A Sportsman at Large 275 



to an ounce I am figuring that these two resplendent fishes 

 were twins ! 



For about three weeks our sport continued good. The 

 larger fish were the first to run, they being followed by others 

 of lesser dimensions, and then came the grilse, the majority 

 of which, I was sorry to observe, had their silvery scales 

 badly scarred by the meshes of the salmon-nets, which had 

 been established in far too many positions in the fjord. 

 During one of my day's fishing, having plied the fly in vain, 

 I thought I would give a brown phantom minnow a chance, 

 but spun the whole of the A dsen Pool without being rewarded 

 by a touch ; so I told Tolle to bring the scow about and row 

 back to the landing strand. I wound up my line and placed 

 it at the stern of the boat. But somehow the trace and 

 minnow, unobserved by myself, got loose, so that the lure 

 was skittering along the surface about two yards astern. 

 Suddenly there was a great boil and a " splosh," as a salmon 

 had the impertinence and audacity to make a dash at the 

 phantom ; though it failed to lay hold. I had the presence 

 of mind to tilt the top of my rod over and so to sink the 

 spinner, when immediately the fish came again and was 

 firmly attached. It proved to be a nice fresh-run customer 

 of twenty-two pounds. I am not aware whether any of my 

 brothers of the angle have had a similar experience, but such 

 a method of gathering salmon is surely a novelty ! 



When the raging Foss Pool was just a bit above its normal 

 level there was only one way in which I could hope to get 

 a salmon, and that was by Tolle rowing swiftly across one of 

 the currents, and holding the scow in mid-stream. He told 

 me that he could keep the boat in position for seven minutes, 

 and seven minutes only fish or no fish ; and that then he would 

 have to wrench her back to the landing plateau. 



' What would happen if you stayed any longer ? " I asked. 



" Boat carried deun steum, yeu tink, and then yeu dreun ! " 



' Thank you very much, and so forth," I murmured ; " but 

 where do you come in, Tolle ? " 



" I not come in at all I dreun teu ! " 



This was a lively look-out ! But having great confidence 

 in my boatman, I submitted myself to his care, and was soon 



18* 



