ON RAPID STREAMS. 197 



gone as far as you are able or willing to spin him, 

 reverse very rapidly the direction of the move- 

 ment of your rod ; your minnow in course 

 suddenly turns round and runs up stream as 

 hard as he can go. Now, it often happens just at 

 the moment when you reverse your rod's direction 

 and make the minnow dart up stream, that a 

 trout has been watching the minnow, but has 

 not had resolution enough to run at him ; the 

 sudden dart the minnow has finally made has 

 settled the question, and fearful that he will lose his 

 prey, he makes a dart and gets the hooks into him. 

 In spinning the minnow/ always keep the line 

 in the left hand, and should you, at any time, see 

 a trout swimming on behind the bait as though 

 he could not quite make up his mind to go in at 

 it boldly, just give a good jerk on the line, so that 

 the minnow will dart suddenly and with increased 

 velocity, and you will find that the trout will rush 

 into him greedily. Again, if in spinning, your rod 

 is brought to, by a tree or bush, so that you can 

 no further move it in the direction requisite to con- 

 tinue the spinning as before of the minnow, you 

 may yet make him continue to spin correctly by 

 pulling on the line with the left hand. Always 

 keep this left hand on the alert, and be ready to 

 use it promptly. You will pick up a lot of trout 

 by the dextrous working of the minnow, even 

 when your rod cannot be moved. If you see a fish 

 following your minnow, you must work him along 

 briskly, in whatever way you can most advan- 

 tageously do so, just as if he were trying to run 



