340 Life and Sport on the Pacific Slope 



be whirled round and round like a leaf in a mill 

 race. 



Sometimes you can wade, particularly in summer 

 when the water is low. For this work you want 

 wading-boots, not too light, and a fisliing hag, not 

 a basket, with two watertight compartments, one 

 for the fish and the other for your fly-book. A 

 good fisherman nearly always presents a workman- 

 like appearance, and details seemingly unimportant 

 must not be neglected. A badly fitting coat, for 

 instance, will cause intense annoyance and discom- 

 fort. You should buy a Norfolk jacket with what 

 is called an expanding pleat, a coat which gives the 

 arms full play. The inside pockets of this must be 

 large and lined with waterproof which you can 

 take out, wash, and dry. 



Of the trout which swim in Pacific Slope rivers 

 and streams, the largest is the steelhead (Salmo 

 gairdneri), often miscalled the salmon trout, be- 

 cause the flesh is pink. These fish may be caught 

 in most streams in the spring, and afford excellent 

 sport, running in weight from four to fourteen 

 pounds. They take the spoon more readily than 

 the fly, but we have caught very many with the 

 latter. My brother was fly-fishing one afternoon 

 and hooking fish after fish, to the intense astonish- 

 ment of a youth on the opposite bank, who was 

 using the worm with no success. He (the youth) 

 was not able to see the fly, but he concluded from 

 my brother's actions that whipping the water was 

 the only way to catch fish; accordingly he began 

 thrashing the surface of the stream with worm, 

 float and sinker, to my brother's great delight. He 



