84 THE SALMON 



with him some thirty yards of line ; but it was his last 

 effort, for in another minute he was scooped up and 

 deposited on the gravel, a nice clean male fish just under 

 fourteen pounds. Both the barbs of the double hook 

 were deeply embedded in his jaw, and it was evident 

 that nothing short of a break could have given him his 

 liberty. 



While he was still on, I had seen another fish 

 break the water a little lower down, close into the 

 second cairn, and without wasting any time we 

 resumed the offensive, and I recommended casting 

 just below the place where I had hooked the fish. 

 The pool had been very little disturbed, and even 

 if it had been more so, I should not have thought it 

 necessary to wait, as I have risen fish immediately 

 after a hooked companion has been jumping and 

 swaggering about the pool in a manner calculated 

 to frighten them into fits. They seldom, it seems, 

 take warning from the misfortunes of others. The 

 casting now became a little more difficult ; not only 

 was it necessary to throw a fairly long line, but as the 

 fly came round below the point of the rod it was 

 sucked into a sort of eddy or backwater which 

 drowned the cast and made it very difficult to get the 

 line clean out of the water for the backward move- 

 ment. Once at least I succeeded in tying my cast 



