43 APPEAEANCE OF THE FLY IN THE WATER. 



tural, if I dare apply fully the meaning of that 

 epithet to fly-fishing for salmon. If the brother 

 angler work the fly gently, the observer will see 

 that the fibres are alternately compressed and ex- 

 panded — that its flits through the water are short 

 and of moderate speed — that it rests and moves 

 on by stops and starts, after the fashion of several 

 living water insects — that it looks more life-like 

 — that its colours and shape are more fully de- 

 veloped — that you yourself would be deceived 

 by it did you not know the why and the where- 

 fore of its coming and going — and, finally, you 

 will conclude that so worked, and humoured, and 

 manoeuvred in the water, it is rendered so much 

 the creature of art — of ars celare artem — as not 

 to make it at all a matter of wonderment that 

 the perception of fish should be led into fatal 

 error by the imposture. 



I have noticed, amongst salmon-fishers, a pretty 

 general fault : they see a fish rise at a good dis- 

 tance ; they throw over him, and the instant the 

 fly touches the water they lift the rod, and begin 

 working the fly. By this instantaneous lifting of 

 the rod the fly is rapidly drawn towards you, and 

 a yard or more of your long cast has been ren- 

 dered useless, and very j^robably the fly has 

 escaped the vision of the fish, and, at the time you 



