344 The Trouts of America 



will be lost; he has probably held the fly in the 

 mouth loosely, being sure of its possession and 

 too languid or indifferent to mouth it. 



When a trout is fastened on the hook in a 

 comparatively deep and still water, and if he is 

 of average stream size, the spring of the rod, " its 

 yielding resistance," will kill after you have him 

 well in hand, being careful, however, that he does 

 not rush into a root-hole, around a bottom snag, 

 or in the thick water grass or lily pads. If he 

 does get among the latter, don't yank, but keep 

 a strong steady pull upon the line; and if that 

 does not make him yield, sit down and wait, with 

 a slack line, just like a mule driver sometimes has 

 to do with his mule he tires it out, or rather calls- 

 it into action, by inaction and patience. I know 

 of no other methods by which an entangled line 

 by a fighting trout can be released, unless the 

 water be shallow and you wade out and gill the 

 fish with your forefinger. 



As the season advances, say toward August, 

 examine the banks of the pools for little springs 

 which are frequently found trickling down ; at 

 such points trout are apt to gather in pairs, pre- 

 empting the spot to secure for themselves a cooler 

 temperature, and the greater likelihood of drifting 



