1 8 Wet-Fly Fishing 



Oh the delights of stalking such a fish 

 at nineteen, ay, or at sixty-nine : if you 

 can. 



And now the line is sent, with a side 

 switch, right under the birch tree once 

 more. There is no wind now, and the fly 

 alights very softly. Then there is a wave, 

 and the line tightens. In that same second, 

 a gentle but decided turn of the wrist has 

 driven the steel home. The rod is held 

 sideways, near to, and parallel with, the 

 water, not up; else the words of Burns 

 would be only too true of that trout 



"And safe beneath the shady thorn, defies the angler's art. 1 * 



for the branches of the birch hang low, and 

 liftingi the rod up would be a dangerous 

 game to play at present. 



Finding himself collared, he dashes out, 

 and faces ^the foaming waters of the linn, 

 springing hither and thither in his efforts 

 to shake' himself free ; but, at last, gasping 

 and beaten, he finds himself lying on a 

 spit of sand, a lovely landing-place, and 

 permits me to knock him on the head. 

 He weighs If lb., a fine trout, indeed, for 

 such a hill-burn as this. 



To give point to my meaning, let me 

 suppose another case. The same pool, the 



