252 SALMON AND TROUT. 
with a friend. We used to meet at lunch to compare notes. 
One day when we met as usual, my friend produced five splen- 
did new run fish, one of them over 20 lbs., and J had nothing 
to show. I could see that he had no pity for me, and that he 
was highly pleased with himself, and although I pretended that 
I rejoiced with him, I was in reality not at all happy and felt 
very small. This was bad enough, but when, on our separating 
to resume our sport after lunch, he said to me, ‘ Well, as you 
are not getting any sport perhaps you would like to read the 
newspaper (handing me one), instead of fishing this afternoon,’ 
it was almost more than I could stand. However, I declined 
with thanks and said nothing more, but I hated him for half 
an hour most cordially, and vowed I would pay him out some 
day, and shortly afterwards I had an opportunity of doing so, 
for I produced eight spring fish one day at lunch time, my 
friend having only landed a kelt ; but knowing what his feelings 
must be, I did not chaff him or offer him a newspaper to read. 
May my forbearance be chronicled by the recording angel ! 
That day I killed eleven fish, averaging 10 lbs., the best day I 
ever had spring fishing. 
I have seen many strange incidents during my salmon-fishing 
experience, but the cleverest thing I ever saw done was by the 
above-mentioned friend. He was fishing a pool in the Blackwater, 
co. Cork, a short distance above me. All of a sudden I heard 
shouting, and when I went to see what was the matter, I found 
that after a long play he had been broken by a big salmon, who 
took away his fly and about forty yards of his reel line. He 
had put on another casting line and fly and was fishing the 
same pool down again when he noticed a fish rising two or 
three times in avery eccentric manner, and the idea struck him 
that it was the same fish that had broken him trying to get rid 
of the fly and line. He was a man of great resource and never 
at a loss what to do in any case of emergency, so he took off 
his fly, put on a triangle weighted with a good bit of lead, and 
casting this over the stream below where he saw the fish rise, 
and dragging it across, in a little time he succeeded in recover- 
