8 BY HOOK AND BY CROOK. 



their skins ; so much so, that all we did that day was 

 to hook a fish which, after a few minutes' pl^-y, got 

 away, the probability being that he never was properly 

 hooked. 



To reach him it was necessary to cast a very long 

 line, and, as is invariably the case under such circum- 

 stances (especially, as in this instance, when the stream 

 is slack), the strike, by the time it reached the fish, was 

 a very mild one ; and although we suspected he was but 

 lightly hooked, we had not sufficient pluck to give him 

 a second dose. 



In these cases it is very difficult to determine what to 

 do — whether to catch hold of him hard by the head, in 

 the hope of driving the hook home, or to play him 

 lightly and trust to luck. 



In all probability the result would be the same which- 

 ever tactics might be adopted, viz. the loss of the fish ; 

 at least that has, unfortunately, been our experience. 

 Yet, after the loss of the fish, one always thinks that 

 other treatment might have been attended with a dif- 

 ferent result ; but, unfortunately, there are no means of 

 proving the matter. 



This was the only chance we had that day ; so all we 

 could do was to mark down the rising fish for future 

 use. 



We started off next morning, accompanied by a friend, 

 who had arrived from the North enticed by our descrip- 

 tion of sport obtained upon previous occasions, and 

 being anxious to blood him, put him into the pool. 



