318 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 



cadty, which gives it a firm hold, and enables the lucky sports- 

 man to pull out even a forty-pounder with but little trouble. 



It is not a bad plan to have a stout knife-blade, with the 

 inner edge sharpened, hinged on the back of the gaff, which 

 will often be found of use in cutting away any twig or other 

 obstacle which may entangle the fly. 



A creel is of little use to the Salmon fisher, as in order to 

 carry any number of these noble fish one would be requisite of 

 the size of a clothes-basket ; and such is the weight of the 

 fish, that, if you expect to be successful, an attendant is 

 indispensable. 



With these instruments, then, a well-filled fly-book in his 

 pouch, and perhaps a spare gut foot-length round his hat, the 

 fisherman may deem his outfit perfect. 



A suit of plain dark clothes, a pair of stout nailed shoes, and 

 heavy loose trowsers of the coarse Scotch plaid worn by the 

 shepherds, is the best attire for the sportsman. India-rubber 

 boots are an abomination, unwholesomely confining the per- 

 spii'ation, and excessively uncomfortable from the intense heat 

 which they create; besides, an angler is hardly the sort of 

 person to care much about wet feet or a soaked jacket. 



Having now equipped and rigged him, we will conduct him 

 to the marge of limpid lake or rapid torrent, and see how best 

 his scaly prey he may ensnare. 



In order to become a fly-fisher, I think that something of an 

 especial genius is necessary — I mean a fly-fisher in the highest 

 sense of the word, and regarded in the same light as the sports- 

 man whom we can deservedly term a crack-shot. 



Still, although something of a natural and inherent aptitude 



