tumbling over the
stones, swirling round captive
logs and gnarled tree-trunks, but
it bears that tinge of slatey blue
which promises good sport. And
now the point of start is reached,
and rod and tackle eagerly pre-
pared. There is no anxiety about
the latter, no need for extra-fine
invisible casts, a prey to every
whirling wind. The water, still
tinged with the flood of last week,
will hide a stouter strand. As
' for flies, my trusty trio rarely fail
to tempt our fish, whether the Purchase Rythmol
month be March or late July.
A March Brown, priceless
among angler's lures, hangs as
tail fly — to-day I choose one with
twist of gold thread in the body ;
a blue dun next, and above him Generic Rythmol a
gay Coch-y-bondu (to-day one
with tag of gold) ; these are my
bill-of-fare to set before our
hungry little friends.
Now for the first real cast, my
line already playing straight and
true, wetted in the stream behind
me, up-stream I start, the keen
north - easter at my back my
ally, at any rate, in helping out
the line at every throw. A well-
known pool is my first hunting-
ground ; before me a small bridge
leading to a water-mill; through
the narrow arch the stream flows
strong and eddying, spreading
into a calmer pool. Here in
summer in the glassy water one
can watch the trout lie, and drop
the fly with infinite care to tempt
the lazy eye. To-day nothing to be
seen but a tumbling dull-grey flood:
one feels quite at a loss where to
try first : but now for luck ! -
1899]
MARCH TROUT.
175
A cast in the stiller water near
the side and so across the pool
till all is covered. Ah ! a sharp
jerk, a too eager flick from the
rod, a bright little silver body
jumps into the air, only to fall,
and dash off free ! Anyhow, my
friends are on the feed : the faith-
ful March Brown is the fly for
me ! But cast after cast over the
pool brings no result. I chance a
throw right under the arch where
the wall seems to give a little
shelter from the current. Yes, a
dash ! and a steadier jerk ! I have
a nice one. Swinging down with
the stream he comes, making a
dash up again in the calmer
water; the little rod bends, as
though it held a monster : gently
now ! point up, as he jumps high
in the air in his plucky struggles !
Now exhausted he floats for a
minute, my net is under him, and
soon the first troutlet of the sea-
son is in my basket ; a fine little
fellow, maybe 5 ozs. ; very " small
deer " for such preparations and
paraphernalia, says the salmon
fisherman ; but a dozen or two
like him will make a dish worth
painting.
Now, above the bridge where
the little stream is a torrent over
ledges of rock — every sheltering
stone with its eddying little pool
is tried ; but the stream whirls
the flies away so swiftly. Now I
turn and draw my cast up gently
under the further bank — a sudden
pluck — and another little fish is
being hauled in through • mid-
stream, so firmly hooked that,
though he tosses and tumbles, he
is safe. The next half-hour seems
to bring nothing but small fry.
Fish after fish is returned to " live
to fight another day," and but
two in the basket ; but my clem-
ency will bring its reward, I
trust.
It is now noon, and the sun
bright and cheering, while a steep
bank shelters from the cutting
wind : flies are out on the water,
and far up in still water I see the
trout rising.
My hopes are great of a stretch
of still deep water now in sight,
a great haunt of the fish in sum-
mer, but so glassy then that
careful fishing is needed. Shall I
change my cast for one of lighter
texture or risk it as it is ? Let us
see what !• can do as I am.
Along the still stretch runs a wall,
with big stones at its foot just
showing out of the stream, a
noted haunt of trout. Here, too,
in the crevice of the wall I have
found the nest of the yellow wag-
tail : yes, and there my friend is
now, flicking his tail in welcome
to me, and preening his yellow
breast in the sun. He is an early
visitor this year. A careful
flogging of this much-prized open
stretch of stream, with moderate
luck, increases my basket to seven ;