86 MINOR TACTICS OF THE CHALK STREAM 



and his first fish of the day, after a dumbfounded 

 second's pause, forged upstream with a rush, 

 tearing hne from the protesting reel. He was not, 

 however, allowed to reach his holt among the 

 weeds, but was turned, and netted out thirty yards 

 or so downstream, after a strenuous resistance. 

 The hook was on the extreme edge of his upper lip, 

 but, fortunately, had taken a beautifully firm hold. 

 The spring-balance recorded one pound fifteen 

 ounces — rather a disappointment, for his hogback 

 and splendour of general condition suggested that 

 he might, though a short sixteen inches, have 

 topped two pounds. 



A moment sufficed to knot on a fresh fly, and 

 the very first cast into the glass edge, to a glide 

 where a dimple betrayed a trout, produced another 

 rise ; and again the offer was accepted, and an 

 excellent fight put up. When eventually netted 

 out, the fish proved to be one pound nine ounces, 

 and even handsomer and finer in condition 

 than number one. He was hooked exactly in 

 the same way. There was one more rise 

 spotted, the fish risen, touched, and seen in the 

 clearness of the glass edge to flash some yards 

 upstream under the far bank. Then the sun 

 went in for a spell, and all was over for the 

 day. The other angler had a brace — two pounds 

 ten ounces and one pound odd — caught in the 

 same way by floating the Red Quill in the glass 

 edge. 



