RODS FOR VARIOUS KINDS OF FISHING 413 



into the wind, it could never come straight back 

 without fouhng. When practising, as I have de- 

 scribed, it is a good plan to count i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 between 

 the time the line is thrown back and returned forward. 

 If the motion is perfectly timed, and the rod is brought 

 forward, by means of the wrist only, to within a few 

 inches of where the right shoulder would be if it had 

 not been turned back so as to allow of the caster 

 watching the line, the line will come smoothly forward 

 without a hitch. The whole secret of casting is in the 

 time which is allowed for the line to extend itself 



Rods must, of course, vary according to the kind of 

 fishing for which they may be required. Rods for 

 loch-fishing from a boat need not be more than fifteen 

 feet in length, but twelve feet is a good length ; every- 

 thing, however, depends upon the strength of the butt 

 and the middle joint. Loch fish have so much room 

 to fight and rush about in when hooked, that they are 

 apt, if game, and of any size, to offer very considerable 

 resistance. It is by no means the largest fish which 

 fight the hardest, and the best fighting salmon I have 

 ever had to deal with have been those which were 

 from twelve to sixteen pounders, or grilse of from 

 eight to ten pounds. No fish give more sport than a 

 peal or grilse on a light rod, for they plunge and 

 leap until they are quite exhausted. About the best, 

 certainly one of the very best runs I ever had, was 

 with a sixteen-pounder, and it was without exception 

 the very broadest fish for its length I ever killed. It 

 first ran me straight up-stream for two hundred yards, 

 and then back again to where I hooked it. This fish 

 was one of three fish which were hooked in the same 

 pool under somewhat peculiar circumstances. It was 



