STRIKING. 411 



tear. Of course, if a man strikes too soon, be the principle what it may, 

 his chance would be at a very low premium indeed. 



Next comes a very pretty idea which " Ephemera " modestly declines 

 to account for. 



" I frequently strike," says he, " and hook fish without, as far as I can 

 conceive, any premeditation or calculation, but almost by instinct. 

 Something I cannot tell what tells me that a fish is ' at ' me, and 

 consequently I am promptly at him in the sly way he has come at me." 



I make a low bow to Ephemera who, indeed, would not ? but as to 

 " cannot tell what," I am strongly of the opinion, he had in mind " that 

 boil," which, breaking the surface yards from one's fly rarely escaped his 

 notice and gave him the hint. 



Some authors seem to consider that the most dangerous moment is in 

 striking. This is all very well ; but they go on to say that " it requires 

 much patience to use just force enough to bury the barb without tearing 

 the flesh or breaking the gut trace." What better evidence could 

 be offered of the incompleteness of the method originally in vogue ? The 

 old form of winch demanded far more caution in the Angler than those at 

 the hand of modern men. I also take exception to the statement, 

 "sometimes I am lucky sometimes very unlucky." In connection with 

 striking, there is very little room for luck and not as much for argument 

 as people have contrived to make out. Nor do I think it quite fair by 

 the fish for an Angler to fancy himself out of luck when his fly is only 

 partially taken ; there is a reason for the failure of its attempt to take 

 hold. A Salmon does not miss his aim. The fly from some cause 

 or other has probably made him shy ; his inclination has, however, 

 already been tested ; and, had the fly been of a different sort, or size, 

 or put in a different way, the fish might have taken it into his head, 

 figuratively speaking, to " gobble " it up, instead of " nibbling " at it. 

 How often, under favourable conditions of water, have we not felt that 

 " nip," and merely " rugged " the fish in consequence ! Is this, then, 

 bad luck or bad judgment ? I hesitate to enumerate those days " when 

 fish are shy," or to blame them for want of boldness, for when the 

 water has settled, I have often but not always found by subsequent 

 trial that the fly was too large or wrongly put. I do not overlook the 



