Locusts and Wild Honey by John Burroughs

I

The legend of the wary trout, hinted at in the last sketch, is to be further illustrated in this and some following chapters. We shall get at more of the meaning of those dark water-lines, and I hope, also, not entirely miss the significance of the gold and silver spots and the glancing iridescent hues. The trout is dark and obscure above, but behind this foil there are wondrous tints that reward the believing eye. Those who seek him in his wild remote haunts are quite sure to get the full force of the sombre and uninviting aspects, -- the wet, the cold, the toil, the broken rest, and the huge, savage, uncompromising nature, -- but the true angler sees farther than these, and is never thwarted of his legitimate reward by them.