196 A SCOTTISH FLY-FISHER 



While neither is strictly accurate, the truth inclines, I 

 think, to Mr. Hodgson's side. 



When the wet-fly fisher has seen the rise, the trout 

 has either secured the fly or missed it. He should, 

 therefore, strike at once, and in the direction in which 

 his rod is moving The trout detects the unreality 

 of the lure as soon as it is within his lips, and if the 

 angler delay until the pull is felt, he may delay too 

 long. While the line is slack he cannot tell with cer- 

 tainty whether the fly has been seized or not, and the 

 sooner he ascertains the fact the better. Strike with 

 what celerity he may, however, many of the fish he 

 raises will escape him unless he be as phenomenally 

 skilful as the Irish correspondent of The Fishing 

 Gazette, who kills every fish he sees rising and many 

 of those he only rises (sic) to himself What amazing 

 sport would have been mine had I brought to basket 

 all the trout I have seen break the surface of the water 

 during a long day's fishing on some well-stocked High- 

 land loch ! The angler need not strike violently, though 

 he may, perhaps, employ a little more force with small 

 fish than with large ; a heavy fish will hook himself by 

 his own weight. Whether he strike from the elbow or 

 from the wrist seems a matter of little moment, but, if 

 his line be of convenient length, the action of the latter 



