AND HOW TO CATCH HIM. 25 



ing breeze for blowing out ray flies on the opposite bank, I forded 

 the river and tempted my fortune there accordingly, but with no 

 greater success, till on stepping over a gutter that flowed from a 

 leat of backwater into the main stream, I espied a fine trout cutting 

 his capers amongst the minnows, who not liking my appearance 

 forthwith made his exit to the main river, kicking up no small 

 splutter in his progress, as there was scarcely water enough to cover 

 his back fin. At the next gutter I crossed I saw just such another, 

 when profiting by the hint, my empty basket probably assisting in 

 sharpening my wits, I set to work to see whether I might not 

 devise some plan of entrapping one or two of these freebooters so 

 as not to have an entire blank day of it. After a little consid- 

 eration I thought a worm carefully swam down the gutters might 

 do the business. Some of these I turned up from under some clods 

 in the meadow, and keeping my rod well up, and myself well out 

 of sight, I swam my bait carefully down the next gutter I came to, 

 but which it had not gone down far when my line stopped, and on 

 raising my rod gently to tighten the line, I felt a gentle bow, as 

 much as to say, "There I am making bold with your worm Master 

 fisherman, and no mistake ;" so not wishing to hurry him, or deprive 

 him of a morsel he had so certainly set his mind on, I allowed him 

 to swallow it without interruption ; then, with a quick turn of the 

 wrist I fixed the treacherous hook firmly in his throat, which I 

 had no sooner done than tug, tug, splash, splash, accompanied by 

 the whizzing of my reel, as the trout in alarm dashed off to the 

 river, informed me that so far I had been successful, though the 

 ultimate result was by nomeansso certain, as the fish was apowerful 

 one, and the side of the main river I was on was somewhat incum- 

 bered with willows. At length, however, I succeeded in thorough- 

 ly tiring him out, and ultimately made him my own even with- 

 out the aid of a landing net, though, if I remember right, he was 

 a fish of at least two pounds weight. The next gutter I tried was 

 rather wider than any I had previously met with, but still this one 

 I could easily jump across, and in that I caught three others, none 

 less than a pound and a half, and the largest more than two pounds 

 weight, beginning first near the river, and leading the fish as I 

 hooked them into it ; and in the other gutters, I caught two more, 

 besides losing one or two that broke their hold after I had struck 

 them ; all in little more than the space of an hour. Delightful 

 work indeed during the time it lasted ! How much longer this 



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