348 Fly^rods and fly-tackle. 



during which 'the fly was allowed to remain on the wa- 

 ter, by accelerating the motion of the rod when moving 

 it, and by abridging the length of the cast. 



At last I saw a gleam of gold down in the depths, and 

 a trout appeared wagging his way upward towards my 

 fly, with the deliberation characteristic of trout of size 

 in those waters. As he approached the surface, his vivid 

 colors proclaimed his sex through the crystal water, and 

 I was enabled to gauge his weight at about five pounds. 

 Clearly he was a nice fish, and I assured myself of from 

 twenty minutes to half an hour of such sport as would 

 fully make good the labors and disappointments of the 

 day. 



But the time for the back cast had come, and he had 

 not reached the fly. What was to be done ? If it were 

 taken from the water, and he turned to go back after 

 seeing me, as he must do, and especially after seeing the 

 motion incident to the back cast, there would not be one 

 chance in ten of coaxing him up again. So, hoping that 

 he would take it before the power to strike should be 

 utterly gone, I reduced the motion of the fly to the mini- 

 mum, and awaited the event. 



At last he reached it, and the fly vanished. Then I 

 struck with the vigor rendered necessary by the disad- 

 vantage that I was under, and stimulated by the con- 

 sciousness that I had committed a stupid blunder. He 

 turned downward, the bamboo doubled up, and the reel 

 sang. In a moment the sound ceased, the rod straight- 

 ened itself, the fly came back to me empty handed, and 

 he was gone. 



No offer could have been fairer, and I could not for a 

 moment blind myself to the fact that the loss was clearly 

 my own fault. So I fell to abusing myself in no meas- 



