142 Rambles with a Fishing-Rod. 



And a sea-trout as a rule affords such excellent 

 sport, because he has twice the strength of an 

 ordinary trout; and, especially if lightly hooked, 

 or with a fine line or with a hook of not very 

 large kind, will make a surprising resistance. 

 The fish has, too, a peculiar and noticeable 

 manner of attempting to escape ; in which again 

 he differs from other kinds of trout, and by 

 which he can, even if he is not landed, be 

 invariably distinguished. He makes from time 

 to time a succession of leaps, which, if he is 

 a fair-sized fish, are as trying to the tackle 

 as to the hopes of the angler. He dashes 

 now a foot, now two feet, now three feet, into 

 the air ; he rushes off as if for the other end of 

 the lake or pool, rapidly carrying out the line, 

 and then returns with such quickness that the 

 line is slack before it can be reeled up; and 

 with it in this state he makes a succession of 

 leaps, which, if he be not well hooked or quickly 

 checked, probably end in his escape. And if it 

 be remembered that this is often taking place 

 on a wild day, when it is difficult to keep your 

 feet in a boat, and when the craft has to be well 

 managed, it is easy for the most unsporting of 

 men to understand that this is anything but a 



