24: EFFECTS OF DISTURBED WATER. 



his tail. His struggles are at any rate extraor- 

 dinary, and think you not instinct tells other fish, 

 perhaps shoal-companions, that there is something 

 wrong ? Surely they see and hear not usual 

 sights and sounds, but somewhat alarming ones, 

 because they are not customary. May we not 

 infer that they dread an enemy at hand that 

 they see a fellow-being in danger, and are cowed 

 into skulking for safety, at least for a time ? All 

 anglers will acknowledge something like this ; but 

 then, some of them argue that the effects of the 

 disturbance are only temporary, and not so last- 

 ing as those which arise from the fish seeing you, 

 as you fish a stream upwards. You can avoid 

 their seeing you, but you cannot, unless you 

 whip a fish out of the water the instant he is 

 hooked, prevent the more or less disturbance he 

 will cause according to his strength and unflinch- 

 ing struggles, his weakness or his want of game. 

 It is argued you can remedy it, by not fishing for 

 some time after you have been playing a fish, or 

 by removing to some other spot, and coming back 

 again in due time to the place you had disturbed. 

 This plan will cause you to lose time at all events, 

 and, may be, the very nick o.f it during which 

 fish are rising freely. I have always succeeded 

 best by fishing a stream from tail to head. Ex- 

 cellent anglers have told me they did best by 

 doing the contrary. I dispute no man's word, 



