A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 29 



his lip and we do not want a disgorger. It is soon out of 

 his mouth, and we will now weigh him. Thirteen ounces. 

 Quite a good fish. 



Now remember this axiom : " Never take your eye off 

 the fly when it is on the water/' In this case you took 

 your eye away from the fish when it was hooked, in order to 

 guide your hand to the reel, and you dropped the point of 

 the rod and slackened the line, and as a consequence the 

 fish got into the weeds. 



A TAUT LINE 



A sporting wish to a person about to fish is that he may 

 have a " taut " or a " tight " line, and this wish may be 

 supplemented by the hope that he may keep it so. 



A tight line is a necessity after any fish is hooked and 

 until the fish is safely creeled, and for this reason the barb 

 of the hook does not in many instances penetrate the fleshy 

 part of the trout or salmon's mouth, the point being merely 

 fixed in the skin or bone of its jaw, etc. When a fish 

 is hooked it naturally endeavours to extricate the hook 

 which is galling its mouth and depriving it of its freedom, 

 and for this purpose it employs its tongue to displace the 

 fly when the hook is not firmly in the flesh. So long there- 

 fore as a strain is kept on the line that is as long as the 

 rod point is kept well up and the line taut between it and 

 the fish, its endeavours to thus obtain its freedom are 

 frustrated. It is only when a momentary slackening of the 

 line occurs through the rod point being lowered, or the 

 slack of the line not being taken in with sufficient speed as 

 the fish runs towards the fisherman, that this opportunity 

 occurs. It will be frequently noticed, after a fish is safely 

 netted, that the fly has left the mouth, the reason being, 

 of course, that the first slackening of the line which has 

 occurred since it was hooked has been after the fish was 



