Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/50

40 may be expected to rise, and how the fly should be drawn over the fish so as to show itself in the most tempting manner; whereas the angler who has not much knowledge is often apt to dwell upon spots that are comparatively barren, and to pass quickly over those that would perhaps repay particular attention. In fishing a cast, the angler casts diagonally across down stream, and draws the fly up stream towards him, softly raising and lowering the top of the rod so as to check and loosen the fly alternately, and to make all its fibres open and shut so as to counterfeit life. When a salmon rises to the fly he either makes a big bulge or boil in the water, or, if he is unusually eager, he throws his head and half his body above the surface, rolling over like a porpoise in his endeavour to seize the fly ; but a salmon very often misses the fly in his eagerness, and when he does, the very worst the angler can do is to pull it away from him, as after such a miss it is not at all un common for a salmon to turn round hastily and to make a second snatch at the fly, which he then rarely misses ; but if the fly is whipped away from him, he is frightened and disgusted, and goes down sulkily, refusing to rise again. It is therefore the safest plan to wait till you feel your fish, and then to strike, and even then it is not desirable to be too rough. A violent stroke is not the best one, a slight elevation of the rod so as to fix the point, and then a steady strain, enough to force the barb of the hook home in the next minute, is the best way of getting a firm hold. Many fishers strike the moment they see the boil of the fish, under the belief that the boil is made by the tail of the salmon as he turns to go down, and that they do not see him till he gets the fly in his jaws. This is true, pro vided he does not miss his aim altogether ; if he does (as he certainly often does, for it must be remembered that the fly is constantly in motion, which of course renders it not very easy to see), then to strike is to pull the fly away and to deprive the salmon of another chance. When he has hooked a fish, the angler should look round and study what dangers there are which may prove destructive to his hopes, and determine if possible so to manage his fish as to avoid them. He must, therefore, always retain his coolness and presence of mind ; flurry and confusion are often fatal to success. If a salmon jumps out of water the point of the rod should be lowered, so that the line be slackened, for if it be tight the sudden weight is apt to pull it out of the fish s jaw. If he sulks, the only way is to frighten him out of his hole by poking a long pole into it, or by throwing stones, or by some other device. If he runs for the edge of a fall or rapid, it is often a very good plan to let out a lot of loose line, and the salmon, fancying himself free again, will not go over, but will head round and face up stream again. As the devices of the salmon to escape are numerous, they cannot be dealt with fully here. No two salmon-casts are alike, and therefore no two can be fished in the same way ; each one must be fished to suit the particular capabilities it possesses.

The method of casting the salmon-fly is similar to that adopted with the double-hand trout-rod ; the only differ ence being that the rod is larger and heavier, running up to 21 feet, and even more sometimes, and seldom less than 16 or 17 feet. The line is stout, well-dressed, 8-plait silk ; the casting-line a yard or two of treble-twisted gut, and a yard or two of stout single salmon gut. Having mastered his rod well, the angler will find it comparatively easy to cast up to 20 yards of line ; from this up to 30 yards every extra yard he can throw proves him more and more a good fisherman, while every yard he can cast "beyond 30 shows him to be a master of his craft. The angler should never cast more line out than he can work and fish comfortably ; if he does, he has a slack line when he requires a tight one, and he will often raise and scratch fish, and spoil his own sport and other people s, when a yard or two less of line would have enabled him to catch his fish. Very long throws are only necessary under un usual circumstances ; 25 yards will generally cover fully all that the angler really needs to fish.

