168 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



or the other, in less than a second ; but 

 the nibble may go on for four or five 

 seconds, and each of these is as a thrilling 

 minute. Is the trout a fingerling or a 

 five-pounder ? When, O when, should 

 we strike ? I know not ; nobody knows ! 

 Occasionally the trout is only chivying 

 the worm, which is not within his lips 

 for more than a small fraction of a 

 second at a time ; in that case the success 

 or the failure of the strike is accidental. 

 Occasionally the worm has been seized ; 

 in that case the strike, though again on 

 chance, will, if in time, be effective. The 

 great question is that of timing, and it is 

 not soluble on any scientific principle. 

 In fly-fishing you strike whenever you 

 see or feel a rise ; in worm-fishing your 

 mind is rent in a conflict between anxiety 

 not to be too quick and dread lest you 

 should be too cautious. That is to say, 

 the inhibitory nerves and the other set, 

 the name of which I forget, are in full 

 blast at the same time. This is moral 

 and intellectual discipline of a beneficent 



