STREAM-FISHING 91 



to breathe asfain. His thouorhts will be far from cheer- 

 ful as, a yawning gulf below him, he braces himself 

 against the current and, with the help of his landing- 

 net or the butt of his rod, feels his way foot by foot 

 towards a place of safety. Those who have once oc- 

 cupied the alarming position are unlikely ever to forget 

 the trepidation in which they contemplated the prospect 

 before them. 



When, in down-stream fishing, the angler hooks a 

 fish of any size, he is compelled to get below it and 

 play it with the assistance of the stream, thus not only 

 sacrificinor time and adding- to the chances of the trout's 

 escape, but needlessly disturbing the water on which he 

 has yet to cast a fly. How much simpler and more 

 favourable his position if he is already below his quarry 

 when it takes the lure. 



But how far the disturbance of the water affects the 

 interests of the angler is uncertain. It is likely enough 

 that a trout, as he darts hither and thither in his frenzied 

 efforts to regain his freedom, raises a commotion among 

 the others in his neighbourhood ; that his excitement is 

 "catching" need not occasion us surprise. It is, how- 

 ever, the teaching of experience that the contagion is 

 frequently escaped. It is not uncommon to secure a 

 second fish while the first is still in play, and we know 



