126 HINTS ON ANGLING. 



condescend to practice. It requires considerable skill and 

 patience; a good general knowledge of the habits of the 

 fish; a practised eye for the quality and condition of the 

 water; an aptitude for choosing the most favourable 

 spots an art which can neither be communicated nor 

 described; firm nerves, and a steady quiet hand. In fa- 

 vourable weather, when the sky is clouded, the air cool, 

 and above all there is a fine rolling breeze bending the 

 trees, and rippling up the surface of the water into mimic 

 waves, it is a most exciting and fascinating amusement. 

 On such occasions, the fish generally run pretty freely, and 

 afford the angler plenty of opportunity for his patience 

 and skill. 



The rod for trolling should be about ten or twelve feet 

 long. Some, it is true, prefer a longer rod : and an expe- 

 rienced angler of our acquaintance declares that a rod of 

 eighteen or twenty feet is preferable to any other. For our 

 own part, no matter what the kind of fishing, we maintain 

 a rod can never be too light and manageable consistently 

 with the necessary strength. Rods which require the 

 occasional use of both hands, are, in our opinion, a cum- 

 brous and uncalled-for addition to an angler's difficulties. 

 In fishing for the lordly and riotous salmon, it may some- 

 times be absolutely necessary to carry such a weapon; 

 but we have never yet seen the fresh- water fish which 

 could not be killed with a rod easily manageable by one 

 hand, supposing the angler to possess ordinary patience, 

 and a certain degree of skill. 



The trolling-rod should be tolerably stiff, and the 

 fewer rings it has on it the better ; care being taken that 

 they are sufficiently large, especially that at the end of 

 the rod, which should be a fixture and much thicker than 

 the others. 



