Hours for Angling 145 



sea, where they have remained for periods vary- 

 ing from six months to perhaps three years, they 

 are comparatively unsuspicious of novel dangers, 

 and do not curb their rising tendencies nearly so 

 much as after a sojourn in fresh water. In the 

 majority of rivers on this side, contrary to the 

 general rule in Britain, the first run of fish is 

 composed of large females which go directly 

 through to the upper waters very soon after the 

 ice leaves, generally by the middle of May, don't 

 stop in the lower pools at all, and will very rarely 

 take the fly until they are well up the rivers. 

 This run is followed ten days or three weeks 

 later by another of rather smaller fish, with a con- 

 siderable proportion of big ones, which make a 

 more leisurely progress, and take the fly at favor- 

 able times and places. The succeeding runs are 

 made up almost entirely of smaller fish, presum- 

 ably the grilse of the year before. 



In many of the Canadian rivers the best sea- 

 son for angling is coincident with that of log 

 driving, and the disposition of the salmon to rise 

 is not at all diminished by the river being well 

 covered with floating logs. They will take a fly 

 close beside a log going down the rapid current 

 quite as freely as if the river were clear; and 



