The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-07-23
i" Out on a Fly"

"Whst is the best bait for trout this
season, my friend 2" asked a city angler
of a rustic at the village store in hamlet
celebrated for its trout streams. "Waal,"
after looking over his questioner critically
from head to foot, &" 1 ginerally like fly (;
this time of the month, when the moon is
near the full, you'd better use bright, red
fly, big as you can git, for the fish is
mighty big this year, bigger'n common"
While the rustic leaves and informs the
loungers about the store, Another one of
them kid.glove fellers come ishing-guess
he won't hurt the trout much with big
red fly" the visitor carefully selects a
large number of flies from the stock of the
polite storekeeper. He is encouraged to
take variety with him, because 1--WE al
ways keep just the kind the trout here bite
at the best; we study them and know what
they like. Those you brought with you
amt good for nuthin'. If had 'em I'd
throw them away they amt bent right.
hate to see you stuck, so I'll take the
batch off your hands and low you twenty
seven cents for the twenty. Now take
my advice, boss, and always buy your
flies where you go fishing, and you'll get
what you want, and no old trash like
them ERE" Concluding the exchange,
after carefully DOMINIC iaunty fishing
suit and securing guide, our friend
starts for the brook. By some accident
the guide conducts him to the toughest
and hardest brook to fish in the whole
section, and tells him marvellous stories
of the big catches there this season. The
directions the guide thinks best to give are
delivered with peculiar expression about
the mouth and much blowing of the nose,
and, having received two dollars for his
services, he leaves the angler to his
triumph. With his graceful willow trout
basket slung over his left hip, and his
thirty-dollar six-ounce rod, with silk line,
armed with the seductive "big red fly"
he buoyantly begins his war of extermina-
ton on the little speckled beauties"
He knows from reading Forest and
Stream just where to look for trout, and
seeks at once the dark hooks overhung by
rocks and trees, and boldly casts the fly,
but only succeeds in catching the hook
in the overhanging branch of an oak. He
tries again and again, and concludes the
fish are shy. An hours constant effort
with the fly, climbing over rocks, trunks
of trees, through ravines and around cas-
cades, convinces him the trouble is all
with the red fly, and that countrymen
don't know anything about fishing, any
how" He removes the obnoxious hook
and confidently substitutes small brown
miller. cha now we'll see fun," and he
does, for as, in his excitement, he steps on
decayed trunk that lay across the stream,
the tree gives way and the fisher on all
tours goes, along with the little brown fly,
into the brook. Bruised, soaked to the
skin, and cross, he scrsmbles up the bank,
and collecting the fragments of the thirty.
dollar rod after extracting the hook from
his left shoulder, he concludes the pleas
ures of trout.fshing have been grossly
exaggerated. Satiated with fishing, he
starts for the hotel tired, lame and dis
gusted. A little further down the stream
he discovers an old straw hat in the
brook. Closer inspection reveals small
fat urchin under it, holding rough birch
pole and apparently oblivious of all sur
roundings. While he watches this youth
and smiles derisively at his hat and brown
overalls, suspended by a string from one
shoulder, and thinks of enquiring where
he cut the telegraph pole, his expression
suddenly becomes very solemn as he sees
the gamin land beautiful trout that
weighs not less than pound, and uncon-
cernedly slip it in his breeches pocket.
A little investigation reveals the fact that
the fat boy is pretty well padded with
trout all around. "Guess caught about
sixty. How many you caught, boss ?"
Not waiting to satisfy vulgar curiosity,
our city friend merely stops to ask, un-
concernedly, "What you fishing with 7"
and on being told, "Worms, of course"
he gets black in the face and starts for
home, intent on annihilating the wooden
headed man who advised him to use a
"big red Christian at Work.