58 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



hand uppermost, and bringing the reel over the rod with 

 its handle pointing to the left hand side ; then seizing the 

 handle of the reel in his left hand, he began to illustrate how 

 he would wind up the line quickly in such an event. 



" Colonel ! " I asked, " do you kill many fish like that ? " 

 " Sure," said he, " I kill half of the fish in this way/' 

 " Well, Colonel ! which hand are you using now ? " 

 " Begorrah ! " said he, after a moment's reflection, 

 " I've been using my left hand all the time and I didn't 

 know it." 



Admittedly it may be awkward in the first few attempts 

 to wind the reel with the left hand, when the right hand only 

 has been accustomed to the work, but then a similar awkward- 

 ness is experienced whenever we vary an accustomed 

 method of performing any action. Take for example our 

 procedure in putting on any garment, say a coat if we are 

 accustomed to insert the right arm first into its sleeve, let 

 us instead experiment by introducing the left arm first, 

 and the awkwardness will be at once admitted, but this 

 does not infer that the latter method of putting on the coat 

 is more difficult or that it could not be easily acquired. 



A WRINKLE 



And now I will show you yet another way of taking a 

 trout before I go home. You can see that not a fish is 

 moving ; everything is baking hot. The sub-imago is 

 sheltering amid the grass, and the pupa amid the weeds ; 

 both dislike this bright and torrid glare, and while the 

 former is getting ready for his joyous but very brief honey- 

 moon existence, the latter is clinging to his wavy and 

 shadowy retreat, and waiting for the impulse which is to 

 send him, despite all dangers, jigging up towards the 

 surface to loosen the wings which are fretting within his 

 mask. 



