24 How to Fish for Salmon, 



again in the same place ; up came another fish, and 

 he followed the same tactics, when suddenly he 

 came up on his side completely beat. I found in 

 his struggle he had by some means got the line 

 round his mouth, so that he was suffocated. 



That delightful author and excellent fly fisher, 

 Theophilus South, says: — "I never strain a fish 

 except he approaches dangerous ground," and 

 excellent advice it is. Many a good fish is lost by 

 straining him unnecessarily, or in other words, giving 

 him the butt too soon. The suaviter in niodo and 

 fortiter in re is the right motto in salmon fishing — 

 to know when to put the strain on. Some years 

 ago I hooked a good fish in the Ness in the 

 run above the " Twa Stanes " Pool. After two or 

 three minutes he went up stream with the speed of 

 lightning, running out lOO yards of my line. I 

 had only I lo on the reel. Mackenzie, my gillie, was 

 in an awful pucker. " Oh, give him the butt, sir ! — 

 stop him ! — he will break you ! — hold up your rod ! 

 Oh dear, what a grand fish ! " We were running like 

 mad all this time. If I had moved my rod he must 

 have broke me in an instant. I felt this and was as 

 steady as possible ; suddenly he stopped. During 

 the whole course of my fishing experience I have 

 never seen a fish run like this one. The force and 

 rapidity were so great that the rod was fairly bent 

 down. After a quarter of an hour away he went 



