242 SALMON AND TROUT. 
can be avoided. To keep a tight line from first to last is a 
golden rule that should be always borne in mind by every 
salmon fisherman when playing his fish. He should hold the 
point of his rod well up, and keep it opposite to him if he can. 
Should the fish take a run, ending with a leap in the air, he. 
must instantly lower the point of his rod, which ought to defeat 
this effort to rid himself of the fly—the object doubtless 
intended. 
In lowering the point of the rod, a slack line must neces- 
sarily be given ; but it is a case of kill or cure: if he is well 
hooked, he will be brought to bank ; if lightly hooked, the 
chances are against it. It is the ‘glorious uncertainty’ that 
adds to the pleasure and excitement of the sport. If it was a 
certainty, there would be none. 
In playing a salmon, the amount of strain necessary to be 
put on the line must be left to the judgment of the angler, and 
should be proportionate to the strength of his tackle. It is not 
generally known what amount of strain a rod can put on. I 
may therefore mention that, in trying the experiment with a 
very powerful rod, all I could do was to pull four pounds on 
my steelyard, which, at first sight, seems very little ; and, if a 
salmon remained stationary when being played, and the angler 
were merely pulling dead against him, with a fairly strong 
casting line, I do not think he could break it, do what he could, 
unless he gave it a sudden jerk ; but, the moment the salmon 
began to move and pull as well as the angler, a double strain 
would be put on the line, and it would probably break, unless 
of unusual strength. 
The foregoing may be of some use asa guide to the amount 
of strain to be used in playing a fish. If skilfully handled, he 
will generally be brought to the gaff in from five minutes to 
half an hour from the time he is hooked. It is not often he 
will take longer to kill, unless he is hooked foul, when he may 
keep on for hours. I myself hooked a salmon on the Kirkcud- 
brightshire Dee about ten o’clock one morning, below the weir 
at Tongueland, and he kept me tle whole day playing him in 
