STRATEGY 157 



not have hooked him you are in no position to strike 

 with your rod any higher than fifty degrees. The 

 young angler's temptation is to hurriedly make another 

 cast directly at the fish returning to his lair. Not us. 

 We will make another cast down stream and give him a 

 chance to get back to his hole. Now we'll try again. 

 He is suspicious and merely chases the fly so we will 

 offer him a change of diet by hooking on a new fly 

 and a spinner. I'll put this little gold one on. Fool- 

 ish fishes, like foolish folks, are attracted by the glitter 

 of gold and for it give up their liberty and even their 

 lives. But what can it give them that compares with 

 freedom and the joys of going a-fishing! Now, Mr. 

 Bass, try that! Ho! Ho! He merely chases it so 

 we will follow my friend Feet's advice. He says if he 

 rises a fish and fails to hook him on a wet fly he switches 

 to a floater, or vice versa, and always gets another rise. 

 Now, floater; do your duty. There! I have him 

 hooked. He's a nice one, too. Now observe how I 

 play him. Note that I keep the tip up just enough to 

 keep a good bend in the rod. See, I strip in what 

 slack he gives me and pay it out again slowly when he 

 appears to be pulling too hard for the probable strength 

 of my leader. Now he leaps but the spring of the rod 

 keeps the line taut although I watch my knitting and 

 see that he does not fall on the stretched leader. If he 

 had I would have lowered the rod tip and given him 

 some slack. He's getting tired and I slowly and firmly 

 work him up stream of me. Still keeping a good curve 

 in the rod I reel in the slack line. Then I pinch the 



