A CANADIAN RIVER 137 



arrangement was a standing invitation to a 

 hooked fish to cut himself free. The won- 

 der was, not that one lost fish, but that fish 

 were ever landed amid such a maze of en- 

 tanglements. One fish out of " Jack the 

 Sailor " was to my mind worth three caught 

 in any other pool. I used often, when going 

 down the river late in the evening, to stop 

 for a couple of casts in " Jack," although I 

 knew that another canoe must have been 

 there not long before, and I more than once 

 succeeded in stealing a fish out of it just 

 as it was becoming dark. 



Bitter experience had taught me that 

 there was one way, and one way only, to 

 avoid disaster. If you allowed your fish to 

 explore the fastnesses of " Jack the Sailor " 

 you would most certainly lose him, and prob- 

 ably your tackle also. The only chance was 

 to prevent such exploration at any cost, to 

 get him tight by the head, and to hang hard 

 on to him, even at the risk of a break. With 

 a stiff rod and sound tackle you can put a 

 terrific strain on a firmly hooked salmon. 



