Fresh Water Fishing 339 



salmon flies, bwt you can buy them of the smallest 

 size, and in bright weather, on clear water, they 

 ought to prove deadly. If a fish rises short, put 

 on a smaller fly, and remember the Scotch maxim, 

 "A bright fly on a bright day, and a dark fly on 

 a dark day." Toward dusk, the Coachman, the 

 Royal Coachman, the Coch-a-bondhu, and the White- 

 wing may be tried. The March Brown, the Red 

 Spinner, and all the hackles are excellent. You 

 will catch most of your trout early in the morning 

 and after six in the evening, but there is generally 

 a splendid rise in the middle of the day which 

 seldom lasts more than three quarters of an hour. 



Not the least part of the fun is poling up the 

 rivers, and the passing of swift rapids exacts a 

 nice adjustment of muscle and brain. The Siwash 

 Indians are adepts at this work, and you will see 

 one seemingly feeble old man poling a heavy 

 bateau against a stream that you would pronounce 

 irresistible. Those who can punt always fancy 

 themselves at this game, till they have found out 

 by trial the difference between rivers like the 

 Thames and, let us say, the Cowichan. The man 

 who poles uses his knee against the gunwale of 

 the boat, and obtains thereby immense power. If, 

 however, his pole should slip, the man's centre of 

 gravity being outside the boat, it is almost impos- 

 sible to avoid a bath. The secret of poling, like the 

 secret of wrestling, is using the strength of what is 

 opposing you. If the current strikes the canoe at 

 a certain angle, a slight effort on the part of the 

 poler will send the boat up stream. Suffer the 

 stem to swing ever so slightly, and the canoe will 



