NECESSITY OF KEEPING LITTLE LINE IN WATER. 143 



stream than the worm, the stream still pressing on 

 the worm, and the line above presenting some resist- 

 ance to the free progress of the worm down stream, 

 it is brought nearer the surface. To avoid this, the 

 angler should keep his rod a little further down 

 stream than his worm, and should have no part of 

 his line in the water, but four or five feet of the very 

 finest gut, which should now and then be drawn 

 gently down stream, so as to keep as little line above 

 the worm as possible. It is by attending to this 

 that the angler can keep his worm near the bottom ; 

 but it must be done so gently that it will neither 

 pull the worm down stream nor nearer the surface. 

 If this be properly done the angler will catch a half 

 more trout than if 'he were keeping a large quantity 

 of line immersed in the water. For the length of 

 line, the angler will be guided entirely by circum- 

 stances ; but it will rarely be found necessary to use 

 one much longer than the rod. 



The first notice you get of a trout's having taken 

 your bait is in general a stoppage of the line. This, 

 however, may arise from the hook or line having 

 come in contact with some fixed object. You 

 should therefore lower the point of your rod down 

 stream till your line is straight, when you will at 

 once know whether or not there is a trout at it. 

 The proper time to strike depends upon whether 

 you are using a common bait-hook or the four-hook 

 tackle. If you are using the latter, strike down 

 stream as soon as you can get your line straight. 



