32 SPXSA r G ANGLING 



noise than you can help, and wait patiently, not 

 running up and down the bank, but at one place, 

 and quietly watching the bob. Ha ! a tremulous 

 motion seems to go through it ; now it is still ! 

 again it quivers, and now it slowly disappears. It 

 is time to strike, but I beg you to do it swiftly 

 but not with violence ; and, having hooked the 

 fish, dorit! dorit! don t ! begin to haul in and 

 try to lift it out by main force. This is a lesson 

 you must learn in all kinds of fishing, if you would 

 get the full amount of enjoyment it is able to give. 

 What you should do is as follows (and it applies 

 to pretty nearly all fish, except the very smallest) : 

 Strike with a smart twitch, and then, keeping the 

 point of the rod or pole well up, first endeavor to 

 get your fish out of the immediate neighborhood, 

 that he may not startle other fish thereabouts ; 

 and next tire him so that he comes ashore readily, 

 putting, all the while, the strain on the elastic 

 pole. If you do this, you will seldom break loose 

 from the fish or break your tackle ; but if you 

 follow your first impulse, and attempt to "yank" 

 the sucker out, you may break your rod or line, 

 especially if the fish is a large one (and I have 

 caught them up to four pounds). 



