1 92 FLY-FISHING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING. 



and when the practice of netting one's own fish is 

 acquired we feel sure anglers generally will find it 

 much more advantageous and satisfactory. Nothing 

 is more common than for an awkward servant or 

 attendant to hit the quarry by poking at him with 

 the sharp rim of the net, instead of placing it under as 

 he is brought near, thus knocking the fish off the hook, 

 if not otherwise breaking the tackle. Who has not 

 some painful remembrance of some deplorable loss 

 of this kind ? For our own part we have had quite 

 sufficient lessons, not in trout alone, but in salmon 

 and pike-fishing, to cause us to refrain from trusting 

 our net to any individual not thoroughly acquainted 

 with the use and handling of it. 



Grayling especially require delicate handling when 

 about to be netted, for should the rod be unconsciously 

 elevated, so as to cause the weight of the fish to rest 

 upon the hook and tackle, the fish is in great danger 

 of being lost by the hook breaking away under the 

 strain. Fish should not be pulled even in part out of 

 the water whilst the net is placed under them, as this 

 always incurs danger of breakage, from the cause 

 stated. The tail end of the fish, particularly of a 

 large one, is to be inserted first in the net, except in 

 special cases, as when for instance, the quarry heads 

 close by the rodster, up or down stream, when the net 

 may be used as a receptacle for him to head into, 

 when within reach. 



The best times to fish, the seasonable flies and 

 other information for the fly-fisher, we give in the 

 Monthly Notes. We now purpose dealing more 



