KEEP THE ROD UP 241 



turned and made equally as mad a start for 

 the opposite, giving me interesting work to get 

 my line in without looping it, which, as my ex- 

 perienced fishermen-readers know, is dangerous 

 work. To make the danger still greater, when 

 in the middle of the river he made direct for 

 the boat. The line was thus left very slack, 

 in spite of anything that could be done. At 

 this crisis, as if the fellow knew it was his time, 

 he jumped. My rod was thrown behind me, 

 but did not and could not gather in all the 

 slack, so that the salmon threw his raspy tail 

 across my single cast, and was not there, but 

 free. " Hang the fellow ! " I groaned. " I wish 

 he had kept out of sight ; then the disappoint- 

 ment would not have been mine." 



This experience has been the sad one of 

 many an angler, but can only happen to one 

 who knows their trick, by a circumstance like 

 the foregoing. To keep them from throwing 

 their rasp-like tail over the cast, the rod must 

 always be kept up, and the line tight. 

 Another cast was soon in place, and a Yellow 

 Doctor upon it ; then the boat was dropped 

 down to the head of a rock a promising spot, 

 in fact, one where in previous seasons sport has 



B 



