2o6 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



To my mind there is an absence of sport in this hand- 

 playing, because the fish never seems to realize that 

 it is in danger, and more often than not can be 

 towed up or down to the net and lifted out without 

 a kick. After playing a fish, and especially if the trout 

 has gone to weed, it is well to examine and test the 

 strength of the gut in any places where it has the 

 appearance of being frayed. 



It is probably the jarring of the reel or its click 



on the ratchet-wheel that terri- 

 Walking a hooked ^^^ ^ f^^^ ^j^jl^ j^ j^ ^. 



fish up or down- , i a • r 



stream played. A curious outcome of 



this is that, in awkward places 

 or in very heavy water where it is impossible to reel 

 a hooked fish up, it is often quite easy to walk up- 

 stream and tow the fish after you. This is a principle 

 which may be advantageously applied to many kinds 

 of fish and under ever-varying conditions. I have 

 tried it successfully with salmon and sea-trout as well 

 as the ordinary Salmo fario, and I have almost in- 

 variably found it successful. In one instance, on the 

 Spean, I worked a 14-lb. salmon up and away from 

 a rough weir, where if the fish had once got into the 

 pool below I could not have followed it, and it would 

 have been inevitably lost. 



In any awkward position, such as above a bridge 



or hatch where trout generally 

 Slacking in awkward ^^^^ ^ ^^-^^ downstream, the 

 places. ,. r , , . 1 



policy of slacking the moment 



they are hooked is strongly advised. A hooked fish 



