8 SALMON FISHING 



fish these rivers, has proved in practice to be 

 the best. 



In choosing a fly, we may, with advantage, 

 consider the depth of the pool, and the back- 

 ground against which the fish see it. From one 

 side of the river this may be a clear sky, while 

 from the other it may be a dark pine wood, or 

 a sombre overhanging cliff, each condition re- 

 quiring a very different colour of fly. We must 

 also consider the position from which fish lying 

 on the bottom see the fly. Deep pools of say 

 six to eight feet naturally require a full-sized 

 fly, in which the body must be the predominant 

 feature. Shallower pools where fish see the fly 

 from the side, require more wing effect. 



The eye of the fish being at an angle to 

 the stream, commands from either side a fair 

 range, but, as he generally lies against a stone, 

 and may be unable to see a fly presented from 

 that side, if on being fished he refuses to take, 

 he should if possible be fished from the other. 



The complexity and variety of design in salmon 

 flies, must without doubt puzzle the student as 

 to whether there is really any great advantage 

 in one particular fly over another. We think 

 this question may be answered in the affirmative, 

 but how far, or to what extent, the value of one 

 pattern over another exists, it would be difficult 

 to estimate. 



