A DATS FISHING 55 



happens to see the fisherman and thus be scared into 

 the weeds on its far side, he cannot keep the trout out of the 

 weeds which lie between it and himself, which position, 

 if taken up by the trout, is most dangerous. 



It is better, however, to try handlining than to run the 

 risk of losing your fish, and this method has the same 

 advantage as the silent reel, in that the jarring vibrations 

 of the check are absent at a critical moment. 



It must be remembered that trout which take advantage 

 of the shelter which is offered by weeds, are better fed and 

 consequently stronger and larger. They are also more 

 approachable, but though this may be to the advantage 

 of the fisherman, yet it is more than counterbalanced 

 by the difficulty of casting to and playing a trout when 

 hooked in a channel amid the weeds. If a trout be rising 

 in one of the narrow channels formed by the stream amid 

 the weeds, the prick and check of the strike will invariably 

 send it into its refuge among them, and, unless this 

 channel be directly above and running towards the fisherman, 

 there must not be the slightest hesitation on his part, 

 drastic measures must be adopted directly his strike is 

 successful. The head of the trout must therefore be kept 

 well up, and, if possible, brought above the weeds by a firm 

 and maintained strain on the line ; once the head of the 

 trout can be raised so that it lies on the weeds the struggles 

 of the fish will only serve to bring it over the top of them 

 and toward the net. When handling a big fish in this 

 manner it will make a very great fight, but unless such 

 tactics are adopted it would most certainly be lost with 

 probably a portion of the fisherman's cast. 



I have known many fishermen afraid to cast to a fish, 

 assuming that they may be unable to land it, even if they 

 are successful in hooking it. I think however, that this is 

 one of the sporting risks which should always be taken. 



