SALMON PISHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 28

SALMON PISHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

\ That Plagubt Plbwed Field—Fite Hours v , CoNTjNOOtrs Plating,,—Patience Rb-, , , ,-^abdbd—A,, Fiftt Pound Salmon rina , •„ Result. „ , ( „...> • i,« ■. i. On Monday afternoon Willie Armstrong,, of, Rowanburn, Canonbie* hooked a.large fisu,.with i a small grilse fly, )njib& Cauldron:pool "Jmmth di&tely on jbeingi^opked, jtmade^ grand rush, throvtgh theipooj, returning as quickly over the, samel ground,, after which it settled down to,, steady fighting,, It was, not long before the angler was so.blown that he was glad,to hand the; rod to J. H. Park, of.Marohbank (an onr 100ker),,,. Soon after they were joined by D. .Edgar, who had been angling in the pool above. After some 40 minutes' hard tugging the fish was got to the shallows at the foot of the pool,, and was then thought nearly "done." But Willie reckoned without hte;host, wbioh worked up the pool as steadily as it had gone down,' till' in the strong smid-current >it sailed along as stoutly as ever, defying all hands. Back and forth, up the pool, down the pool, it worked its , way, seemingly more at its ease than its united', enemies, who relieved and re-relieved each other again and again: Darkness set ip, and Davie started half a mile over the fields to borrow a lantern, returning breathless and, as he said," in an awfu' sweat." The fish was in nofcuch hurry to come to terms, but ,kept.towing, the anglers, plunging and tumbling over the rugged rocks hour after hour. Thecandle soon gave out, and Willie started for another, coming back with a raoy report of his tumbling " ower an' ower again, in that plagueyplewed fielV Still' no .signs of weakness in the salmon., By this time it was. , fully realised that it was a mere matter of steady, and hard pulling. It was no use any longer pelting stones in the dark. This, .king of fish despised such petty things. Luckily the tackle was of the very rarest quality, for many a hard • jerk and twist and grind it got, in addition to all the hard .pulling. It was a rich scene to the onlooker—three men plunging, rushing, and groping abouty now in the river, now out, the snow falling silently over the quiet pool, and'the still night startled ever and again with a fresh outburst of laughter or a sudden shout of " Where's ,tv gaun?", "Od! Davie,: man, where's.thy ha'penny dip .now? " " That maunbe an awfu' , big fish, Mr Pairk." '? It must be foul hookit, but it disna' pu' like it either/ '*, Aw never saw sic a beast aw the,times aw've been on the water." " It's the dourest deevil ever aw had haud o'." "Faith! d'ye ken aw we'll, ever get that fish opt." " You had best, tie him up to that alder tree till morning, Davie." These, and a hosb of such like speeches, woke the echoes of the silent night, and set the wild ducks, .which came. . sousing into the pool to Btipper, off again on whistling wings. At one time the fish kept so persistently at the further side, flecking his tail audibly by the gravel, that Willie cut the candle in two, and crossing the ford above, came clatter-. ing over the stones pell mell, only to;find that the fish would not allow him to, come within reach of its tail. Willie, cannie man,.. blew, his candle; out, saving "the doup," and lay down.hoping for his opportunity, but after a halfthour's wait-, ing the salmon worked back into deep water and Willie recrossed.tbe ford.' Again candles had, to be sent for. Three pairs of arms were aching, and three heads, were, completely, bamboozled. All known methods of putting the strain on, had been, tried and all seemed, equally, .ineffective. But after nearly five hpurft' tugging and straining the gallant kipper began 1 inch by inch to yield, and in 15 minutes more he came alongside, the rocks, again and again shying off from the "ha'penny dip." Another.large fish following it closely, the two got mixed up in the flickering candle light, so that the anglers .were misled again and again*., At last, and while, still on its fins, Davie made a desperate grip at its rudder; there was a grand splatter, and Davie plunging over his waders was nearly carried into the pool, but with a great effort he whirled the monster to the bank, where three men fell upon it with murderous intent and had hard work to hold it down. This, was at 9.35 p.m. The little hook— a. black and fiery-brown body, with pwl ,wings and golden pheasant crest—was sticking, so fast ,in "the wicko' the mouth" that, it was cat put with difficulty. The line was severely chafed in several places, but the 501b unsp'awned kippe* was secured, and the Cahonbie boys went off.. rejoicing,, to carry their prize three'long miles and turn into's the pit" and,coal hewing at; 2 a.m,T-J. H, P., in Carlisle Journal., . . .