Sporting Sketches in Pen and Pencil. 



Round came the bait again, but no result followed. 



•' Not to-day, Alfred," I said, as I turned round to get below the tree. 



At that moment there was a loud splash — a deuce of a tug at my rod 

 point, and as the rod was firmly over my shoulder, he got it pretty 

 hot; nevertheless, to make sure I gave him another rugg. The bait was 

 just hanging on the water, turning lazily round on the surface, as the 

 stream caught the fans, and the temptation was too much for him, so 

 he rose like a salmon at a fly, and took it, and I held him. Down he 

 dashed to the very end of the hole, then out of it, on to the shallow, where 

 he made fine play among the smaU fry, then back and into the hole 

 again. 



"He'll be making for his holt presently, sir," said Alfred, "can't you 

 lean down and pass the rod under the tree to me, so as to get below 

 it, and keep him away. If he works up and bolts in under your feet 

 you can't help it ; and what old roots and snags there is there Lord only 

 knows." 



At the risk of a ducking, and hanging on to the tree by one arm 

 and my eyelids, I passed the rod under, so that Alfred got hold of it 

 by the middle joint. The reel went two feet xmder water when I let go ; 

 but Alfred soon got a tight line on the fish again, wliich was grubbing along 

 under the bank, and having recovered the rod I hurried down below, and 

 putting a good strain on, brought him away from danger down stream 

 again; and after a little more than a quarter of an hour's tussle, I worked 

 him in on the shallow below where Alfred stood knee deep with the net, 

 and in another minute we had him out, a fine male fish of IGJlb. We 

 regarded him with satisfaction, and drank liis health, and so forth. 



"While we had been busy with him, sundry "hi, hi, lii's" came down the 

 bank, but, as they could not be attended to, J. was left to his own devices, 

 as he had a pocket gafl^. Alfred now went to him. He had hooked a good 

 fish of a dozen pounds or so, played him home, and scratched him severely 

 with the gaff, without hooking him, so the fish got off. Just as Alfred 

 came up he hooked and landed a five-pounder, which he returned, and then 

 another, which was equally lucky. 



I went on, and spun the rest of the water down to the bottom for a good 



