A Matter of Mascalonge 147 



greater the distance and the sharper the angle, the 

 more difficulty about driving lead into the water. 

 In point of fact, a green hand will earn no glory 

 shooting 'lunge, for, unless he can get almost directly 

 above his fish, he will be very apt to blunder. 



Nor will a keen and experienced man accomplish 

 any serious destruction, for a single good fish would 

 be a notable result of a day's skirmishing along the 

 stream. Big 'lunge are only occasionally seen, and a 

 glimpse of one is no guarantee of a sure chance to 

 follow. The man with a rifle wants only big fish, and 

 he may watch a stream all day and nearly every day 

 for a month and not get one fair chance. When 

 the 'lunge are running upstream the position of a 

 heavy fish usually is betrayed by a steadily advanc- 

 ing furrow on the surface. With his eye upon this 

 telltale, the man with the rifle skirmishes along the 

 bank, keeping well concealed and always endeavor- 

 ing to gain some commanding point from which he 

 may look, and should circumstances warrant, shoot 

 down. 



Such points may be few and far apart, and the 

 'lunge may take a notion to swim deeper, or hug 

 the farther side of the stream while passing, which 

 demands that the man shall shift ground and en- 

 deavor to plan another ambush farther up. This 

 sort of thing may be continued during an entire 

 morning and no chance be offered; in fact, the 

 odds are always in favor of the fish. A missed fish 

 seldom gives a second chance. As it is quite pos- 

 sible to follow the wake of a fish for miles, to see 

 the intended victim in the wrong place perhaps a 

 dozen times, and eventually to lose him because 



