138 ANGLING. 



the hook with their mouths shut, or roll over, or smack 

 at the fly with their tails. These fish do not mean taking ; 

 they rise for froliesomeness, or from some other reason, 

 but they will not take ; and yet it frequently happens that 

 if you strike at such fish the hook comes over or against 

 some part of the head, body, or fins, and hooks them foul, 

 and you get the best runs and most obstinate fights out 

 of foul-hooked fish, though I would only whisper the fact; 

 and these fish you certainly would not hook at all if you 

 didn't strike or waited till you felt them, and it is quite 

 certain that the number of fish is much greater which you 

 hook in this way than of those which take the fly after 

 missing it if you don't strike. On the whole, therefore, 

 in the long run, the angler will find that it pays better to 

 strike than not to. As to the theory about pulling 

 the fly away from a fish before he can take it, or has time 

 to do so, that is only possible when you are standing on 

 a high bank, or rock, or bridge, and see the fish coming 

 from the bottom, at such times you are very apt to do it ; 

 but as for doing so when you see the rise or break from 

 the level, it is all nonsense. The fish has the fly by that 

 time (bar bungles, of which, as I have said, there are but 

 few) if he means to have it. 



If fish are rising very shyly, fish slow, and sink the 

 fly many a fish will take a foot under water who 

 will only make a boil at a fly on the surface. If the 

 water is very clear and fine, plenty of single gut of 

 sea-trout size with small flies may answer. In trying 

 a shy fish, go slowly over him ; go quickly ; go with 

 big violent jerks ; go with very slight ones some like 

 a steady draw without any, and Mr. Colquhoun recom- 

 mends simply winding up the line over the throw as a last 

 expedient. All these and any other plans you can think 



