28 SALMONIA. 



they are the giants of this river. Try if you 

 cannot reach them: one is near the bank in 

 a convenient place for a throw, for the water 

 is sufficiently rough to hide the deception, 

 and these large fish do not take the fly well 

 in calm water, though with natural flies on 

 the hook they might all be raised. 



Poiet. — I have him ! Alas ! he has broken 

 me, and carried away half my bottom line. 

 He must have been a fish of 7 or 8 lbs. 

 What a dash he made ! He carried off my 

 fly by main force. 



Hal. — You should have allowed your reel 

 to play and your line to run : you held him 

 too tight. 



Poiet. — He was too powerful a fish for 

 my tackle ; and even if I had done so, 

 would probably have broken me by running 

 amongst the weeds. 



Hal. — Let me tell you, my friend, you 

 should never allow a fish to run to the weeds, 

 or to strike across the stream; you should 

 carry him always down stream, keeping his 

 head high, and in the current. If in a 

 weedy river you allow a large fish to run up 



