SALMON FISHING 



pulse, and wait. The inclination is to strike as in 

 trout fishing. The wily trout must be hooked 

 before he spits out the fly, or he is lost; but the 

 salmon comes up dignifiedly, and deliberately takes 

 the fly and goes down, really hooking himself. This 

 is where the real sport begins. 



Then the fisherman lifts his rod and puts a good 

 strain on the fish, and it should be kept on until the 

 salmon is gaffed. The exceptions to this rule are 

 when the salmon jumps on a short line, then the rod 

 should be lowered and the line slackened when the 

 fish returns to the water, to prevent a sudden snap 

 and, perhaps, a broken leader. When the salmon 

 is running toward a dangerous place which means 

 his loss if he reaches it, a slack line will usually 

 cause him to stop ; because when the strain is taken 

 off, the salmon gets the notion that he is free and 

 ceases to run. The angler then has an opportunity 

 to study what move to make next. It is better to 

 do this and take chances on a slack line, than to 

 have a salmon go over the falls where he cannot be 

 followed, and escape with a broken leader. The 

 salmon is occasionally cautious in his ventures. 

 Sometimes it is most deliberate in its manner, and 

 must be waited for and teased to take the fly. A 

 very good illustration of this was furnished by a 

 dear and much lamented friend. We fished to- 



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