PSYCHOLOGICAL 195 



immediate drag, and probably precipitate retreat of the 

 enemy trout. 



If that is a true conclusion, it would follow that it is 

 undesirable to use gear of such exceptional power. It is 

 probable, moreover, that a line driven with such exceptional 

 force must be so propelled at the expense of a certain 

 degree of delicacy. I am sure that the sacrifice of delicacy 

 to extreme accuracy is unwise. I lately made the acquaint- 

 ance of an angler who with the wind could cast with excellent 

 accuracy and extreme delicacy. With the wind against 

 us, or in any way adverse, I found I could beat it or 

 cheat it far more successfully than he, but the extra cut 

 I put in the propulsion of the fly had its effect in a sacrifice 

 of delicacy, and on each occasion we fished together he, 

 by reason of his greater delicacy, was the more successful 

 by the end of the day. 



Again, I remember watching a young lady, quite a 

 novice, who was fishing one of the Aunt Sallies of the 

 Itchen with a light rod and light line, and an upstream air 

 rather than wind to help her. I had twice put down that 

 trout during the day, but in the quarter of an hour that 

 the young lady kept casting to the fish she rose him to her 

 fly no less than four times. Unfortunately she always 

 omitted to strike till it was too late, and the fly had been 

 rejected. But I have no doubt whatever that her success 

 in bringing up the fish was due to the extreme delicacy 

 with which her light line, aided by the favouring air, en- 

 abled her to let down a fairly accurate fly over the fish. 



Going back many years to my own early days on a chalk 

 stream before ever I became possessed of a split cane, to 

 say nothing of the miracles of Leonard, I remember that 

 I used to get as many rises to my fly as I do to-day, 

 but owing to nervous haste I left far too many flies in the 

 noses of indignant trout. 



