A GOLDEN DAY ON FORDING RIVER 31 



anatomy, and make all kinds of trouble. He seizes with 

 his lips only, not his throat; and almost invariably the 

 hook is found holding feebly in his lip. This scanty hold 

 requires much care in playing the fish, and a line con- 

 stantly taut, to keep the hook in its place. With the least 

 carelessness, away goes the fish. It also makes it easy to 

 remove a fish that is too small, and put it back in the 

 stream as good as new. One fly lasts a long time, and is 

 good for at least three or four fish of approved size. 



While the fun was at its height, and we had five fine 

 fish to the good, Mr. Phillips and Mack Norboe joined 

 us, ready and eager for the fray. John quickly devel- 

 oped his rod, reeved the line home and bent on a fly. 

 With the first cast, above my fishing-place, he hooked 

 and landed a fine fish, and in less than three minutes had 

 landed four more! 



Then he paused, turned to his admiring audience 

 with a guilty laugh, and exclaimed, 



" This is nothing but slaughter! " 



Truly it was. The fish struck as fast as he could 

 throw in his line and haul them out. We both paused 

 to consider, for every man in our party believed in the 

 policy of stopping at " enough." We had ten fish, and 

 our limit was forthwith fixed at fifteen for the two days 

 that six men would be trying to consume them. 



We scrambled along the rocks up to Josephine Falls, 

 and I determined to have a try in the boiling caldron at 

 the foot of the cataract, to see if trout could see to take 

 a fly in such white water. It was no trouble to get a 

 good position on the shale steps close beside the foot of 



