16 lb from southern rivers
and 20 lb from Irish and Scottish lakes being not unknown. One of the
signs of its popularity is that its habits and history have produced
some very animated controversies. Some of the earliest discussions
were provoked by the liability of the fish to change its appearance
in different surroundings and conditions, and so at one time many a
district claimed its local trout as a separate species. Now, however,
science admits but one species, though, to such well-defined varieties
as the Loch Leven trout, the estuarine trout and the gillaroo, it
concedes the right to separate names and "races." In effect all, from
the great _ferox_ of the big lakes of Scotland and Ireland to
the little fingerling of the Devonshire brook, are one and the
same--_Salmo fario_.

_Wet-Fly Fishing for Trout_.--Fly-fishing for trout is divided into
three kinds: fishing with the artificial fly sunk or "wet," fishing
with it floating or "dry" and fishing with the natural insect. Of the
two first methods the wet fly is the older and may be taken first.
Time was when all good anglers cast their flies downstream and thought
no harm. But in 1857 W.C. Stewart published his _Practical Angler_, in
which he taught that it paid better to fish up-stream, for by so doing
the angler was not only less likely to be seen by the trout but was
more likely to hook his fish. The doctrine was much discussed and
criticized, but it gradually won adherents, until now up-stream
fishing is the orthodox method where it is possible. Stewart was also
one of the first to advocate a lighter rod in place of the heavy 12
ft. and 13 ft. weapons that were used in the North in his time.
There are still many men who use the long rod for wet-fly fishing in
streams, but there are now more who find 10 ft. quite enough for their
purpose. For lake-fishing from a boat, however, the longer rod is
still in many cases preferred. In fishing rivers the main art is
to place the right flies in the right places and to let them come
naturally down with the stream. The right flies may be ascertained to
some extent from books and from local wisdom, but the right places
can only be learnt by experience. It does not, however, take long to
acquire "an eye for water" and that is half the battle, for the haunts
of trout in rapid rivers are very much alike. In lake-fishing chance
has a greater share in bringing about success, but here too the right
fly and the right place are im