THE SALMON ANGLER'S OUTFIT 



increasing tlie diameter of the side-plates, sliortening ttie axle to bring 

 them nearer together, and finally by abolishing the free lever and attach- 

 ing the handle to one of the plates, which is made to revolve. A few sub- 

 sidiary improvements have since been devised without interfering with 

 simplicity of action, the most meritorious being the insertion of a screw 

 check on the fixed plate, whereby the action can be rendered stiffer or 

 easier at pleasure. Some makers cause the plate to revolve on ball- 

 bearings, but for my part I can perceive no advantage in this refinement, 

 having fished pretty constantly for three-and-forty years with one simple 

 check reel purchased from a maker now no more, the late Mr Paton of 

 Perth. In choosing an instrument which may be expected to last, like this 

 one, for half a century, the prime cost becomes of secondary importance; 

 so, if the angler consults his own comfort in fishing, he will not grudge 

 a little extra expense in purchasing a reel made of alumin — an alloy of 

 aluminium — ^which is considerably lighter than brass or gun-metal. 

 Let no one of common prudence be seduced into buying a cheap reel, 

 which is pretty sure to betray him in the heat of a contest. And when he 

 has got the article, let him bestow a little care in keeping it clean and 

 properly oiled. 



I was a spectator one summer morning of a bitter tragedy. We were 

 sitting — a friend and myself — in the verandah of a Norwegian fishing 

 lodge. We had been fishing our respective beats since 6 a.m.; it was now 

 10 o'clock, the hoiu* when the sun, escaping from behind the Romsdal- 

 horn, flares right down the river till he passes behind the jagged crests 

 of the Troldtinder about 4 p.m. Angling is suspended in the presence 

 of Phoebus, the off-time being devoted to baths, breakfast, siesta and a 

 late luncheon, until fishing is resumed at 4 o'clock and continued till 

 10 p.m., which brings one to the supper table. On this particular morn- 

 ing the third member of our party, a lady, having got astir not quite so 

 early as ourselves, had remained out a little longer. We could see her 

 rod flashing rhythmically in the sun as she fished a pool near the house 

 from a boat, but the boat and its occupants were hidden from our view 

 by the river bank. Suddenly the rod assumed the form of an arc. ** By 

 Jove ! she's in a fish ! " quoth the lady's spouse, and away we trotted across 

 the intervening patch of meadow to witness the sport. By the time we 

 arrived on the scene it was in process of being transferred to another 

 pool; for the salmon, a very heavy one ("Megget stor lax," as old 

 Tostern afterwards observed with a mournful shake of his head) was 

 £ 25 



