May, 1918 
FORES T AND S T R E A M 
285 
was splendid. You 
may fish the rest of 
this riffle, but I am 
afraid your rainbow 
churned things up 
too much. 
T 
The pool and the riffle just below it are worth fishing 
he is an old timer that knows the game. 
I should try another fly if I were you. 
No, not a Coachman, something entirely 
different, try a Parmachene Belle—yes, a 
small one. Now be ready for him this 
time. Away from the tree! Away from 
the tree! Oh, my dear fellow, you should 
have kept him away from the tree; he 
simply wound your line around this broken 
limb, and snapped your leader. Let that 
be a lesson. How big? About a pound 
and a half—now that you have lost him! 
This open riffle below should prove pro¬ 
ductive; a feeder joins the main stream 
here, yes, over where the leaning tree points 
to. No, I should fish from below the tree, 
and cast upstream. Go back to the Cow- 
dung, and start on the left, under the 
bank. See; the current of the feeder com¬ 
bines with that of the main stream, and 
together they have hollowed out a fine hole 
under the leaning tree. You have him! 
Oh, he is too small to keep; give him a 
slack line, and he will soon throw out the 
fly. There he goes. A bait-fisherman 
could not do that, could he? I would drop 
the fly in even closer to the bank, such a 
wee fellow surely is not the inhabitant of 
such a fine spot. Good enough! Rod tip 
down and over to the right—away from 
the tree. See him break! It’s a rainbow 
trout. Again! A nice fish, that; careful 
with him. Get him in as soon as you can. 
Now you know how to use your net; that That’s right! You 
HE head of this 
pool usually is 
well worth fish¬ 
ing at this time of 
year. Later, a dry 
fly floating over its 
depths, proves killing, 
but today you should 
find a good fish just 
where the stream en¬ 
ters the pool. I should 
stand over here in the 
right side of the pool 
where it is shallow; 
you will have more 
room to cast, than 
from above. No, I 
do not always fish 
upstream, but it so 
happens that where 
we have fished so far 
the upstream cast has 
appeared the most 
suitable. Size up each 
situation as you come 
to it, and fish either 
up or down as ap¬ 
pears best suited to 
each particular place, 
taking as many things 
into consideration as 
necessary to catch 
your fish. Yes, try 
another fly, the old 
Cowdung is a bit be¬ 
draggled. A March 
Brown is often good 
in April—-in fact at 
all times it is worth 
trying. Shades of 
Walton, you have hooked a real fish this 
time! Keep your rod bent; tip lower, if 
he runs in, you can then raise it. Ease him 
off! He will snap your leader if you 
force him. Lucky you have this big pool 
to play him in. Keep him away from the 
outlet, for the current will help him there. 
That’s right—let him run up if he wants 
to, but be ready to strip in quickly when 
he turns. O-o-h ! I don’t blame you ! I’d 
say it too. Your leader parted. Paid 
twenty cents for it? 
Well, you deserve to 
lose him. This will 
be a lesson to you, 
and I warrant that 
the very best leaders 
money can buy will 
be none too good for 
•you after this! 
Try the riffle just 
below the pool and 
see if you cannot re¬ 
deem yourself. Yes, 
fish down stream 
here, if you wish. 
Going back to the 
Cowdung? You are 
superstitious, but I do 
not blame you. Do 
not strike quite so 
sharply when you fish 
with the current. 
have him! See if you can get. him up into 
the pool; acts like a good fish; I haven’t 
seen him yet, have you? Two pounds? 
Yes! two pounds if you lose him, but about 
one if you land him! He is sulky, isn’t 
he? Give him a switch with the rod, and 
see whether there is any fight left in him. 
Careful—careful; he’s not beaten yet by 
any means. Look out! Keep a taut line! 
That’s'just it; you don’t know whether he 
is well hooked or not. Now net him. 
Isn t he a beauty! That’s right, break his 
neck first, and then remove your fly from 
his lip. Many a fish is lost between the 
hand and the creel! Besides it is a matter 
of common decency to kill a fish imme¬ 
diately. 
Time we were going, I am afraid. I do 
not want to stop, either. Well, there is a 
quiet stretch down below here in the al¬ 
ders; we’ll have a try at that, and then 
quit. Now you will have a chance to cast 
farther, but look out for the alders. No, 
you must not let your fly drift here; it 
will sink too deep; the current is not fast 
enough to carry it. Take the line in your 
left hand up near the first guide, and pull 
it in slowly; at the same time make the 
rod tip tremble to give the fly action. Not 
too fast; that’s better. Now when you 
make your next cast allow the line in your 
left hand to run out through the guides, 
by moving your hand up to the last guide 
at the same speed at which the line goes 
out. Fine! Now retrieve it as—he’s 
hooked! Keep him in the middle of the 
stream. I know it is hard, but that is what 
makes it fun. A rainbow! Isn’t that 
pretty when he comes out of water! Try 
to keep him on a fairly short line, or you 
will lose control of him, and he will get 
into the bank. Oh! I s;.y, that 
was stupid! Your line is caught in the 
branches over your head. You, should 
have eyes in the top as well as the back 
of your head when trout fishing. Thank 
goodness he’s pulling hard and keeping the 
line tight. Easy now! There, it’s loose 
at last. Strip in your line and net him. 
Good! I wouldn’t have given a fig for 
your chances of landing that fish. Ha! 
Ha ! Ha ! I can’t help it! After all the 
luck you had in landing him—to let him 
slip through your fingers! Oh! that’s hard 
luck indeed! Why didn’t you kill him at 
once, as I told you? Well, that’s another 
lesson from old lady Experience. 
• •. • V- 
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There is a quiet stretch down here in the alders 
t 
