l-LAVI.Nii A ll"M»KKl) FISM. '.VZl 



a hooked tisli ; tlie f;reat cud and ulijcct is to ki-rp him, witli a.s 

 heavy a strain as yun can ventnre to sup[)t)rt ujiun his niuutli, 

 witli his luad down stream ; for in that position the water enters 

 his gills the wrong way, so tliat the vital principle of the oxygen 

 cannot he separated from it l)y tiic brijurliial a[)paratus, and the 

 ti>h naturiUly dies hy sullbcation, or l)y something analogous to 

 drowning. 



To ellect this, very nuich delicacy and nicety of touch art; re- 

 quisite ; the rushes of the lish are sometimes of fearful impetus 

 and velocity and sustained for such a length of time as to take 

 nearly all the line oft' the reel, and to compel the angler to run 

 at full spccil, up or down the bank, as it may be, in order 

 to avoid siuaishing his tackle. It is well here to observe, 

 that it is in all cases the best plan to follow your tish as early 

 in the game and as rapidly as you can, rather than to let 

 oft' too much line, as you thereby keep so much in hand for an 

 emergency. 



Tljc great principle is to make the fish pull as hard as possible 

 without ceding line, and never to give hini an inch that he does 

 not exact from you by force ; the knowledge of the exact amount 

 of resistance which you may oiler, and of the \\lieu exactly and 

 how much you must yield, is the grand proof of the Salmon- 

 fisher's science. If he run for a rock, against whicli to smash 

 your tackle, or for a cascade or cataract, over which you cannot 

 pilot him witli a hope of success, you must resist him to the last ; 

 which is done by advancing the butt, firmly grasped, toward 

 him, and bearing your rod backward over your right shoulder, 

 thereby compelling him to strain out the line, the velocity of 

 which you mu«t regulate with the ball of your thumb, inch by 



