TROUT FLY-FISHING IN AMERICA 



these waters, but they seldom rise to the fly of even the 

 most expert of fly fishermen. 



But the fact alone that these "big trout" are there and 

 are seen "rolHng" is sufficient to make the ardent angler 

 fish for them both early and late with the hope that some 

 time he will induce one of them to take his fly. 



And when the time comes he will have one of the 

 greatest pleasures of his life, short in a sense, but lasting 

 from half an hour to an hour and a half, depending upon 

 the fighting qualities of the trout. 



These "big trout" are slow but steady fighters, as a 

 rule, and it does not do for the angler who has one of them 

 on his hook to try and land him in a hurry if he has any 

 wish to net him. 



And here let me impress upon all sportsmen that the 

 proper method of landing a trout, no matter how large 

 it may be, is with the net and never with the gaff. Do not 

 degrade yourself in the eyes of others and in your own 

 estimation, if you are a high-minded fly-fishing sportsman, 

 by thrusting the barbarous gaff into the body of "the most 

 beautiful fish that swims," the Salvelinus-Fontinalis. 



Large trout, even those that weigh up to ten and twelve 

 pounds, can be successfully netted with the proper-sized 

 net, a little care and a reasonable amount of judgment. 

 The judgment is displayed in not trying to net the fish be- 

 fore the proper time, which is after it has been played to 

 such an extent that it has turned on its side or is under ab- 

 solute control. 



,When speaking of fly-fishing in the entire Rangeley 



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