170 TROUT FISHING. 



But, if the top is too pliant, the fish will frequently 

 make his escape on first being pricked. Here there- 

 fore, as in all things, the medium is best. A minnow 

 must of course be thrown underhanded, and the line 

 got well on the swing before it is sent out. You 

 should throw it till it comes to its end, and then, by 

 drawing in the hand, give it a little check, so that it 

 should be laid delicately in the water, and not thrown 

 in with a splash. The very instant your minnow is 

 in the water begin drawing it at one unvaried pace, 

 down stream, and then towards you, till near enough 

 to require a fresh throw ; and in this, as well as fly 

 fishing, never keep trying too long in the same place. 

 If a fish comes after your minnow, never stop it, or 

 in any way alter the pace, or he will most likely be 

 off again directly; though, if you can tow your 

 minnow into a rougher place, without giving it any 

 sudden motion, the fish will most likely follow it 

 there, and be still more easily deceived than in the 

 smoother water. To get your bait, use a silk casting- 

 net, and remember, that the chief art in throwing it 

 is to hurl the right hand well round horizontally, 

 instead of inclining it upwards. Keep your bait, 

 with bran, in any thing but tin or metal, which is 

 liable to heat in warm weather. This, I believe, is 

 all that need be said on the best mode of trolling. 



I have sent for, and read, the whole of this article, 

 on the subject, to his piscatorial reverence, who, after 

 the most rigid criticism that he could make, approved 

 of it in the extreme, as well as of the improvement 



