Striking, Playing, and Landing 115 



effort of mine, but caused the effect of striking, 

 on the tackle, to be about the same as if it had 

 been fastened to a twenty-five-pound iron weight. 

 Some years later I fished the Nepisiguit, a 

 much smaller and shallower river, which, in many 

 of its pools, has hardly enough current to keep 

 the fly straightened in its journey down-stream, 

 and it had to be worked very much as in fishing 

 for trout. In such places the salmon rose to the 

 fly on the surface, and if they were not struck the 

 instant the rise came, just as in fishing for trout, 

 the greater part of them were not hooked, as 

 they probably quickly discovered the deceit and 

 ejected the fly. I have never fished any other 

 river where I did not consider striking unneces- 

 sary. When a salmon takes the fly and goes 

 down with it, the rod should be held steadily in 

 its position, and the weight of the fish is sure to 

 force the barb into him as he descends. When 

 it is certain, from the strain, that the salmon is 

 hooked, a steady pull during the instant that 

 generally passes before he begins his run may fix 

 the barb in his jaw as firmly as the first few yards 

 of the impending run will do. Besides the danger 

 to tackle from striking when the rise is seen, 

 there is another serious one of snatching the fly 



