104 ON TROUTING WITH THE FLY. 



fisher. A trout first takes a fly, and then makes 

 the motion which anglers term a rise, and which 

 consists of their turning to go down ; the angler 

 therefore does- not see the least break on the surface 

 until the trout has either seized or missed the fly, 

 so that he has already lost so much time, and should 

 strike immediately. 



Although it is impossible to strike too soon, it is 

 quite possible to strike too hard. Some anglers 

 strike with such force as to pull the trout out of the 

 water, and throw it a considerable distance behind 

 them. Now this is much too hard, and very apt 

 with a small hook to tear it away from its hold, 

 should it have any. Striking should be done by a 

 slight but quick motion of the wrist, not by any 

 motion of the arm. The angler should also take 

 care to strike in the same direction as his rod is 

 moving in at the time, for if he raises his rod, or 

 otherwise alters its direction, the effect will not be 

 nearly so immediate, and a moment is of the utmost 

 importance in this matter. 



One advantage of striking is, that should the 

 trout miss the fly it rises at, the angler has still a 

 chance of coming across it with some of the remain- 

 ing ones. In a day's fishing we have frequently 

 killed half-a-dozen trout hooked by the sides and 

 other parts. And a trout hooked in this way always 

 runs twice as hard as one hooked in the mouth. 

 "When hooked in the mouth, the strain that is kept 

 on it prevents it from moving its gills, and suflb- 



