42 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



mill has stopped. Away on the right by that clump 

 of rushes a shoal of small fry suddenly jumps out 

 of the water in a panic. That means a feeding- 

 pike, possibly such a one as that which took the 

 hook. Then, right in the middle, there is a sudden- 

 plunge and splash, repeated in a moment or two a 

 few yards further off ; that is one of the big trout, 

 a cannibal like the pike, but vastly more cunning. 

 Some day perhaps the novice may but where is 

 his float ? Intent on the trout, he did not see how 

 it slowly but steadily subsided. The bite of the 

 bream is one of the most leisurely things in river 

 fishing, and its play, as the novice finds on tighten- 

 ing, is one of the most solemn. The fish bores 

 heavily about, makes one good slow rush, and then 

 gives in to the hard strain of the bending rod. He 

 is a big bronze fellow of 3ilb., very thin in the 

 back, deep in the flank, and with a long anal fin. 

 His capture makes a very satisfactory ending to 

 what for a novice has been a very satisfactory day. 

 He has had practical experience now of what it 

 means to have a fish on the rod, and he has learnt 

 something of the habits of eight different 

 inhabitants of our waters, which is a good 

 beginning. 



One or two more things remain to be done as a 

 conclusion to the first day's fishing after the novice 



