178 SALMON AND TROUT. 



[In order to an adequate comprehension of the theory and 

 practice of fly fishing, some general acquaintance with and 

 knowledge of the art of making and using the tackle employed, 

 as also of the habits and history of the several fish it is proposed 

 to ' angle ' for, are clearly desiderata. They are, in fact, the 

 alpha and beta of the business, the ultimate * catching ' playing 

 the part of omega. 



These two important preliminaries being now, however, 

 supposed to be more or less mastered, and the neophyte having 

 become to some extent a naturalist as well as a fairly good judge 

 in the matters of rods, lines, hooks, &c., the next point is to apply 

 his knowledge to the practical business of fly fishing, beginning, 

 as is but respectful to the king of fresh waters, with fly fishing 

 for Salmon. This subject, for the reasons stated in my Pre- 

 fatory Note, I have committed to other and more orthodox 

 hands. 



A safer pilot through the shoals and quicksands of the art 

 than Major Traherne, or a more experienced and practical 

 exponent of its mysteries, cannot be found within the * three 

 seas that girth Britain. 7 



On p. 177 I have given a diagram of a salmon fly, showing 

 its component parts with their technical names. H. C.-P.] 



SALMON FISHING WITH THE FLY. 



IT is with great pleasure, although with considerable diffidence, 

 that I accede to a request, made in very complimentary terms 

 by Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell, that I should write an account 

 of my experience in salmon fishing ; and I am induced to do 

 so in the hope that it may be instructive to gentlemen who are 

 inexperienced in the art, and also to a certain extent interesting 

 to the angling public. 



