STRIKING. 415 



have we from that man who can say : " I have tried Kelson's plan, it's 

 all humbug and I'll prove it." Anglers must not suffer from off-hand 

 decisions, any more than from belief in the old fetish, which, despite 

 the losses and failures of the vast majority, a few of the surviving ancients 

 keep alive. It is a pity that all the facts concerning the failures and suc- 

 cesses of each side are not honestly tabled ; and that it is not satisfactorily 

 settled what constitutes a strike and what does not. Obviously in such a 

 matter as this, sound practical knowledge is worth propagation. 



Truth, be it said, is established not so much by what men say as by 

 what they prove ; but still, I should like to call attention to an early ex- 

 perience of my own in view of briefly pointing out to novices the mistaken 

 zeal of devotees to the old system and showing the real value of the new. 



In the autumn 1882, when my Patent Lever Winch was first tried, I 

 managed to get with it no fewer than ninety-one Salmon without a single 

 one having its flesh torn at the hold. 



Do not such results as these serve to prove that with this winch the 

 tear does not take place at the moment of striking, and, provided subse- 

 quent operations are decently performed, that it never occurs at all ? 

 However, by adopting the method made easy by this winch, I have 

 reduced in a remarkable degree the proportion of fish that used to escape 

 my " iron " gripe. 



At this point I should like to ask one question : Has it not happened 

 to you and to your friend, in point of fact to all who traipse up and down 

 a Salmon river, to be startled by that well-known " tug" when least ex- 

 pected, when all hope, as it were, had been dead within you? In 

 one flash, while the thoughts are wandering, you saw, or rather felt, 

 that it was too late to strike and likewise knew that you had missed 

 a chance ! What do you say to that ! But never mind, let it pass. We 

 all know that what is past help is past grieving for. 



By this time the reader will have formed a pretty true estimate of my 

 ideas, all of which, I need hardly say, are based on similar experiences to 

 those just recorded. They shall be carefully explained after bringing 

 forward one matter which, being the worst enemy to our cause, must not 

 be overlooked. 



I admit to the full that, where there is no principle of personal 



