THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 77 



though with hardly a flutter of the surface water. The strike 

 of a big trout is known in the fisherman's vernacular as a 

 ''lump." When the water appears to lump up in the vicinity 

 of your fly, strike quick and hard. The fish can spit out the fly 

 with quite as much dexterity as he can pick it up, and he loses 

 no time in doing so when he finds that he has been fooled. 



Your line is brought up taut against a firm, quivering some- 

 thing out there under the willows ! For a second it remains 

 stretched motionless. You wonder if you have hooked a snag. 

 But only for a fleeting second are you in doubt. Then follows a 

 battle royal. The big, brilliant fish leaps clear of the water time 

 after time. He rushes madly out into the current, and you must 

 check his heavy surges. He dashes back to the home pool with 

 such marvelous speed that to recover your slack line is a prob- 

 lem. When he makes one of these home runs it is best to ignore 

 the reel for the time being, and haul in line off the rod with your 

 free hand. 



But gamey as he is, the fish cannot last long against such 

 heavy odds, and with luck you are soon able to dip him up in your 

 landing net, and a beauty he is indeed. 



And so the day advances. You land some of them, and more 

 you lose. Many a lusty fellow takes or breaks a hook and leader, 

 and many another works the hook from his mouth in the fight. 



During the heat of the day the fish are close under the banks 

 in the shade of the willows. In the afternoon they move leisurely 

 across to the shady side, and if you happen to be on the wrong 

 side of the river, then you had best crawl under the trees and 

 take a nap. The evening's fishing will tax your strength and 

 nerve. 



When the last rays of the sun have left the river, pick out a 

 long, choppy, deep riffle with foamy, broken water at its head, 

 and whip out fifty or sixty feet of line. You will now have to 

 wade out, and cast all the line you can handle. A 9% or 10-foot 

 rod, with plenty of backbone, is needed for this work. If you 

 are going to buy a rod get a good one. A hand-made Hardy, 

 Leonard, Thomas or any other of the standard rods. A cheap, 

 whippy rod is worse than none at all. For long, accurate casting 

 you should have a tapered line of at least thirty yards. 



