46 SALMON FISHING 



what they seize. As the testimony of intelligent 

 observers is not less valuable than deductions from 

 theory, I will cite a striking case as presented in The 

 County Gentleman. Narrating experiences on an 

 Irish river, " Shannon " writes : " It is by ' spotting 7 

 fish first of all, and letting the prawn come down to 

 them from a distance, that the best sport is obtained. 

 It is very interesting to watch the habits of different 

 fish. Some, though few, fly away at sight of the 

 bait. The majority sulk, some even to the extent 

 of allowing the prawn to touch them. Others go at 

 it at once ; but the most exciting time is with the fish 

 who gets gradually angry. Fish of this sort begin 

 by waving the fins and knocking the shrimp away, 

 sometimes a yard or more ; often they sail round and 

 come back to the same c lodge,' when the same thing 

 is repeated ; generally it ends in the fish being 

 caught. Some fish are very savage. I saw one tear 

 two prawns off the hook in succession, and eat them 

 in mid-water. He was caught on a third prawn. 

 There are different kinds of prawns ; the pale pink 

 ones are not well taken, but the short dark red ones, 

 especially with eggs on them, are taken greedily." 



Then, what are we to make of the familiar fact 

 that on practically all the " autumn rivers " through- 

 out the United Kingdom sport invariably becomes 

 brisk just before the close of the season ? As the 

 final weeks are often a time of drought, the good sport 

 cannot be regarded as proof of Dr. Barton's theory 

 that salmon rise at fly only when they have been 

 running and are fatigued. As I write, just after the 



