The Practical Angler Or The Art Of Trout Fishing

PREFACE. MOST anglers meet with fair success when the waters are dark coloured but when the waters are clear they find poor sport. This is mainly due to an erroneous system of fishing, which angling works aIready published have done little to remove, and which, though its effects were not so observable fifty years ago, when drainage was less extensively in operation, and when the streams continued large and discoloured for some time, is not at all adapted for the small clear waters of the present day. It is with the view of showing how almost, if not quite, as good sport may be had in clear water as in coloured, that we have undertaken to add another to the numerous volumes already existing upon this very popular amusement. It is almost unnecessary to add, that as it is, more difficult to deceive trout in clear water than in coloured, the method of angling which succeeds best in the one case will also succeed best in the other. For more than fifteen years we have pursued angling with the greatest assiduity and during that period have obtained information from a number of excellent amateur anglers among whom we may mention the Secretary of the late St. Ronans Angling Club, to all of whom we take this opportunity of expressing our thanks. We have also fished with, and matched while fishing, almost all the best professional anglers of the day, including the celebrated James Baillie, considered by all who knew him the ablest fly-fisher in Scotland, and from whom we have received some valuable information upon that branch of the art and it must be admitted that there are few anglers like those whose ingenuityand perseverance are stimulated by necessity. The information received from these we have thoroughly tested before admitting it into the following pages, and we may safely say that we have gained more from half -an-hours conversation with such, than from all the books we ever read upon the subject, and their number is not small most works upon angling being rather amusing than instructive. The angler will not find this the case in the following volume if he finds nothing instructive, he will certainly find nothing amusing and we found our claims to the attention of the angling community solely upon the ground of the information we have to convey, which me have endeavoured to make as distinct as possible and is this treatise is only intended for anglers, we expect the the style and coin position will not be very severely criticised....