BASS AND MULLET 189 



now and then making a futile attempt at retreat. 

 In vain, such tactics ! The line is tested, the hook 

 tempered ; and at last, with a final protest that 

 spins the reel for twenty revolutions, the fish rolls 

 on his side and the ready landing-net is beneath 

 it, the handle straining with the weight as Cox 

 lifts what looks like a good ten-pounder over the 

 side. A powerful fish, even out of the water ; and 

 the head has to be gripped firmly between the 



A WELL-GROWN BASS OF lljLBS. 



knees while the hook is taken out of the angle of 

 the jaw, and the steelyard, confirmed later when 

 we got ashore, registers eleven-and-a-quarter 

 pounds, a noble fish and the best I ever took on 

 the rod in that river. The better part of half 

 an hour went to the playing of him, and, with 

 such a trophy in the boat, we have had enough for 

 the moment. It is improbable that I shall ever 

 beat it ; it is almost certain that any other fish, 

 which I may catch by staying out, will be a sad 

 come-down from such a beauty, so I decide to 



