242 SALMON AND TROUT. 



can be avoided. To keep a tight line from first to last is a 

 golden rule that should be always borne in mind by every 

 salmon fisherman when playing his fish. He should hold the 

 point of his rod well up, and keep it opposite to him if he can. 

 Should the fish take a run, ending with a leap in the air, he 

 must instantly lower the point of his rod, which ought to defeat 

 this effort to rid himself of the fly the object doubtless 

 intended. 



In lowering the point of the rod, a slack line must neces- 

 sarily be given ; but it is a case of kill or cure : if he is well 

 hooked, he will be brought to bank ; if lightly hooked, the 

 chances are against it. It is the * glorious uncertainty ' that 

 adds to the pleasure and excitement of the sport. If it was a 

 certainty, there would be none. 



In playing a salmon, the amount of strain necessary to be 

 put on the line must be left to the judgment of the angler, and 

 should be proportionate to the strength of his tackle. It is not 

 generally known what amount of strain a rod can put on. I 

 may therefore mention that, in trying the experiment with a 

 very powerful rod, all I could do was to pull four pounds on 

 my steelyard, which, at first sight, seems very little ; and, if a 

 salmon remained stationary when being played, and the angler 

 were merely pulling dead against him, with a fairly strong 

 casting line, I do not think he could break it, do what he could, 

 unless he gave it a sudden jerk ; but, the moment the salmon 

 began to move and pull as well as the angler, a double strain 

 would be put on the line, and it would probably break, unless 

 of unusual strength. 



The foregoing may be of some use as a guide to the amount 

 of strain to be used in playing a fish. If skilfully handled, he 

 will generally be brought to the gaff in from five minutes to 

 half an hour from the time he is hooked. It is not often he 

 will take longer to kill, unless he is hooked foul, when he may 

 keep on for hours. I myself hooked a salmon on the Kirkcud- 

 brightshire Dee about ten o'clock one morning, below the weir 

 at Tongueland, and he kept me the whole day playing him in 



