USING THE WET FLY. 99 



leave the line free between the reel and the first 

 ring and not to hold it under the forefinger of the 

 hand grasping the rod, as one naturally does. If 

 the check on the reel is moderately stiff it offers quite 

 enough resistance to drive the hook home. Some- 

 times I strike from the reel, sometimes from the 

 hand. My practice varies with mood ; on some 

 days I find myself more heavy-handed than on 

 others. Now the novice has another rise, his rod- 

 point has gone up, and he is into his first trout, a 

 vastly more active opponent than any he has 

 encountered hitherto. Instinctively the line was 

 released as the fish was felt, and the reel screams 

 as the fish tears half-a-dozen yards of line off it, 

 jumping clear out of the water at the end of its run. 

 The moment the fish stops the angler on his part 

 puts on strain, yielding a little to each subsequent 

 effort, but never letting the line go slack or giving 

 the trout more law than is necessary. As the fight 

 goes on the strain is increased, until at last the fish 

 is dragged beaten down stream, and floated quietly 

 into the net, which is lowered into the water to 

 receive it. Though but a quarter-pounder, the 

 captive has fought valiantly and given the angler 

 as much as he could do. . . 



When one is standing knee deep in the river, 



unhooking a trout is rather a delicate matter, and 



H 2 



