4 1 8 LIGHTL Y-HO OKED FISH 



hook will fall away from the slight hold which it has 

 taken ; whereas, if the same steady strain is preserved, 

 it may, as I have not infrequently known, happen that 

 the hook may get a still better grip and get more 

 firmly fixed in the flesh in the efforts made by the fish 

 to get rid of it. Of course, such must depend entirely 

 on the position of the hook. There is ' many a slip 

 between lip and liberty ' on such occasions. 



When, on being struck, a fish darts away deep down 

 into the pool, it may be generally assumed that he is 

 well hooked, and if he makes a dash straight up or 

 down stream on a taut line, so much the better for his 

 captor ; but when a fish comes up to the top of the 

 water on being struck, the reverse is the case, and not 

 only is it probable that he will get away, but in any 

 case it will take very skilful handling to bring him to 

 gaff. 



I fix the length of an average salmon-rod at 1 6^ 

 feet, and if made of greenheart, the weight at about 

 2 lb. 6 oz. Of course the latter must depend on the 

 description of wood which is used in the manufacture. 

 Ash and hickory, being light woods, make the best 

 butts, that is to say, if a light rod is desired. I have 

 in my possession a 17 foot salmon-rod, one joint 

 spliced, which weighs only i lb. i-^ oz., made for loch- 

 fishing by a boatman in West Meath, and for use on a 

 still day, or for switching, it is one of the best rods I 

 ever killed a salmon on. I last year killed a fish on it^ 

 for a bet, in five minutes. A light rod on a still, calm 

 day will do its work even better than a heavy rod, and 

 afford ever so much more sport. 



As a rule, spliced rods are slightly heavier than 

 ferruled. I possess several three-jointed rods of green- 



