MINNOW TROLLING. 103 



Insignificant scamp of a minnow, whom he intended to bolt at a 

 mouthful, has fastened his fangs upon him in so unaccountable a 

 manner, and is dragging him against his will in a direction he is 

 utterly averse to pursuing ; and that although literally smashed 

 to a jelly between his ponderous jaws, his pigmy opponent still 

 continues to haul away as determinedly as ever. I have, however, 

 sometimes found that a trout, particularly a very large one, when 

 first struck has allowed himself to be hauled along like a log for a 

 short distance without offering the slightest resistance. When 

 this occurs depend upon it he has not felt the prick of the hooks, 

 which repose quietly in his mouth, and are prevented from doing 

 him any injury on account of his holding the bait tightly com- 

 pressed between his teeth. In such case, therefore, your best plan is 

 to shift your rod as quick as you can, and strike pretty determin- 

 edly the opposite way to the fish's head, and sufficiently hard to 

 detach the bait from his teeth, which will effectually rouze him to 

 action ; but if you strike the way he is moving, he will probably, 

 taking offence at your rudeness, open wide his mouth, and eject 

 your whole paraphernalia of hooks harmlessly forth ; when if the 

 fish be so large, as some of the trout I have seen perform this 

 feat, your feelings in the language of the novel writers may 

 be more easily imagined than described. 



It often happens that a trout runs very warily at the bait, just 

 touching it and turning back again, and then renewing the charge, 

 and this often occurs when the minnow spins badly ; but happen 

 from what consequence it may, when a trout runs in this manner 

 you seldom succeed in hooking him. The best way to excite his 

 eagerness is to increase the speed with which you play the bait, 

 and if he then refuses to seize upon it, your only plan is to leave 

 him alone for a short time, when with a better arranged bait you 

 may probably deceive him. In fact whenever a trout runs shy, or 

 turns short without taking the bait, it is always the surer way to 

 leave him quiet for a short time, as, if unpricked with the hook he 

 will most likely run again, if you don't excite his suspicion, by 

 attempting to decoy him too early after your first failure. By ad- 

 hering to this rule I am confident I have made many a good trout 

 my own that would otherwise have been swimming about in safety 

 in his native element. In standing open waters I have often 

 taken good trout in minnow trolling, as I also have from naviga- 

 ble canals, My plan in fishing the latter has been to walk leisurely 



