CLEANING THE FLY 



63 



these crimson spots lovely ? He is rather big, so I 

 will not attempt to kill him as I did the smaller 

 ones, but smite him well back on the head with 

 the priest on the end of my fly-net. Notice how 

 well this Blue Quill had him. We will weigh him ; 

 and see, he is just over 1J pounds, and in good condi- 

 tion. We will put him with the others, but first add a 

 few more leaves of thyme as a fitting tribute to his 

 prowess, and while we fill our pipes I will give you a 

 hint as to your best action when dealing with a jumping 

 fish. Before doing so I will just drift the Blue Quill 

 in the water to wash off the slime, and then press it 

 with my handkerchief and let it dry. 



The reason I twice lowered the point of my rod 

 when the fish jumped was in order to slacken the 

 line. 



You will often see a good fighting trout throw himself 

 out of the water in his efforts to escape. Frequently 

 this is a deliberate attempt to break the line by a 

 blow of his tail. The general practice is to drop the 

 point of the rod instantly, but I consider that this 

 is not always the soundest policy. The action of the 

 rod must be influenced by the direction in which a 

 fish is moving when he breaks water. If the fish 

 springs straight up in the air, or in any direction away 

 from you, then lower your rod immediately. If, 

 however, as sometimes happens (it has to me on 

 several occasions), the fish is heading more or less 

 toward you at the time he leaves the water, you should 

 continue to keep the line fairly taut, as this slight strain 



