THE AMEEICAIT TROUT. 33 



or even the line may be lost, but you will save your rod, 

 while otherwise you would probably lose both. 



In landing a fish, wait till he is pretty well exhausted, 

 bring his mouth above water and keep it there till he is 

 drawn into the net, and warn your assistant to remove 

 the net at once if he gets his head down. By diving 

 after him with the net, the assistant would certainly not 

 catch the fish and might tangle one of your other fiies. 

 The fish should be led into the net, and the latter kept 

 as still as possible ; he knows as well as you do what it is 

 for, and if his attention is drawn to it, will dart oft' as 

 madly as ever. 



There are occasions and situations where a fly cannot 

 be used, and a minnow — called down East, from the Indian 

 name mummychog, a mummy — cannot be obtaiued. In 

 such cases it becomes necessary to fall back upon first 

 principles. A grasshopper, twitched along the surface of 

 the water in a way called skittering, is an efi'ective bait, 

 although an imitation grasshopper, as well as an imita- 

 tion minnow, does not answer and will not deceive trout. 

 Salmon and trout roe are used, and it is said, contrary to 

 the writer's experience, with great success. Gentles, 

 which are grubs hatched in meat that has been fiy- 

 blown, are a favorite bait in Europe ; but, in spite of 

 their beautiful name, are horrible objects and not in 

 vogue with us. Caddies, or the larvae of the Phry- 

 gmvidoe in their cases, are also in use there, but not 

 here. We must, therefore, have recourse to the angle- 

 worm. 



The finest worms are to be found in tanyards ; they 

 should be placed on the top of damp moss, left for a 



2* 



