A DAY'S COACHING 37 



I have still all my work to do to keep him from those weeds. 

 Ah ! he is beaten at last, and now I can get some of the 

 line in on the reel as I follow him down-stream. A little 

 more that's it ; now take this landing-net, crouch down, 

 as much out of sight as you can, and hold the net slanting 

 well in the water, between the trout and myself. I shall 

 draw him over and into it, and when I say " Lift," do so 

 with both hands. " Lift ! " Well done ! Now bring him 

 up the bank, and let's have a look at him. What a beauty ! 

 Are not these crimson spots lovely ? I smite him well back 

 on the head with my priest again. Notice how well this Blue 

 Quill had him. We will weigh him ; and see, he is just over 

 one-and-a-half pounds, and in good condition. 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. 



A JUMPING FISH 



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 



