Punch (102.1892)

160

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

[Apkil 2, 1892.

confessions of a duffer.

VII.—THE DUFFER WITH A SALMON-ROD.

armour. _ It is off at last. I cut the hook out with a knife making a
big hole in the coat, and cast again. That was over him! I let the
flv float down, working it scientifically. No response. Perhaps

No pursuit is more sedentary, if one may talk_ of a sedentary j better look at the fly. Just my luck, I have cracked it off !
pursuit, and none more to my taste, than trout-fishing as practised : Where is the fly-book ? Where indeed ? A feverish search for
in the South of England. Given fine weather, and a good novel, j the fly-book follows—no use : it is not in the basket, it is not in my
nothing can be more soothing than to sit on a convenient stump, j pocket; must have fallen out when I fell into the river. No good in
under a willow, and watch the placid kine standing in the water, j looking for it, the water is too thick, I thought I heard a splash,
while the brook murmurs on, and perhaps the kingfisher flits to and Luckily there are some flies in my cap, it looks knowing to have
fro. Here you sit and fleet the time carelessly, till a trout rises. [ some flies in one's cap, and it is not so easy to lose a cap, without
Then, indeed, duty demands that you shall crawl in the manner of j noticing it, as to lose most things. Here is a big Silver Doctor that
the serpent till you come within reach of him, and cast a fly, which j may do as the water is thick. I put one on, and begin again cast-
usually makes him postpone his dinner-hour. But he will come on ! ing over where that fish rose. By George, there he came at me, at
again, there is no need for you to change your position, and you can j least I think it must have been at me, a great dark swirl, "the purple
always fill your basket easily—with irises and marsh-marigolds. i wave bowed over it like a hill," but he never touched me. Give him
Such are our county contents, but woe befall the day when I took | five minutes law, the hook is sure to be well fastened on, need not
to salmon-fishing. The outfit is expensive, " half-crown flees" soon i bother looking at that again. Five minutes take a long time in
mount up, especially if you never go out without losing your fly- \ passing, when you are giving a salmon a rest. Good times and bad
book. If you buy a light rod, say of fourteen feet, the chances are times and all times pass, so here goes. It is correct to begin a good
that it will not cover the water, and a longer rod requires in the way above him and come down to him. I'm past him; no, there is

fisherman the strength of a San- ___a long heavy drag under water, I

now. You need wading-breeches, ~~~ ~~~ get the point up, he is off like a

which come up nearly to the neck, ^\ shot, while I stand in a rather

and weigh a couple of stone. The \ stupid attitude, holding on. If I

question has been raised, can one ^^^v \ cannot get out and run down the

swim in them, in case of an acci- \ bank, he has me at his mercy,

dent ? For one, I can answer, he ^^n, \ ^ ^° dagger out, somehow, falling

can't. The reel is about the size >S5%S&i \ on my back, but keeping the point

of a butter-keg, the line measures ^^N. f^^^^s^ i up with my right hand. No bones

hundreds of yards, and the place '"^f%lf^ „v ^nJ^^^^^*^ I broken, but surely he is gone! I

where you fish for salmon is ^3^f=./^ ^^^^^^^^^^T*' / begin reeling up the line, with a

usually at the utter ends of the ^^^^'////v^*^^ _ ^4fet;fli§§^ / heavy heart, and try to lift it out

earth. Some enthusiasts begin y0yy^^-/ wi/^^^^^^^^ °f the water. It won't come, he

in February. Covered with furs, ^-^^0^^/y/^^'si^- ^P^Jg||sJ\\ \ is here still, he has only doubled

they sit in the stern of a boat, and /'^fw^^^^^^^fj^^^k/ u/s(}^%$S^~-A' ) back. Hooray ! Nothing so nice

are pulled in a funereal manner 0///M^^^^^^^^^^-^V / ^P^eL^^^X^ as being all alone when you hook

up and down Loch Tay, while the iA I a salmon- No gillie to scream out

rods fish for themselves. The ^^mmm1^^^^^^ f\\ i^^^^^^^^^^;v^\ov contradictory orders. He is taking

angler's only business is to pick ^^^^^^f^^^^^Mu ') I / BS^Mu^a^^^ ) it very easy, but suddenly he

them up if a salmon bites, and ''"^^T^^ 1 moves out a few yards, and begins

when this has gone on for a few ^^^^^^^S^^^^^^^^^^^S*^^^^^^^^^^ ) jig-g-ering1, that is, giving a series

days, with no bite, Influenza, or a —rr-.^f^^^^^^^^^^f^E^^=="T"5^"=^:-—°f short heavy tugs. They say

hard frost with curling, would be g^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^pF^z^^g^^^? /"\ he is never well hooked, when he

rather a relief. This kind of thing ^^feEEEE^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-.Tzzz^^'^^^L^-, \ \ jiggers. The rod thrills unplea-

is not really angling, and a Duffer -.. -•■--=?- ^g^—---^^jp^r/ , santly in my hands, I wish he

is as good at it as an expert. : -^^=T^^^ "^^Sb^^ —' wouldn't do that. It is very dis-

Real difficulties and sufferings ^zrrzrrcr.^^^ '^sKE^s^ agreeable and makes me very

begin when you reach the Cruach- /. ■ S&jgL**^. V—^=r:^s=- ) nervous. Hullo! he is off again

na-spiel-bo, which sounds like "i^lE^= ^E=s£T \CZr~^ ■* up-stream, the reel ringing like

Gaelic, and will serve us as a name ^ <-=—^^^^^"^T^s^^^^g; \ -- mad: he gets into the thin water

for the river. It is, of course, ex- ^ ___~ "^^^^^"^'^M^^^=^r^^^__ at the top, and jumps high in

tremely probable that you pay a " ^^^^^^^^ ^pllll&^j the air. He is a monster. Hullo!

large rent for the right to gaze at t - (^^^^P^^^g'S^ what's that splash ? The reel has

a series of red and raging floods, c'cr__—^r.^-^^^^sg=^^g s^ fallen off, it was always loose,

or at a pale and attenuated trickle <^ _ ^^^^e^-^ ""ssggss^gr^rrLr^, and has got into the water. How

of water, murmuring peevishly jSS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~^ am I to act now ? He is coming

through a drought. But suppose, «~> —y back like mad, and all the line is

for the sake of argument, that the -^^^^^^^^^r^^p^^^"~~, ' loose, and I can't reel up. I begin

water is "in order," and only ~^^^^^^^^^~^^^r~^^~~==^^^ pulling at the line to bring up

running with deep brown swirls at "" ^k^f3""" the reel, but the reel only lets the

some thirty miles an hour. Sup- '^-rrr «sg£ line out, and now he is off again,

pose also, alarge presumption, that vV-fc-^-A^Z^SS*-—, down stream this time, and I

the Duffer does not leave any in- . ' * after him, and the line running

dispensablejpart of his equipment 1 wade 111 as far as 1 can> aild make a tremendous swipe with the rod." out at both ends at once} and now

my legs get entangled in it, it is twisted all round me. He runs
again and jumps, the line comes back in my face, all slack, some-
thing has given. It is the hook, it was not knotted on firmly to

at home. He arrives at the stream, and as he detests a gillie, whose
contempt for the Duffer breeds familiarity, he puts up his rod, selects
a casting line, knots on the kind of fly which is locally recommended,
and steps into the water. Oh, how cold it is ! I begin casting at the
top of the stream, and step from a big boulder into a hole. Stagger,
stumble, violent bob forwards, recovery, trip up, and here one is in
a sitting position in the bed of the stream. However, the high
india - rubber breeks have kept the water out, except about a
pailful, which gradually illustrates the equilibrium of fluids in the
soles of one's stockings. However, I am on my feet again, and
walking more gingerlythough to the spectator, my movements
suggest partial intoxication. That is because the bed of the stream
is full of boulders, which one cannot see, owing to the darkness of
the water. There was a fish rose near the opposite side. My heart
is in my mouth. I wade in as far as I can, and make a tremendous
swipe with the rod. A frantic tug behind, crash, there goes the top
of the rod! I am caught up in the root of a pine-tree, high up on
the bank at my back. No use in the language of imprecation. I
waddle out, climb the bank, extricate the fly, get out a spare top, and
to work again, more cautiously. Something wrong, the hook has
caught in my coat, between my shoulders. I must get the coat off
somehow, not an easy thing to do, on account of my india-rubber

start with. He flings himself out of the water once more to be sure
that he is free, and I sit down and gnaw the reel. Had ever any-
body such bad fortune, but it is just my luck !

I go back to the place where the reel fell in, and by pulling
cautiously I extract it from the stream. It shan't come off again;
I tie it on with the leather lace of one of my brogues. Then I reel
up the slack, and put on another fly, out of my cap, a Popham.
Then I fish down the rest of the pool. Near the edge, in the slower
part of the water, there is a long slow draw, before I can lift the
point of the rod, a salmon jumps high out of the water at me,—and
is gone ! I never struck him, was too much taken aback at the
moment; did not expect him then. Thank goodness, the hook is not
off this time.

The next stream is very deep, strong and narrow; the best chance
is close in on my side. By Jove, here he is, he took almost beside
the rock. He sails leisurely out into the strength of the stream, if
he will come up, I can manage him, but if he goes down, the water
is very swift and broken, there are big boulders, and then a sheer
wall of rock difficult to pass in cold blood, and then the Big Pool.