COARSE FISH.

Knot for Gut Loop.

This manner of proceeding has always seemed to me to be taking an unfair advantage of a salmon or trout. With a pike, of course, the question is a different one, as he cuts the line with his teeth, if you give him the chance and nothing but gimp is of any service. The rings through which the line runs should also be examined to see that they are secure and that the line itself, which is best of hemp for salmon-fishing is free from kinks and not chafed anywhere, also that it is wound evenly on the reel, from which it must run lightly and easily.

A check in the running of the line, when alarge fish makes a sudden dash, would almost certainly enable him to break away. Many people waterproof or varnish the line to keep it from rotting, and its usual length is from sixty to seventy yards, the gut cast at the end being generally about three more and stained (according to the colour of the water in which it is to be used) either with tea or coffee, or else ink and water.

One very important point is to wet both line and cast thoroughly before using; the former should be run through the rings in the rod, and casts made on a lawn or other open space for practice and to remove kinks if any. Lines must be thoroughly dried after use.

Ordinary method of tying Gut.

Most women buy their tackle ready made, or are accompanied by an expert fisherman, but, if breakage in the cast takes place and no help be at hand, they should know how to make a single and double slip-knot, and how to put on fresh flies in case of need. It should always be remembered that the two ends of gut about to be joined should be thoroughly moistened before they are manipulated. Otherwise the knots will not bind and the gut will break.

Method of fastening Dropper to Cast.

It is better for a woman, if not an expert, to keep to one fly, that at the end of the cast, called the tail fly, unless she is fishing for sea-trout in which case a smaller one, called the dropper, may be employed a little higher up the cast, or it may be advisable to use two different kinds of salmon flies, but they are apt to get entangled and give a great deal of trouble, without any conspicuous advantage. This is particularly the case where casting is interfered with by high rocks, or trees and branches just behind the fisherman.

Dropper and Cast.

The length of my own favourite salmon and trout rods are seventeen and eleven feet respectively, but many people recommend a length of not over fourteen for the former, as a woman's strength is so much less than a man's.

Dropper and Cast.

My own experience is, that in casting against a strong wind, a stiffish rod of eighteen feet is quite within my powers, so much depending on the balance of thewhole apparatus, the size of the reel and weight of the butt. In quiet weather my "Castle Connell," a foot less in length and much more supple was very satisfactory.

Marvellous tales are told of long casts, but personally I have found sixty feet or thereabouts to be the length of my tether, at least so far as a satisfactory performance is concerned. This distance is usually quite enough for all practical purposes, and it will be some time before the angler can be certain of dropping his fly lightly and surely on a given spot, even at forty feet.

Women should practise casting on lawns without a cast at the end of their lines, as, when the fly is on, a novice has been known to hook swallows and even inquisitive puppy-dogs. The "Spey" cast should be studied as well as the ordinary method, the former being most useful where there are high branches or rocks just behind the place where the angler must stand.

The "Spey" cast consists in so switching the line that it shoots out direct to the required spot without ever passing behind the angler's head, while in the more ordinary method, the great secret is to send the line right out at the back, and then with a dexterous turn of the wrist tobring it forward. By raising the tip of the rod slightly just before the fly touches the water, it will fall into its position in a light and natural manner. Casting requires great care and patience in practising, and many a time the beginner may find her flies firmly embedded in her own back hair, instead of speeding swiftly through the air to where the fish lies.

In casting a line either for salmon or trout it should be noted that fish always lie with their heads up-stream, and that it is therefore necessary to stand some distance above where they are supposed to be, and cast across the water so that the fly may fall delicately and gently, without the least splash, a little above their noses. It cannot be too often repeated that, in fishing for trout, the great art isnot to be seen. The angler must therefore stand well back from the bank, hide behind trees and bushes and crouch in hollows. Above all, it is absolutely essential that the figure should never be seen against the sky. She must keep her face to the sun, that her shadow may not fall on the water, throwing her fly first of all under the near bank and then by successive casts across the stream.

The salmon cast is naturally a longer andslower movement than that which is used for trout, but in both instances it is often well to allow the fly to sink a little before beginning to play it. For salmon the line should be drawn gently and with successive movements of the wrist up-stream and across the space which intervenes between the spot where the fly has fallen and that at which the angler stands. The trout cast is much more rapid, and the playing should be across and down stream as well as up, the movements of the wrist being much lighter and more varied. In both cases, when a fish is felt, a "strike" should be made, at least, authorities, to whom I am bound to bow, insist on this ceremony. Personally I believe that the fish, by this sharp turn of the wrist, is as often lost as hooked, unless care be taken to chose the actual moment when he has closed his jaws upon it. I have seen a fly pulled right out of a salmon's mouth, and have been told by those looking on and instructing me that I had done that same thing myself, when I merely intended to strike. My impression is, therefore, that the novice had better let her salmon hook themselves, which they will certainly do if they come well at the fly.

The cast itself requires careful examination before it is used; it should be stained to the required colour and tested with a steelyard up to sixteen or seventeen pounds for finer tackle, and eighteen for that which is coarser. Trout-casts, will not, of course, require or bear so severe a strain, but should be tried to see whether there is any defect either in the gut or in the knots which unite the several lengths of which they consist.

Few women, I imagine, will care to make their own casts, although some do, and for those I may mention that the best and cheapest gut is to be had in the South of Spain, where it is about one-third of the price which it fetches in England. Fly-making is very pretty work for delicate fingers but tedious and, on the whole, not very remunerative, as flies can be bought very cheap now-a-days. They may not be quite so carefully finished as those of home manufacture, but they are, I must admit, equally killing, although for years I placed implicit faith in the latter.

There was one fly for which I had a special fancy; it is a combination of orange-coloured silks and tinsel for the body with pheasant andjay for the wings, peacock for the head and golden pheasant for the tail. On one occasion, this "Orange Body" of private manufacture was presented to a friend, who admired it greatly and sallied forth, on slaughter bent.

He hooked a salmon almost with the first cast, struck with decision, and behold, all the dressing of the hook including of course the eye, came away and he lost his fish.

What had happened? The secret was this: that the cobbler's wax used for fly-making had been mislaid, and an ordinary piece of wax-candle used instead, the result being that the fish went away with the hook in his mouth while the rest of the fly remained to adorn the cast.

Test your flies, therefore, see that they are thoroughly sound and that the eye and piece of gut by which they are fastened to the cast are not frayed. It is a good thing to try a new fly in a basin of water or shallow pond to see whether it floats, as it should, horizontally, and whether the wings have a life-like motion, as by repeated short movements you play it with your hand.

Attention to all these little matters may seem very irksome at first, but it is by these meansthat one angler will succeed when another who precedes him on the same ground, will obtain no sport.

To give an accurate description of the different kinds of flies used in salmon and trout fishing, would be quite impossible in so short an article as the present one, but it should be said that, as a general rule, the deeper and larger the river the larger and brighter will be the flies required.

In thick or heavy water, after a flood, large bright coloured flies are indicated, and the clearer the stream the smaller must be the size, and the more neutral the colours tend to become. Most authorities seem to agree that the size of flies is a much more important factor in their killing qualities than the special materials of which they are made, or the finish and delicacy of their manufacture. When fish do not seem to be rising it is well to try them with another colour or make, and this will often enable the angler to fill his basket, when otherwise the day's sport must have been marked with a "duck's egg."

The same general rules also apply to trout fishing, but it should be remembered that in the latter case, except when fishing in lakes or rivers for the larger species which may fairly be angledfor as salmon, the shallow water, enabling the lure to be plainly seen, requires less gaudy colours, and, of course, an immense reduction in size.

I must not omit to mention the gaff and the landing-net, most important parts of the angler's outfit. The former is best for large fish, under which it is much more difficult to get a net.

There is always a great controversy raging as to whether it is best to gaff "over" or "under," and the right place to accomplish the former is said by some authorities to be the back just at the shoulder. Personally I belong to those who gaff "under," and have always found it much easier than the other.

When a fish is brought close to the bank, sometimes only half or three-parts killed, he will generally make a dash for his life when he sees a murderous-looking steel instrument close to him, so it must be concealed from his view, and it is a good plan to have the gaff pretty deep in the water before he is brought up to it then striking under and drawing the gaff sharply forwards and upwards. I have landed some very heavy fish in this way, and scarcely ever missed one.

Once I gaffed a beautiful salmon of at least eighteen pounds, on the Usk, landed him triumphantly, and stood admiring him while the fly was taken out of his mouth. He seemed quite dead, but just as we turned away to what we hoped would be fresh conquests, with a vigorous flap of his tail, he managed to slide over into the river and was lost to view. I am afraid he was mortally wounded by the gaff, and must have died before long. This was a lesson to me to remove my fish to some distance from the water's edge and to make sure that they were really dead before leaving them. The net should be used for "red" or "black" fish, which must be returned to the river on account of their condition, with as little injury as possible.

Grayling are not usually considered as interesting to catch as salmon and trout, for, although they will sometimes make a desperate fight for life, they will only too often sink down to the bottom of the stream and remain there. They must be fished for with the same precautions against being seen which are used for trout, and with several flies on the cast, as they often move in shoals. They usually lie in the middle of the river, in its lower reaches towards the sea, and when these are broad, the angler is often compelled to wade to get the best chance at them. They are caughtwith the fly as well as worms and other bait. The cast should be made up-stream.

I must not forget to mention dry-fly fishing, which is particularly suitable for women. This form of angling is usually necessary in chalk streams, where trout will often refuse to be tempted by any other. The cast must be made up-stream so that the fly drops on the nose of the fish in a natural manner, and floats on the top of the water. The moment the fly gets wet it is useless, and must be dried by making two or three false casts in the air before returning to a real one on the stream. The fly must be worked with the greatest delicacy of touch, and allowed to float down with the current on the surface of the water.

Lead for Spinning. Double Swivel.

The above title includes pike, perch, roach, dace, chub, bream, barbel, and tench, the last of which is very good eating, its fat being almost like that of the turtle. When the noblervarieties are not to be obtained, coarse fish are by no means to be despised, either for the table or for sporting purposes, and many a happy day may be spent on rivers and lakes at a time of year when perhaps neither salmon nor trout are available.

Archer Spinner.

My experience of pike fishing has been chiefly in the Hampshire Stour, which has a gravelly bottom, so that those fish, which are apt to be muddy in flavour, were superior to any I have tasted caught elsewhere. They are to be taken either with a float and live bait, or else with a trolling-rod and spinning tackle, baited with a dace or other small fish. After the care and tact which must be displayed in salmon, and especially in trout fishing, pike seem to be of a very inferior order of intellect. No concealment of one's person at the river-side is absolutely necessary, though it may be advisable sometimes, and the splash made by the bait in the water when spinning andwhich is enough to frighten all the trout in the pool, does not seem to affect the appetite of the fish we are now dealing with.

Bickerayke's Snap Tackle.

As far as my experience goes, I should say that gimp is the only thing that will hold a large pike, whose tactics are to cut the line with his teeth, or to wind it round a rock or root in the bed of the river and so defeat his human enemy. Even when safely landed he is still dangerous for he has jaws like a tiger, fitted with large, sharp teeth, which must be approached with caution. The trolling-rod is short and stiff, with large rings so that the line can run freely; the latter cannot of course be wound on the reel when fishing, unless in casting from the reel, but must be drawn in by hand. Great care is required to prevent entanglement, and the angler must beware of treading on his line as he moves along.

I found, inside a pike of twenty-five pounds, caught in the Hampshire Stour, a perch of three pounds, which had been swallowed whole. The pike had, apparently, only regarded this as aHors d'œuvreand not as a square meal, since he came to my dace with the greatest voracity.

Perch fishing has always had great attractions for me, and I have caught many beautiful baskets of them, also in the Hampshire Stour. They are curious fish in some ways, and are to be found in large companies in pools and lakes, at the time of year when they are in season. When they are on the shallows they are not fit to eat, and will not usually take the bait. We fished for them with a live minnow and float, sometimes from the bank and sometimes from a punt. They do not seem shy, and I have caught them with my hand in the water holding the gut and minnow, but if once a perch is lost, no more will rise in that pool.

They must have some means of communication with each other, for after such an event the only thing to do is to move to another hole. When, by the disappearance of the float under water, the angler becomes aware that a fish has taken the bait, a short time should be allowedbefore striking as it must be remembered that the perch has to swallow part of the minnow before arriving at the hook. If left too long, the perch will gorge the bait (and this applies also to pike), the result being very unpleasant for all parties concerned. I have also caught perch with a worm, in which case the bait should be almost on the bottom of the river. The great attraction in this sport is that you can fish on a brilliantly fine summer's day, and see the objects of your attentions swimming about and playing regardless of you in the deep clear water.

Pennell Flight for Small Baits.

It is said that certain kinds of trout croak, but that roach do, I myself can testify, and so distressing is the noise they emit that when I have caught them by accident, I always returned them to the water with great despatch.

Carp and tench are exceedingly shy fish and both prefer muddy and weedy ponds to a clear running stream. In the former they may be caught with paste and other forms of bait, but, to my mind, are hardly worth the trouble and, if wanted for the table may just as well be circumvented with a net, for all the sport they afford.

Pennell Flight for Large Baits.

Barbel and bream are very dull fish to catch with a rod and line; the former especially dive at once and burrow sulking in the mud, opposing merely dead weight to the angler's efforts. Dace and chub only remain to be noticed. The former will take a fly very readily, and give very good sport fortheir size, while chub are as shy as trout and as difficult to catch, if once they obtain a sight of their antagonist on the bank.

It has only been possible to give a very short account of the various kinds of fresh-water fish, and numerous questions will occur to the novice in angling, which must be elucidated partly by study of the many excellent volumes already published on the subject, but chiefly by experience and consultation with men who possess special knowledge of their own locality.

Still, I hope I have said enough to encourage women to look into the science of angling for themselves, and not to be entirely dependent on the services and advice of anyone who may chance to accompany them.

S. H. Malmesbury.

NATURAL FORMS OF FAVOURITE TROUT FLIES.

FOOTNOTES:[4]This hook or beak on the lower jaw of male salmon is a provision of nature to enable them to rake those furrows in the gravel wherein the female deposits herova. It has been known to pierce entirely through the upper jaw, causing the ultimate death of the fish.—Ed.[5]The foul-hooked salmon, too, has far more leverage.—Ed.[6]Rods of split cane are very largely used, and as they are light and strong have much to recommend them.—Ed.

[4]This hook or beak on the lower jaw of male salmon is a provision of nature to enable them to rake those furrows in the gravel wherein the female deposits herova. It has been known to pierce entirely through the upper jaw, causing the ultimate death of the fish.—Ed.

[5]The foul-hooked salmon, too, has far more leverage.—Ed.

[6]Rods of split cane are very largely used, and as they are light and strong have much to recommend them.—Ed.

Thissubject far from being treated exhaustively, or even with any attempt at fulness, will, on the contrary, only be written of, so as to give a few hints to those who love to wield the rod. Bottom fishing, with the paraphernalia necessary to that branch of the sport, has objections at least from a woman's point of view, but to fishing with the fly there is no drawback, unless indeed you happen to be one of those who hold that you should never pit your skill against one of the lower animals in a struggle for life. Of all sports indeed there is none more entirely suited to the powers of woman than fly-fishing. The nicety, the quickness, the light-handedness, and care as to details, and I think I may addthoroughnessin any pursuit they really take to, in which women generally excel are all points in her favour the moment she takes a rod in hand. Great strengthis not needed, unless indeed she choose to go after one of the leviathans of the deep, but only constant and exhaustless patience. Yet it is the mention of the last that will make many who know only of the sport by hearsay, look scornful and say they see no fun in standing watching and waiting for the bite that often never comes, and that they prefer something more active. As it is no use arguing with people who are persuaded they view the subject from a vastly superior standpoint, the only answer to this is, "If you do not change your opinion after a week's—or even a day's—experience—well, fly-fishing is not for you."

What I am anxious to impress upon all is, that fly-fishing is not necessarily an expensive sport. For the best of salmon-fishing and the right to try for trout in their choicest waters you must indeed pay, but for the right to fish for their less thought of brethren there need be but small demands on your purse.

My own experience one summer may be of some use to those who would fain do likewise. My lot was cast in a part of Sussex where under the Downs flowed a tiny but most beautiful little river. "No trout," had been the answer givenwhen I enquired as to the prospect of sport from its banks, so sadly I made up my mind that beyond an occasional visit to a trout stream, owned by some friends in the same county, my rod would be idle that summer.

"If only itwasstocked with trout," was my frequent reflection as I wandered along its banks and noted the swift flowing current and the tempting stickles that looked a perfect paradise from a trouting point of view. One evening as I stood watching the clear waters as they rushed round and over some opposing rocks into a large pool, I caught sight of a silvery, most graceful fish dart through the water at the side of the eddy. Then when my eye became accustomed to the curious light, as the rays of the setting sun fell slantways over the pool, through the branches of a mighty oak tree that rose from the banks, I saw another, and another. "Dace," was my verdict, and forthwith dismissed them from my mind. But I had not reached home before the thought of trying for those dace with fly came to me, and the next day, trout rod in hand, and with a Black Palmer and Alder on the cast, I made my first venture in what was to me quite a new branch of sport.

Method of fastening Dropper to Cast.

As the line flew out for the second time and the flies fell gently and lightly on the water, I had but to wait a second before a faint thrill ran through my hand and told mesomethinghad touched the fly. Could it be a bite? So different was it to the sudden onslaught of a trout, that I hesitated whether or not to strike, and contrary to the usual fate of the waverer, it was the momentary pause which gave me the fish. A slight movement of the wrist and I had him fast, and then a delicious few minutes followed while I played as game a dace as I ever wish to measure skill with. Indeed I should not have been surprised when at last my prize was safely caught in the landing net, to see the spotted scales of a trout. But no, the slender, silvery, beautiful-headed fish could be no other than a dace, and his captor at least was content with the gallant bid he had made for his life.

If dace would take the fly, why not also roachand chub, and soon,faute de mieuxit is true, but none the less with very considerable enjoyment, I was fishing the little stream for all three kinds in turn. On the gravelly bottom of a certain portion of the water, I found a red Palmer very attractive to the roach which were there in considerable numbers. Some of them were of fair size, the largest I took turning the scales at 1-lb., but I am bound to confess that I found these fish such very shy biters that I generally preferred to try either for dace or chub. One roach, however, gave rather a novel experience by hanging itself in a tree, and causing the greatest excitement among our party, the members of which quickly came from their chosen spots to see and admire. I was fishing from the shelter of a bush on the top of a high steep bank, and with some trees close at the rear and a decidedly fresh breeze blowing, it was not an easy matter to get the line safely out at all. The water, however, was but little disturbed by the wind, from which just there it was protected by the high ground, and the fish were clearly visible in the water below. As there was nothing for it in such a position but to swing the fish out if I caught one, I did not for that once wish to make a big capture.Scarcely had the tail fly—this was a red Palmer—touched the water than one of the usual shy bites was made, and fortunately my strike secured the prize so far. But he seemed heavy and was, besides, the gamest of his kind I have ever played. Quietly we could not manage things, and it was very soon clear that if I did not then secure him, I need not struggle with the difficulties of casting again in that part of the stream, for every other finny inhabitant would have taken the alarm. All my faculties were therefore intent on the capture. When I saw him at last tired of struggling and almost beneath me, I tried to swing him up, wondering, as I did so, if it were possible my light tackle could stand the strain. A flash of silver through the air, then a puff of wind, and a red-finned, black-backed roach of about 8-oz. in weight, was dangling over the topmost bough of a tree which grew up from the lower part of the bank a little to my left. The poor fish struggled and the line swayed ominously among the branches, till at last a nimble climber released them both, and to my delight restored them to me.

For chub I found a larger fly effective, and a Coachman and a Red Palmer, both tied large,were what I generally used. In my experience, chub is the most determined biter of any of those I am now discussing, and he is very game up to a certain point, his dashes and struggles as he tries to free himself from the hook, being as fierce as those of many a good trout. The battle, however, will be over much sooner than with one of the latter species, and when you see the inert form in the water, you will realise with sorrow that after all he does not belong to the kind known as "game fish." In fishing for chub you must be as careful about showing yourself as you would be in trying for a trout, for he is very quick in spotting anything unusual, and once he has done this, you may offer him the most tempting flies unavailingly. By the time you have landed a 2-lb. chub, you will, in my opinion, have exercised to the full as much, if not more skill, than you would have done in the capture of a trout, and though the sport of playing him will be sooner over, it will have been good indeed while it lasted.

Method of fastening Reel-line to Cast.

The chub I found to rise earlier in the day in this little Sussex stream than either dace or roach, the two last on the warm August evenings oftenrising freely as long as we could see to cast for them.

The great difference between fishing with the fly for game and coarse fish lies in this, that while with the latter you require even more lightness of hand and skill in casting than on any ordinary trout stream, the intense excitement of the moments when you play a good trout or salmon will not be experienced to the same extent. But that sport and good sport may be enjoyed with any of the three varieties I have named, I have proved to my own satisfaction, and I hope that what I have said may induce others to try for themselves.

At the same time that nothing can equal the joy of playing and landing your first trout, I would be the last to deny, for the day on which the first fell to my rod is still marked as a red letter day in my life. This also was in Sussex, in a well-stocked merry little stream which babbled and chattered over its white stones, giving the last touch of beauty to the peaceful valley through which it flowed. After the preliminary walk along the banks of that part of the water I was to fish, so as to get the knowledge of the position of the pools and eddies and overhanging banks without which one's labour is likely to bethrown away, I sallied forth, rod in hand, to the neighbourhood of a bridge from which I had noted several trout lying with their heads up stream. A few hundred yards from this, where the banks it is true did not seem to offer much facility for casting, there was an eddy at one side of the stream and a mass of rushes on the other, all under the shadow of trees which rose between them and the bridge. When it is remembered that I was trying for my first trout—the experience now lies back in the dim distance of the past—it will not perhaps cause surprise if I say that my whole being thrilled with the excitement of the moment. My cast had a red Palmer for the tail fly, and black Alder as dropper, for at dinner the night before I had been advised to try these by a local fisherman. I should probably make a mess of it, and catch my line in one or other of the traps that literally bristled on all sides of me, was the thought that was uppermost, as after scrambling down cautiously and keeping well out of view, I craned my neck to see how I could possibly get my cast to alight on the spot I had chosen. As I had my hand up for the venture a swift rise just where my eyes were fixed on the water, told me of the presence of a trout.My line flew out, and the tail-fly falling within the widening circle was instantly seized, and a sharp turn of the wrist gave me a trout with a bewildering suddenness. Up went the point of the rod, and the good cane bent to the weight beneath. A maddened dash across stream to the reeds, was the first attempt of the prey, then a trial to get to the shelter of a rock conveniently near, but slowly and surely he gave in to the steady pull brought to bear on him, and soon I looked with unspeakable delight on a ½-lb. trout, in the prime of condition, safe within the folds of the landing net. That no fish ever comes up to the one you first capture, has since this moment been an article of faith with me. Others larger, gamer, better in every sense may, and will if you have ordinary skill and perseverance, fall to your rod, but nothing will give you the same thrill of rapture you felt when you saw your "first trout" on the bank at your feet.

A good Gut Knot.

To make a good trout fisher there are of course many things to learn, and one of the greatest charms of the sport lies in this, that you never come to the end of what there is to know of it. But pre-eminently is it true that an ounce of practice is worth a ton of precepts. You mustto a very great extent buy your own experience, and though you will always do well to profit by other people's advice, you must yourself build up the theories which will show you how, when, and where to cast so that fish may rise to your fly, when they are proof against the blandishments of the less skillfully-thrown lure. That you should always study the lie of the water over which you mean to fish is a truism, and yet it is a fundamental rule to the neglect of which many both men and women owe the fact, that they never rise above a very mediocre degree of skill. Unless you know something of the habits of the fish and the spots in which he is likely to be found, how can you hope to succeed in making him acquainted with your fly? To prevent him catching a glimpse of you, and for this end to bedressed so as scarcely to be distinguished from the ground upon which you will be standing, to make no noise or disturbance, to throw with the utmost delicacy of hand, to strike instantaneously or the reverse according to the particular class of fish you are angling for, to cast up stream or partly up andacross, and never to allow the gut to make a ripple as you draw your cast through the water, all these constitute the ABC of an angler's stock of learning.

I believe that most people carry about with them a quite unnecessary stock of flies, and that as much success will fall to you if you only provide yourself with different kinds of Palmers, Black and Red Gnats, the Black Alder, Red Spinner, March Brown, Blue Upright, Yellow Dun, Stone Fly, Wickham's Fancy, Greenwell's Glory, and on some streams the Green Drake, having these in several shades and tied on different sized hooks, never forgetting to supplement them by any others recommended by local fishermen, whose knowledge remember has probably been bought by careful study and long and varied experience.

For coarse fish I have found the Palmers, Black Gnat, Artificial Grub, and Bumble Beethe most successful. The Chub always liking their fly tied large, the Dace and Roach preferring theirs small.

A rod well-chosen and well-balanced is of course of the first necessity to your success. To speak again from my own experience, I found an inexpensive light Greenheart made by Hancock, a delightful rod in every respect and with this my first ventures both with trout and coarse fish were made. It only measured 10-ft. 6-in., but was beautifully balanced, and you could make very fairly long casts with it. As a beginner you should always get some experienced friend to choose your rod for you, though like everything else of the kind, you will naturally prefer to make the choice yourself as soon as you know how to test the balance on which all else depends.

In the matter of outfit, you will need a creel which should contain an upper tray for luncheon, a landing net, and one or two casts ready made for use. The last may be fastened round your hat, and of course if you have any idea of being independent and going out by yourself, your creel and net should be chosen with a view to lightness, or they will naturally add materially to the fatigue of a day on the river bank.

Lastly, I would say, that if you should have the opportunity of going out with a good fisherman on a river or lake, there to learn the elements of fly-fishing, by all means avail yourself of it. In no other way can you master the rudimentary practice so easily as from a boat, for there will be no bushes or banks, or the hundred and one difficulties you may have to consider on land, and you will therefore be able to concentrate your efforts on getting your line out in a fairly workmanlike manner.

That you should not be easily discouraged it is scarcely necessary to add, for who that has landed her first trout has not straightway felt the fever of the rod take possession of her?

Frances E. Slaughter.

Lafayette.Dublin.MISS MASSEY-MAINWARING.

Lafayette.Dublin.

MISS MASSEY-MAINWARING.

Ofthe many forms of sport indulged in by women there is in my opinion none more fascinating than driving. Single, pair, and tandem-driving are within the capabilities of most women, though to control a team thoroughly, especially with a full coach behind it, requires exceptional skill, nerve and strength. The first thing to learn when beginning driving lessons is the proper position and use of each piece of harness, the effect of shifting the reins on the bit, the correct position of the bit in the horse's mouth, and in pair or team driving how the horses should be coupled to go well together. There are no two horses quite alike in character, and each one to go well in harness requires attention to his individual habits and characteristics. Very few people realise how much unnecessary pain is caused to horses by mere thoughtlessness. How manypeople there are who to be "smart" have very tight bearing reins, never dreaming of the agony the poor animals are suffering when left waiting as they often are at the front door, with their mouths aching and their heads strained up. Yet I do not by any means wish to condemn the use of the bearing rein altogether, especially in a crowded city, as it would be impossible to drive many horses without one. Frequently, too, the bit is put very much too high in the horses' mouths, and then people wonder why the poor animals are restless and fidgety while their mouths are being pinched and cut.

Reins for Single Harness.

There are so many things to be mentioned in speaking of driving that it is difficult to know where to begin, what to leave out, and what to mention. I cannot do better than begin with the start from the front door. There are exceedingly few women who have any idea how to start properly. I remember once noticing a very good whip start. She was ready when the cart came to the door,for she well knew that nothing is worse for an animal than to be kept waiting. She went and patted the pony, giving a glance at the harness to see that it was all in its proper place. Finding the throat lash too tight she let it out a hole, then unfastening the reins from the off-side terret, she took them in her right hand with the second and third fingers between the two reins, got in and sat down immediately. Putting the rug over her knees, she then transferred the reins to her left hand, the near rein over the first finger and the off rein between the second and third fingers, and took the whip in her right hand. When she was quite ready to start, she dropped her left hand and the pony moved off. My first impression naturally was, "I am sure that girl can drive," and I was quite right.

In driving there are so very many things to be remembered and others to be avoided, that I think a few good rules will be the easiest way of mentioning them:

1. Both the reins should be held in the left hand, on no account should either rein be taken out of that hand.

2. The hand should be kept just above the level of the waist, fairly close to the body, thewrist being well bent so as to give plenty of spring to the horse's mouth, the nails and thumb turned towards the body and the elbow close to the hip.

3. The reins should be kept close to the knuckles, so as to avoid the possibility of their slipping out of the hand.

4. The right hand should not be kept altogether on the reins, but when on them it should be slightly in front of the left, and the hands should never be far apart.

5. To shorten either or both the reins push them through the left hand from the front, with the right.

6. To lengthen, pull them through the left hand from the front with the right hand, never let a rein slip.

7. Always hold the whip in the right hand when driving.

8. The whip should be held where it balances best, usually just below the collar, and the thong should be kept fairly high so as to avoid the possibility of the lash tickling the horse.

9. Never jerk a horse when starting, and never flap the reins on his back.

10. If a horse does not start when you dropthe hand slightly, draw the whip gently over his withers.

11. When whipping a horse, with the exception of leaders, always hit him in front of the pad.

12. A kicker can often be stopped by a sharp hit on the ears.

13. Always keep a steady, firm, though not heavy hold of a horse's mouth, "feel" his mouth all the time he is going.

14. When driving through a crowded thoroughfare, remember there is traffic behind as well as in front that must not be stopped unnecessarily.

15. Pass all the near-side traffic on its off-side.

16. When turning a corner or pulling up, always indicate your intention, in the former case by swinging the whip in the direction in which the turn is being made, or in the latter by swinging the lash straight above the head.

17. Always go fairly slowly round corners, and keep to the near side.

18. Keep a horse well in hand on greasy wood or asphalt, or when going down hill, and never hurry going up a steep hill.

19. Always look straight ahead, and on no account at the traffic passing or being passed.

20. Never hit a horse when the right hand is on the reins, as otherwise in using the whip the hand necessarily goes forward and relaxes the hold on the rein or reins.

Of course it is quite impossible to lay down rules for everything, and a great deal in driving can only be learnt by long and varied experience. One often hears people talking of self-made whips, but that term generally means people who think they can drive and cannot. For anyone beginning to drive it is essential to start by taking lessons from a really first-class whip. Most of the road coach-drivers give lessons. It is quite as necessary to have good lessons to drive one horse as it is to drive four, as the foundation of pair, team, and tandem driving is to be able to drive one horse perfectly.

A made pair is quite as easy to drive as a single horse, but when it is a case of driving two horses, which have not been previously in harness together, it is quite a different matter. Nothing looks nicer than to see a good pair of cobs in a smart phaeton, going well, driven by a lady who knows what driving means. Women who drivewell, as a rule, have light hands, though many of them do not keep a sufficiently steady hold on a horse's mouth. They so often forget that it is a matter of the greatest importance to feel their horse's mouth the whole time they are going. It is not an easy matter to get any two horses of about the same size to go well together, unless the greatest attention is given to all the lesser details. It is absolutely necessary that the harness should fit well and be properly adjusted. When starting two new horses it is as well to do so with the couplings level and bitted cheek all round. After they have gone a short distance it can easily be seen whether they are going comfortably and well together and each doing his fair share of work. If they are not, the reason can soon be discovered, and the fault rectified. Very often one horse goes a good deal more freely, and takes a stronger hold of the bit, and in that case it will be necessary to see that the other horse has sufficient room in the couplings, and at the same time to put the free horse middle bar if he is inclined to pull. Frequently though, the mistake is made of shifting the reins on the bit when only the couplings require altering. Very few horses carry their heads quite alike, andconsequently will require more or less room in the couplings as the case may he. Many horses too do not carry their heads straight, and need special attention. For instance: it the near side horse carries his head over to the left, the off-side rein will have to be shortened, which means the buckle will have to be taken on the other horse's off-rein. It requires the greatest care and nicety to couple horses correctly, for it makes all thedifference as to the way in which they will go. When putting two horses together it is as well if possible to get them the same size, colour and build. Size is the most important, and many people consider colour the next to be considered, but personally I think colour makes very little difference as long as the horses are the same stamp and go comfortably together. It is most disagreeable to drive two horses together, one having a long swinging stride, and the other taking short "shuffling" steps. It is most trying for the horses too, as the former is sure to do more work than the latter, which to keep up will be continually breaking into a canter.

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