140 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



shoulder, or as near the gills as possible, with a steady, 

 even drag; and when once the point is in, the handle 

 should be raised to a perpendicular position, so that the fish 

 hangs on the gaff. Don't strike at the fish as if you wanted 

 to hit it a blow. Keep a look-out for the casting line, for if 

 it is struck by the gaff, good-bye to the fish. Some gaffers 

 use the implement by holding it underneath the body, and 

 drawing it in this position ; this is a bad s-tyle, as the body 

 of the fish is apt to hit the shank of the gaff and rebound 

 off. It takes a little practice before the landing of a fish, if 

 .a large one, can be done satisfactorily one of the objects 

 being to mutilate the fish as little as possible. Above all, 

 keep cool and don't get nervous. 



Landing Handles. (See " Handle.") 

 Landing 1 Net is used to land the fish after it has 

 been hooked and played. An angler should invariably 

 have one with him whenever he goes to fish, except when 

 he is salmon fishing and prefers to use a gaff (q v.). There 

 are several varieties of nets, some made from linen cord, 

 others from cotton, and some from silk. The last is ex- 

 pensive, and won't stand the hard usage that nets some- 

 times get. Linen cord makes a strong net, but it is hard in 

 texture, and does not ha.ng so nicely on the hoop as a 

 cotton one, nor does it hold the knots so well. Those made 

 from evenly-twisted cotton leasing are all that can be 

 desired. The best shape to have the net is somewhat like 

 a sack, pretty broad at the bottom, and not tapered like 

 an onion bag ; permitting the fish, if a large one, to get 

 well down in the bottom, so there is no danger of it 

 throwing itself out in its dying struggles. Some anglers 

 prefer a long, deep net. The objection to this shape is 

 that when a fish is netted it draws the whole set of flies 



