102 THE SALMO.^f. 
toes or black gnats, at neither of wliich would gentle- 
manly fisli deign to look. My theory, therefore, is, that 
salmon do not feed during the spawning season, but are 
supported by the animalculse in the water, and have poor 
commons at that, as their miserable condition soon testi- 
fies. Many varieties of fish live without apparent food, 
often with the additional disadvantage of infrequent 
change of water, as goldfish in a globe. 
When salmon first arrive in the harbors, they coast 
along the shore, and are then taken in nets, which are 
required by law to have a mesh too large to capture 
grilse ; later, they leave the warm shallows, and follow 
the cooler channel beyond the nets, which are only per- 
mitted to extend a certain distance. The tide-water 
fishing is therefore practically over by the 1st of August. 
^N^et fishing above the salt water is forbidden, or at least 
subject to the same restrictions, which, if they were 
enforced, would almost put an end to it ; but, discredit- 
able as it may seem, and short-sighted as such conduct 
unquestionably is, this law is totally disregarded in many 
rivers, where of course the fish are rapidly diminishing. 
They spawn over gravelly flats and pools, covering up 
the ova after impregnation, and then descend slowly, 
greatly emaciated, ugly and woe-begone, to the sea. At 
such times, although they will still take the fly, they are 
unfit to eat, and while they notwithstanding frequently 
fall a victim to the cruel spear of the murderous savage, 
no true angler nor honest man will harm them. 
Casting the fly gracefully and efi'ectively is a peculiar 
art, hard to acquire, and picturesque to witness ; it is 
altogether different from slashing the water, and almost 
