TROLLING. 65 



Poor little one ! soft and unused to hardships, it 

 speedily succumbs, and is useless as a lure; but 

 a parr, an adult gudgeon, or a roach, will tow a 

 trimmer about for hours without material damage, 

 and if its praiseworthy attempts to catch a flat 

 are unsuccessful, may, as suggested, be released 

 by the grateful and humane fisherman, with the 

 conviction that its span of life will be by no means 

 shortened (it may have been made to seem long 

 enough) by the ordeal it has undergone. It is 

 great sport hunting a trimmer which has been 

 taken by a big fish. A pair of strong oars will 

 scarcely catch the bobbing, diving, disappearing 

 cork ; and, when caught, it requires delicate hand- 

 ling to hold and properly play the struggling fish. 

 There is no aid from the yielding, elastic top-joint 

 of a rod, but the exact strain that line and hook 

 will sustain without breakage must be carefully 

 calculated ; and I have known a run to last pretty 

 nearly as long, and, while it lasted, to afford nearly 

 as much excitement, as a fox-chase. On the whole, 

 trimmering, under proper restrictions, and in suit- 

 able waters, is by no means bad sport. 



TROLLING. 



I have already quoted the learned judge's dictum, 

 " Some port is better than other, but there is no bad 



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