■^ 



1 1 8 Angling Travels in Norway. 



matter of general knowledge, and the art of working a 

 craft for angling purposes is still more rarely practised. 



It is of but little use to complain of a man's rowing 

 unless one can give a practical demonstration, as otherwise 

 he is apt to argue with himself, " I should like to see him 

 do it better." 



It is uninteresting work to harl a pool which affords 

 little cover, and, in consequence, the fish may lie any- 

 where ; it is much better sport when the bed contains well- 

 defined resting-places for fish, and in such situations the 

 expert oarsman can display his ability and knowledge of 

 the water. It is a treat to watch a man so work his boat 

 that the lure swings temptingly across each well-known 

 shelter with as much precision as if the catch were being 

 fished from the bank. Such fine art in harling can 

 only be appreciated by one who knows the water, and 

 who, like the oarsman, has killed fish in it. 



The pace at which I have been raced across from side 

 to side has compelled me to imagine that my boatman 

 was of opinion that the salmon delights to rush after his 

 food ; but that he was not in reality of this belief I have 

 afterwards ascertained ; he was merely acting by force 

 of thoughtless habit. I prefer to harl quite slowly, and 

 only to quicken pace should the shallowness of the pool 

 oblige me to do so, in order to keep the bait from fouling 

 the river-bed ; but moderation should be observed, for 



