PRELIMINARY NOTES 35 



rod to the surface, rather towards the fish. The 

 reason usually given is that the fish tries to break 

 the controlling line with its tail, which would be 

 quite possible unless it was immediately relaxed, 

 but I think that if the rod-point were not lowered 

 there would be sufficient tension as the fish fell 

 back to either break the hold or snap the gut. It 

 is well to be always prepared for this emergency 

 so that the point may be lowered INSTANTLY ; 

 once the trout is again under water the strain is 

 continued. Another matter is the objectionable 

 habit of yanking out fish, struck and hooked, and 

 this especially applies to brooks. One may lose 

 the trout of the day by so doing. A good one 

 cannot be distinguished from a quarter-pounder 

 while biting at a worm, and fine gut has its limits. 

 When the lifting impulse is present, the sudden 

 muscular action can hardly be stayed, and 

 disaster often follows. I was impatiently doing 

 this on the Hems, a small Dart tributary near 

 Totnes, and got my lesson. I essayed to yank 

 out a gentle biter, and the head and shoulders of 

 a fine sea-trout came over water as the trace 

 went smash. The less said about my language 

 the better. Whenever a trout is hooked, then> 

 feel it first, and see what you have to deal with. 

 If impossible to use the net, a very common 



