We

For our own part, we never trifle with a fish of any size, but land him as soon as possible. mean not that we attempt to haul in a large fish at once, but simply that we never miss taking due advantage of every inclination evinced by the struggler to be transferred to another element. Who would use ceremony with a fish under six ounces? Not we, indeed, but rather pull him in, nolens volens. It is a proof that a fish is hooked firmly, and likewise that he is large, when he descends in the water and struggles at the bottom or in mid-water. When he keeps leaping above and floundering at the surface, rest assured that he is hooked but slightly—not in the cartilaginous, but in some ticklish, nervous, part of the mouth; and that unless you are gentle as a lamb, and handle him" as if you loved him," tenderly and delicately, he will, sans ceremonie, give you the slip.

Now, then, as to managing a large fish. If you have him in a fair open place- and if you have not, your first business is to get him there—you must endeavour to turn him down stream at once, keeping him under as short a line as possible without straining too tightly. If he resist much, give to him, that he may play his freaks at a distance; but miss no opportunity of winding up

the line again, and with interest. When the fish "runs," you should walk, if possible, opposite to him, giving him the spring of the rod, and you should neither attempt to stop him by anything like a sudden check, nor, of course, permit the line to slacken. Should he halt, and endeavour at the bottom to disengage himself from the hook, or should he slip under a weed—which, be assured, he will do if possible. - run instantly below him, and, lowering the rod to a level with the surface of the water, pull moderately and uniformly, not, of course, so hard as to endanger the rod or line, and you will probably divert him from his object. If not, you may venture on the experiment of a few stones, pitched, judiciously, just above him. He will start off again in gallant style- be cool and collected or all will be marred, and forget not for an instant that playing him down stream is the only effectual way of tiring him. Keep him in "brisk exercise," giving line when necessary and drawing it in again as he tires. Relaxed will soon become his efforts, and fainter his struggles; but take the thing leisurely. Look out for a good landing-place-a -a shelving bank or a pebbly beach- and cautiously and coaxingly lead him towards it. Now comes the moment of danger. If you have a landing net,

and a companion to use it who understands the business, the affair is simple enough; but if you are alone and without this much abused instrument, it will be as well to prepare for the exercise of considerable tact and skill. As the fish nears the shore

"Floating broad upon his breathless side,

And to his fate abandoned".

do not attempt to haul him directly up the bank, but stick the rod firmly in the ground, by means of the spike, and in a direction slanting towards the water-taking the precaution of placing the reel in such a manner that the line may run freely from it should the fish make a sudden dash into deep water. Keep a sharp eye upon your gasping victim as he floats upon the surface; be steady and cautious; and if you hope to secure him do not attempt to lift him by the line-an act of egregious folly, which, to our knowledge, is not unfrequently committed by those whose experience, if not common sense, ought to teach them better. If, gentle pupil, you would rank as a

*It must not be forgotten that we are speaking of a large fish; for in playing a small one this rule may be often "more honoured in the breach than in the observance," though everything like a jerk must in all cases be studiously avoided.

good craftsman, never touch the line yourself, nor suffer any one else to do so, while you are playing and landing a powerful fish. To return. Perhaps your captive is not yet exhausted—your approach has aroused him; again he rushes, with desperate vigour, into the middle of the stream, taking with him some ten or a dozen yards of line. Fly to your arms, and battle with him as before. But a few minutes will suffice to decide the contest. He comes in on his side again, but now powerless and dying, and you wind up your line as he approaches. He is close to the shore. Remember, do not attempt to drag him up the bank. Delay not a moment; stick in your rod — rush down approach him from behind-seize him in the middle toss him ashore - give him a rap on the head against a stone or the butt of your rod, to

"Still his pantings of dismay"

basket him he is yours; "the contest is over, and you have now the pleasure of beholding your prostrate foe beaten in his own element, forced from it, and with weapons so weak that, if strength could compete with art, you would not have been able to hold him in check for a moment. feel, moreover, that you could not have accomplished such a feat without exercising great com

You

mand over your own faculties - without exercising patience, ingenuity, cunning of hand and of mind; that you have been putting in practice the good old advice, suaviter in modo; and that you have just proved that, in almost all contentions for mastery, an ounce of oil goes farther than a pound of vinegar.'"* The folly of attempting to play a large fish against the stream must be at once apparent. The resistance of a swift current is alone sufficient to tear a small hook from the firmest hold in the tender mouth of a trout; then the weeds present themselves, and they are never backward in offering their powerful opposition.

We should have mentioned before, that even with a net with which to land the fish, the greatest care and caution must be exercised, for nothing, after the person who uses it, will frighten the fish more than a net improperly used. Never bring the net in front of the fish, however quiet he may appear, but sink it behind him, and passing it slowly under, dip him gently out. If without a net, and you find it difficult to bring the fish to your hand, make the water muddy, and, cuttle-fish like, take advantage of its obscurity to seize your unsuspecting victim.

* Shipley and Fitzgibbon.