n> JIGGERING. 



I always like to see a salmon show himself, and the 

 oftener he jumps out of water the better I am pleased. 

 In the first place, the play of a fish that does so is sure to 

 be the more brilliant and exciting, and in the next, every 

 leap takes so much more out of him than a mere dart 

 through his native element. It is manifest when a salmon 

 springs from the water that, if you keep the point of the 

 rod up and maintain a tight line, the fish in falling on the 

 water with a splash will come a dead weight on the rod- 

 point, or will manage to dash the hook out of his mouth ; 

 consequently, whenever a salmon leaps you must keep a 

 slack line by instantly lowering the point of the rod to 

 the water's surface and giving as much line as you can on 

 the spur of the moment, by extending the point as much 

 towards the fish as possible. The instant the fish is in the 

 water again, however, the point must be raised, and a tight 

 line at once recovered. 



When a fish 'jiggers' or keeps up a constant 'jag, 

 jag, jag,' at the line, it is a very unpleasant and trying 

 symptom, and it is extremely difficult to say what to do. 

 Some anglers think it advisable to hold him hardish, and 

 to chance the hook taking a fresh hold should he be 

 lightly hooked ; others say play him lightly, as it is a 

 sign of his being lightly hooked. This I am not at all 

 sure of. I think it is a sign that the salmon is a fish of 

 experience, and is trying to shake the hook out by twisting 

 and shaking his head about and turning it in all direc- 

 tions ; and as this is trying the hold of the hook in every 

 possible way, it is not very surprising if such a proceeding 

 frees the fish more often than any other. I have lost 

 many a 'jiggering' fish, and, on the other hand, I certainly 

 have caught many such ; but I know of no feeling so un- 

 pleasant as the sharp twitch which the process of jiggering 

 communicates, with a thrill of apprehension to send it 

 home, right up to the very shoulder. 



