Chapt. ii. Playing a fish. 13 



do stand it, it is neverthless placing the rod at an angle 

 at which, in the event of a heavy plunge, it is at the 

 greatest disadvantage at which you can possibly place it, 

 and rods sometimes refuse to stand it any longer. I do 

 not like raising a rod above the angle of 135° from the 

 water if I can help it, and if there is any real tugging 

 going on 45° or 50° degrees is about the angle I prefer. 

 If you get fast in a rock or stone, and all humouring 

 having proved futile, you are compelled to free yourself 

 by intentionally and deliberately breaking your tackle by 

 a dead pull, you naturally get your rod straight into the 

 line of tension, wind up your tackle to the shortest, and 

 then steadily pull straight till something breaks ; for your 

 anxiety is that it shall break as near the hook as pos- 

 sible. It is obvious that in this position no strain at all 

 is placed on the rod, it is all born by the line coming 

 straight through the rings, and the nearer the rod is to 

 this position, or in other words, the less the angle made 

 by it with the water, the less the strain on it. But you 

 must have more or less of strain on the rod or you fail 

 to gain the great advantage of its spring in equalizing 

 the pressure on the fish, equalizing the resistance offered 

 to the fish during his sudden plunges, which, if they 

 were not eased off by the give and take spring of the 

 rod, would probably break the tackle or the hookhold. 

 Forty-five or fifty degrees therefore represent in my hum- 

 ble opinion about the angle at which the rod will bear 

 most strain, and still keep a sufficiency of spring on the 

 fish, so as to secure yourself against his ever getting 



