The Great Unlanded 121 



may give the greatest pleasure. Every 

 incident in connection with the stalking, 

 hooking, and playing of a big fish vi^hich is 

 not landed will be remembered and pondered 

 over months, even seasons, afterwards with 

 something like relish. The histories of your 

 captures are comparatively soon blurred over 

 and forgotten. Just as the most beautiful 

 trout that Kennet or Wye ever yielded soon 

 loses its perfect colour and form when taken 

 from its element, so does the memory of these 

 victories, after the first flush, often grow dim 

 and cold. 



Some of the fish which are hooked and lost 

 are never seen, or seen in the most indistinct 

 manner. Their exact sizes remain a mystery, 

 never to be cleared up, and mystery has a 

 great fascination for the angler. Dark, deep 

 holes amongst the gnarled roots of immemorial 

 willows attract him vastly. If he goes to 

 such places between the lights and suddenlv 

 sees a may-fly sucked under and a great tell- 

 tale ring in its place, which expands till it 

 faints away into the bosom of the stream, his 



