FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



of heavy line, the strain might prove too great for the casting line or 

 the hold of the hook. It is an immense advantage to have the use of a thin 

 line as strong as any other part of the tackle. 



It may seem impertinent to advise the angler to make sure that the 

 inner end of the line is securely fastened to the drum of the reel; but the 

 following incident may serve to show that such precaution is not alto- 

 gether superfluous. We were fishing — ^three of us — ^the Logen Elv, com- 

 monly called by English visitors the Sand river, because it flows into the 

 Sandsfjord beside the little town of Sand. It is a fine sweeping river, and 

 just above the village it tumbles over the Sandsfos, in surmounting which 

 shoals of salmon make a fine display in athletics. Below this foss stretches 

 a long streamy pool with a name pronounced Osen, which I fancy must be 

 written Aasen according to Norse orthography. It is a favourite haunt 

 of heavy fish and opens straight into the fjord, whither salmon not in- 

 frequently make their way when hooked. One of our party, of mature 

 age, but a neophyte in fishing, conceived a strong predilection for this 

 pool, by reason of it being better adapted for bait fishing than for the 

 fly, wherefore he was absolved from the irksome necessity of casting. 

 When Aasen came in this gentleman's beat, he would spend long hours 

 dangling a prawn out of a boat, and certainly, after he had acquired 

 some little experience in handling a fish, he was not wont to dangle it in 

 vain. 



One evening, however, he returned sadly crestfallen. He had hooked a 

 very large salmon in Aasen which made tracks straight for the salt 

 water. Fast as they could follow in the boat, the fish went faster; by the 

 time they were out upon the open fjord there remained but a few turns 

 of backing on the drum of the reel. Even these were soon torn away, and 

 then — ^the drama closed in catastrophe. The line had not been knotted 

 to the drum; the angler was left with an empty reel in his hand and the 

 salmon went free — ^if free it could be deemed, with a cruel prawn tackle 

 in its jaws and 200 yards of line towing behind. 



Mention of Aasen brings to mind another contretemps of which it was 

 the scene. In this case the angler was not to blame for what was sheer 

 misadventure. He had hooked a large fish in Aasen which sailed steadily 

 and stiffly out into the fjord. Arriving there, it appeared to lie down and 

 sulk; no amount of pressure from any direction availed to budge it. After 

 prolonged attempts without any result, it was decided that either the fish 

 must be had out somehow or the tackle sacrificed. Bidding the boatman 

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