1 66 MODERN SEA FISHING 



good luck another fish may be hooked and played in the 

 same way. 



Beginners have a habit, when a fish is exhausted, of reeling 

 in too much line. If your rod is fifteen feet and you reel up 

 until only ten feet of line remain below the rod point, it is 

 obvious that the fish can never be brought close to the 

 boat. To decide exactly how much line to reel in requires 

 some judgment, but the word of warning on the point is 

 advisable. 



When playing a fish from the shore and you are about to 

 land him, reel up until he is within twenty feet of the point 

 of the rod, let us say ; and then, if the ground will permit it, 

 walk slowly backwards. Your attendant should be stooping 

 down, gaff in hand, and you must try to bring the fish to 

 his feet. If you are alone you must, of course, do the best 

 you can. Get the fish well played out, and just a proper 

 length of line reeled up ; so that when the rod is nearly per- 

 pendicular the fish can be brought to the desired spot. Then, 

 with the gaff in the right hand, and the little finger of the left 

 hand pressing on the rim of the reel to prevent it revolving, 

 use the gaff with the right hand. 



A word as to the manner of gaffing. I have a lively recol- 

 lection of an old Norwegian farmer whose services I solicited 

 in the matter of landing a i3-lb. sea trout. He had never 

 used a gaff before, and knelt down and began stroking the 

 back of the fish with it. The best place to gaff a fish is 

 the best place you can. If the line is in the way take him 

 under the belly, but give the preference to the back. If he 

 affords you a fair chance, lay the hook neatly over him, and 

 then give a pull towards you, sharp and sudden, such as would 

 bring a horse on to his haunches. If the hook takes hold, 

 at once turn the handle of the gaff into a perpendicular 

 position, which will help to prevent the fish kicking off and the 



