SALMON FISHING IN LABRADOR. 167 



mount one of the flies which I had made the previous 

 evening, and troll behind the boat. Soon the deception 

 was overboard, and scarcely had twenty yards left the 

 reel before he had a strike, but the fish did not hold. 

 On satisfying himself that the tackle had not parted, 

 more line was .paid out, and ere we had progressed a 

 hundred yards, he hooked a fish, and that a good one. 

 The reel rushed with the greatest velocity, although the 

 rowers had backed water to impede the progress of 

 the boat, and for a good quarter of an hour it was give 

 and take. The scientific manner in which my friend 

 handled his rod at once convinced me that he was no 

 novice, and his coblness proved that he was master of 

 the art. At length the previously unseen and game 

 antagonist was brought under the gunwale, and with 

 little difficulty I struck the gaff into his beautiful side, 

 and brought him into the boat. My friend called the 

 captured fish a pollack, and confessed to having killed 

 hundreds of them on his native coast. I have since 

 become aware that he was right, and that this fish is 

 well known in British waters. Again his flies were 

 astern, and similar results took place, till I got im- 

 patient lest we should be late in arriving at our desti- 

 nation. So far we had not seen a sea-trout, but this 

 delay was not to be long continued. On entering the 

 estuary of the river, our first one was hooked -a lively 



