44 TROUT FISHING 



to the movements of the fish ; it may stop him from 

 doing some of the more outrageous things that he 

 has in his head, by making him think that his less 

 elaborate devices are succeeding — ^till he finds, too 

 late, that he has wasted his time and strength on 

 futilities. 



Expert dry-fly men generally counsel the novice to 

 " bustle " his fish, to be as hard on him as the tackle 

 will allow, and to get him to the net as quickly as 

 possible. This is sound enough for some occasions 

 but not for all. Sometimes a trout may be hooked 

 in a place where his escape is an absolute certainty 

 if he chooses to put out his strength and exercise 

 his speed. A little, clear pool with tree-roots or 

 trailing brambles at its sides is such a place. Unless 

 the angler's tackle is strong enough for a sheer 

 pulling match, as it seldom is, his only chance is to 

 play the trout as though the cast was made of cobweb, 

 to yield to his every movement and humour his 

 every whim. It is surprising how often and how 

 quickly that treatment will bring the fish peacefully, 

 and without fuss, to the net. With a small, light 

 rod it is much easier to play a fish in this way than 

 with a long, heavy one. The susceptibility of trout 

 to gentle treatment shows that this violent behaviour 

 is due as much to shock and sudden alarm as to the 

 fact that they have been hooked. If you have 

 struck quietly and kept the lightest strain on after- 



