56 STRENGTH OF FISHES. 



" a renninge vyce," and ready to let go at a moment's 

 notice. 



The angling books are full of directions how to 

 weary out and land a large fish ; but, after all, little 

 can be taught on this subject without actual experience. 

 "Never/' says Sir H. Davy, "allow a fish to run 

 to the weeds, or to strike across the stream ; you 

 should carry him always down the stream, keeping his 

 head high and in the current : if in a weedy river you 

 allow a large fish to run up the stream, you are almost 

 sure to lose him." " If a fish," says Best, " resists very 

 much, give him line enough, which will soon exhaust 

 his strength ; and when you pull him towards you, do 

 not do it violently; for if you do he will launch and 

 plunge in such a manner, that though he may not be 

 able to break your tackle, yet he will tear away his 

 hold ; but if you feel him come easily towards you, 

 wind up your line, until you see him ; then if he 

 struggles very much, give him line again ; and so pro- 

 ceed till you have killed him." 



WEIGHT OF FISHES. 



EXPERIENCED anglers can tell with miraculous ex- 

 actness the weight of the individual fish they may 

 chance to hook, before they have seen it to judge by 

 its dimensions, and the late Sir H. Davy had extraor- 

 dinary tact in this way ; but it is impossible to ac- 

 quire such a tact except by long experience. When a 

 fish has once been fairly landed, however, as near an 

 estimate of its weight may be come at by taking its 

 dimensions and referring them to a given standard, and 



