252 FLY-FISHING. 



down. I struck, but it was as though I had struck 

 a rock ; he darted to the bottom, making the rod fly 

 in splinters ; at every surge fresh splinters broke oft 

 and fell about in showers; a piece of the lower joint 

 only was left, when feeling for the first time really 

 roused, he made one fierce rush and mad leap, and 

 the line not unreeling fast enough to suit him, he 

 disappeared with three flies, all my leader, and most 

 of my line. I do not advise any one to fish for sal- 

 mon with an eight-ounce cedar trout-rod. 



In ordinary trout-fishing, however, salmon do not 

 abound nor come unceremoniously devouring our 

 baits intended for their smaller brethren; nor are 

 even trout so extremely numerous but that, for a 

 long summer day's work, a light able rod will be in- 

 finitely preferable to a heavy one. A rod that 

 weighs fourteen ounces is heavy, and I have seen 

 persons with their hands or wrists dreadfully swol- 

 len after a single day's fishing, and have had such 

 persons assure me that their rods were as light as 

 they could be possibly made. Delicacy to me is the 

 first essential in trout-fishing, whether delicacy of 

 rod and tackle, or delicacy of handling and casting. 

 Catching a trout with a stick and a string is not 

 half the fun of catching a flounder, the latter being 

 much more difficult to lug out of water ; and deli- 

 cacy in trout-fishing will bring the best reward. 



With a bamboo rod you need use the wrist alone, 

 and that without much exertion; you can cover 

 greab distances and still control che line, and you can 

 ewitch the fly under bushes and in difficult places, 



