ANGLING ON THE BORDERS. 23 



mon when he seizes the bait. The angler must hokl 

 a yard or two of line in his hand, unwound from the 

 reel, and keeping down the point of his rod, must let 

 it out, with whatever more is required, as smoothly 

 and uninterruptedly as possible. The salmon at first 

 merely seizes the bait in his mouth, in the manner of 

 the pike, and proceeds to his hold before attempting to 

 swallow it. The angler must not be induced to strike 

 even by pretty strong tugs from the fish, as he is then 

 merely mouthing it, and must wait until he stops, 

 or until something like a steady pull upon the line 

 takes place. 



Parr-tail and minnow are more enticing to kelts 

 than to clean fish, and it is difficult to state the times 

 at which these are particularly tempting baits to 

 newly-run salmon. The best rule is to resort to them 

 only in circumstances when fly-fishing is found to be 

 unsuccessful. The baits, both the parr-tail and min- 

 now, ought to be larger than those used in trout-fish- 

 ing ; the tackle ought of course to correspond with the 

 baits and the strength of the fish angled for ; and the 

 spinning ought to be rather more deliberate than when 

 trout are the object in view. The ordinary salmon- 

 casts are the places adapted for them. 



Of course the first great point in salmon-fishing is 

 to hook the salmon ; but even then, it is rather pre- 

 mature to count upon the shoulder-cut for dinner. 

 The " monarch of the tide" is still in his own element, 

 and he must be caught before he is cooked. It is 

 difficult to give general directions as to the proper 

 management of a hooked salmon, and we have not 

 space to enter upon the controversies about keeping 



