30 FISHING GOSSIP. 



water will be found not to be great. The rate at 

 which the angler propels his craft should not be fast 

 nor yet too slow. There is a happy mean which 

 keeps the bait in its proper relation to the bottom, 

 and which can only be learned by experience. 



But ere theory has concluded its precepts, prac- 

 tice has stepped in to teach us something better. 



The reel sounds the alarm ; the rod " chucks" con- 

 vulsively from butt to point ; and before the oars can 

 well be drawn in, old ferox has shot bolt-upright out 

 of the water at fifty yards' distance, shaking his open 

 jaws violently as if threatening his antagonist, but in 

 reality struggling to disgorge bait and hook; and I 

 am sorry to say for the amusement of the reader, has 

 succeeded in his dodge and is gone. The line lies 

 listlessly on the wave, the rod has recovered its 

 wonted composure, the reel has ceased its enlivening 

 click, and nought is heard save that heavy sigh with 

 which the young angler meets the loss of his first 

 chance. 



But let him cheer up ; he may have better luck 

 next time. Life has many disappointments, and 

 angling has its share. In fact, when, in either fly- 

 fishing or trolling, a large fish thus works on the sur- 

 face immediately he is struck, it is an inauspicious 

 symptom, and there is a strong probability of his 

 being imperfectly hooked. The line, however, must 

 now be reeled in, and the bait, which will be gener- 



