Striking, Playing, and Landing 121 



So soon as a fish is brought ashore he should be 

 despatched by a knock on the head with a club or, 

 that lacking, a stone, the fly removed from the 

 jaw, flicked in the water two or three times to 

 cleanse it, and then the tackle examined and line 

 and casting line tested to see if everything is 

 sound and uninjured by the recent struggle. This 

 is a very important matter to be attended to, and 

 many a fish is lost by neglecting it. Salmon, even 

 of large size, may be landed by dragging them 

 gently up on a shelving beach without the use of 

 a gaff, and it is interesting to see how much less 

 force is required to effect this than one who has 

 not seen it done would suppose. The stones, as 

 well as the salmon, are slippery, and when once 

 started the fish seems to help himself along and 

 to slide ashore. The most successful angler I 

 ever knew was a settler on the Restigouche, now 

 departed, named Alford. He had a little piece of 

 water in front of his place and adjoining some in 

 which I was interested. This he fished very 

 slowly and daily from a canoe alone, going over it 

 probably six or eight times between sunrise and 

 dark. If he rose a fish, he would keep at him for 

 hours, and in the end generally hooked him. I 

 think he caught more salmon than any man on 



