STRIKING GENTLY RECOMMENDED. 29 



\vardly, or injure your tackle, if the fish be a 

 huavy one. This strong rapid way of striking 

 shows the absence of that delicacy of action and 

 management without which you can never become 

 an accomplished fly-fisher. 



The moment you see and then feel a rise, you 

 must strike gently from the wrist, by a slight, 

 sharp jerk of it backwards. As a general rule, 

 strike sideways a little, and not straight towards 

 y OU to the right most commonly: but you must 

 be guided by a guess as to which way the fish is 

 about to turn on seizing your fly. If you fancy 

 he is going to turn round to his left, you must 

 strike at him neatly towards your right : if you 

 think him on the turn from left to right, strike to 

 your left. By pursuing this plan, you will avoid 

 the probability of chucking the fly clean out of 

 the fish's mouth, or of pricking him only, and you 

 will very likely hook him, perhaps through and 

 through, on either the right or left side of the 

 mouth. A fish very frequently takes your fly 

 under water, and then, feeling the rise, be some- 

 what quick, yet strike as gently as possible; 

 quick, lest the fish reject the fly ; gentle, for he is 

 already almost hooked. Those who are for strik- 

 ing slowly, act on the notion that fish generally 

 hook themselves, and that the slow stroke is quite 

 sufficient to affix the hook firmly. Fish do some- 

 times hook themsleves, 'tis true, but it is only by 



