“Now quick. Reel in,” he shouted as he saw the line slacken.
And Rex reeled in the line as fast as he could turn the handle. He had recovered nearly half of the line when the trout again broke water and again headed for the opposite shore.
“Let him have it again but keep the drag on,” Jack shouted.
This time, by pressing as hard as he dared on the drag, Rex managed to stop the fish with several layers of line still on the reel. As the fish turned he rapidly reeled in for the second time and had recovered fully three quarters of the line before having to let him run again. Five times the reeling in and running out were repeated. But each time the rush of the trout was weaker than the one before and it was evident to them both that the fish was rapidly losing strength.
“Don’t give him a bit of slack,” Jack cautioned as Rex reeled in for what proved to be the last time. “I’ve had ’em break away after I thought they were all in.”
Slowly, still fighting as foot by foot Rex recovered the line, the big fish came in until Jack, reaching over the bank, scooped him into the landing net and carefully drew him in.
“He’s sure a beauty,” he declared as he held the fish up by the gills.
“How much will he weigh?”
“Not much under eight pounds if any.”
“I didn’t know they grew that big.”