246 WHAT I HAVE SEEN WHILE FISHING 



absolute proof the line came in as slackly as 

 before, and soon there came the lead, the wire and 

 bait ; and hope was dead. 



You must back out from the head and scramble 

 over the intervening rocks. Then you are in the 

 centre of the pool, well sheltered from the fish by 

 the rock over which you came. While standing 

 here you have the best of chances of hooking and 

 following, but kill him where you stand, if possible, 

 for a second fish may be got from the tail, where 

 my gillie is seen standing. 



On looking at the photo, " Elm Tree Pool," 

 which I consider a remarkably faithful representa- 

 tion of the commencement of the pass, I think you 

 will admit that it is a lovely place in which to get 

 engaged with a fresh run fish of 34 Ib. Such was 

 once my luck. My big fish was good behaviour 

 itself and gave me no trouble to speak of, and he 

 proved as beautiful when laid on the rocks as he 

 had been good on the hook. It will occur to some 

 that the difficulties of killing a salmon increase in 

 proportion to the weight of the fish. This is un- 

 doubtedly the case up to, say, 20 Ib., after which 

 weight has the opposite effect. The movements of 

 big fish are slower, more even, and therefore much 

 less dangerous, than those of a lively i6-pounder. 



The water in the " Elm Tree " is very deep, but 

 remember that the bottom is as rugged as the sides, 

 so keep the nose of your fish well up, or he will 

 bore down and entanglement will ensue. 



