Fishcraft 7 



hooking and landing his first fish. It 

 may be merely a fingerling, suitable 

 in size for bait in cafching a real game 

 fish, but the scientific cast and catch 

 of the salmon fisher can never awaken 

 in him such ecstacy, such keen excite- 

 ment, as that of the boy who has just 

 brought to land his first finny prize 

 from the brook with a jerk of the fish- 

 ing rod, strong enough to throw the 

 wriggling minnow into the grass far 

 behind him. With heart and hands 

 trembling under the thrill of victory 

 the fisher-boy pounces upon his prey, 

 grasps it with firm grip to prevent the 

 possibility of escape, and with diffi- 

 culty restrains the impulse to hasten 

 home, that he may exhibit to a proud 

 family circle the proof of his skill as 

 an angler. In after years the veteran 

 of the angling fraternity looks back 

 upon early lessons and their enjoy- 

 ment, and feels that "those were the 

 happy days." 



Careful instruction in minnow- 

 fishing is not one of the things to be 

 considered, but words of warning to 

 avoid falling into one of the deeper 



