CHAP. vi. Imitating Nature when Spinning. 89 



it can then see before it, and avoid rock, snags, falls, etc., though when 

 the rapid is strong it requires to descend tail foremost, so as to regulate 

 its pace by partial swimming. When swimming down head foremost, 

 what with the force of the current and its own swimming, it ordinarily 

 moves more rapidly than when sauntering up stream. Besides which, 

 it never goes down stream, except in rapid pursuit of some food that 

 has been carried past it, or for the purpose of returning to, and again 

 taking up, the post of observation it has lately left. Whereas, when 

 coming up stream, fish often saunter upwards, watching for what the 

 stream shall carry down on either side of them, lazily stemming the 

 current, and frequently remaining stationary. At such times, when 

 moving most leisurely, and when most intent on their own food, they 

 must offer much better opportunities for being surprised by big fish than 

 when moving more rapidly ; I should conclude, therefore, that it is the 

 position in which the larger predacious fish are most on the look-out to 

 take them at advantage. It is, therefore, a movement which I should 

 think it advisable to imitate, or rather I should imitate it much oftener 

 than I should the swimming down stream. In pulling your bait up 

 stream, also, it is easy to vary the motion by letting it be stationary, at 

 times, where the current is strong enough to make it spin and to keep 

 it off the bottom, and where the stream is more than ordinarily rapid 

 you can occasionally imitate the motion of a fish letting itself be lazily 

 carried downwards by the stream. To do that you must not slack off 

 entirely, because if you do, your fish will be carried downwards like a 

 dead thing, whereas it should appear like a fish just keeping its nose to 

 the stream, but letting itself drop backwards. Do not take oft" the 

 tension on your bait altogether, but lessen it, continuing to just feel it, 

 so that you will be keeping your bait's nose to the stream, and be ready 

 to feel at once if you get a run. But if you draw your bait across the 

 stream, you will show it to many more fish, and therefore have, in my 

 opinion, a much better chance of taking one ; and that is on the whole 

 my favourite throw, sometimes letting the bait describe a semicircle by 

 simply keeping the top of the rod still, and letting the stream, when 

 strong enough, do the rest ; and sometimes drawing the bait right 

 across, or half across half up, varying it each throw so as to search all 

 water, and because it is said that " variety is charming." 



Much depends on the pace at which you draw your bait. Many 

 draw it a great deal too quickly, under the impression that it is all 



