TROUT FLY-FISHING IN AMERICA 



done, so for the present I will name a number of things 

 it is well "not to do" when striking: 



Do not get nervous. 



Do not strike with an arm movement. Let the force come en- 

 tirely from the movement of the wrist. 



Do not always strike with the same degree of force, for if you 

 do you will often tear the hook from the mouth of the trout. 



Do not strike with a force that is greater than the strength of 

 the leader or snell. 



The force with which to strike a trout should be, in a 

 great measure, determined by the amount of slack there is 

 in the line at the time the rise takes place. 



Within reason, the greater the slack the greater the 

 force should be that is put into the strike. When the fly 

 is fished on the surface, or very nearly so, less force is re- 

 quired than when the fly is under the surface from six to 

 eight inches. It goes almost without saying, that small 

 trout under all circumstances should not be struck as hard 

 as medium-sized or large trout. It is from the character 

 of the rise that the angler has to judge the size of the trout 

 and the amount of force to be exerted in striking. 



Judgment, "fish sense" and experience eventually de- 

 termine for every angler the force required to strike and 

 hook properly the trout that rises to his fly. 



Fish hooks are sharp, very sharp, as all anglers know 

 from experience not necessary to mention, and it does not 

 take a tremendous force to seat a hook firmly in the mouth 

 of any trout, be it large or small ; but on the other hand, 

 the force that should be properly applied in striking a 



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