1 8 Wet-Fly Fishing 



Oh the delights of stalking such a fish 

 at nineteen, ay, or at sixty-nine : if you 

 can. 



And now the line is sent, with a side 

 switch, right under the birch tree once 

 more. There is no wind now, and the fly 

 alights very softly. Then there is a wave, 

 and the line tightens. In that same second, 

 a gentle but decided turn of the wrist has 

 driven the steel home. The rod is held 

 sideways, near to, and parallel with, the 

 water, not up; else the words of Burns 

 would be only too true of that trout 



"And safe beneath the shady thorn, defies the angler's art." 



for the branches of the birch hang low, and 

 lifting the rod up would be a dangerous 

 game to play at present. 



Finding himself collared, he dashes out, 

 and faces the foaming waters of the linn, 

 springing hither and thither in his efforts 

 to shake himself free ; but, at last, gasping 

 a,nd beaten, he finds himself lying on a 

 spit of sand, a lovely landing-place, and 

 permits me to knock him on the head. 

 He weighs If lb., a fine trout, indeed, for 

 such a hill-burn as this. 



To give point to my meaning, let me 

 suppose another case. The same pool, the 



