FLY FISHING. 41 



mony with such trifles. Should the fish miss your fly 

 altogether, give him another chance, and a third if that 

 will not do; a touch of your barb, however, will 

 sharpen his wits, so as to prevent him from again ris- 

 ing. He prefers flies without stings. When you hook 

 a trout, if you can, turn his head with the stream, and 

 take him rapidly down. Thus you will exhaust him in 

 the shortest time, whereas, by hauling against the cur- 

 rent, you allow him to swim freely in his natural direc- 

 tion, and also exert three times more strength upon your 

 tackle than is really needful. A good-sized fish, han- 

 dled in this foolish manner, can never be taken ; it is 

 impossible to tire him out, and the strongest line will 

 give way to his resistance. We have observed, that 

 some trout, when they find themselves hooked, push 

 towards the bottom, and attempt to cut or perplex the 

 tackle among stones or weeds. To prevent this, keep 

 a tight high line, and allow none of it, if possible, to 

 the fish. When your victim is exhausted, draw him 

 gently ashore, upon the nearest channel, or most level 

 part of the margin. He will come in sideways, and 

 generally lie motionless for a few seconds, during which 

 time you will be able to run forward and seize him. 

 Beware of catching hold of your line, until he is pro- 

 perly banked. Many a famous trout have we seen 

 lost by this inadvertence on the part of anglers, who 

 think so to save time and labour. One should remem- 

 ber, how the spring of the rod is thus removed, and 

 how there remains no proper curb to the strength of 

 the fish, which easily breaks a single gut, or tears itself 

 from a sharp hook, and wishes the astonished angler 

 better sport farther on. 



In playing a large fish, especially if it be a salmon, 

 always keep opposite the head, and never allow your 

 line to slacken for an instant j if you do, be not sur- 



