STRIKING THE TROUT. 109 



and this is the reason why a quick eye and a ready 

 hand are considered the most necessary qualifica- 

 tions for a fly-fisher. A trout first takes a fly, and 

 then makes the motion which anglers term a rise, 

 and which consists of their turning to go down ; 

 the angler therefore does not see the least break 

 on the surface until the trout has either seized or 

 missed the fly, so that he has already lost so much 

 time, and should strike immediately. 



Although it is impossible to strike too soon, it 

 is quite possible to strike too hard. Some anglers 

 strike with such force as to pull the trout out of the 

 water, and throw it a considerable distance behind 

 them. Now this is much too hard, and very apt 

 with a small hook to tear it away from its hold, 

 should it have any. Striking should be done by a 

 slight but quick motion of the wrist, not by any 

 motion of the arm. The angler should also take 

 care to strike in the same direction as his rod is 

 moving in at the time, for if he raises his rod, or 

 otherwise alters its direction, the effect will not be 

 nearly so immediate, and a moment is of the utmost 

 importance in this matter. 



One advantage of striking is, that should the 

 trout miss the fly it rises at, the angler has still a 

 chance of coming across it with some of the remain- 

 ing ones. In a day's fishing we have frequently 

 killed half a dozen trout hooked by the sides and 

 other parts. And a trout hooked in this way 

 always runs twice as hard as one hooked in the 



