ON LAKES 97 



think best. That is the practice. I am not certain 

 that it is the only way in which salmon in still 

 waters could be sought successfully. Often, on 

 almost any loch which holds them, you will see the 

 fish rising briskly; not infrequently, when casting 

 for trout you will hook a salmon. Is it to be taken 

 for granted, then, that salmon flies would be useless 

 on the lochs ? One can, it is true, perceive a reason 

 why a salmon fly on a loch would be not so effective 

 as the same lure on a stream. The stream helps you 

 in the process of getting the fly away from yourself 

 a goodly distance ; but in a loch it lies where it falls 

 until you begin to drag it, which can only be towards 

 the boat. This, however, is not a complete proof 

 that casting a salmon fly on a loch would of necessity 

 be a futile endeavour towards refinement of the sport. 

 Salmon are not sharper in eyesight than trout are, 

 and trout are not prevented from rising at a fly by 

 the proximity of a boat. On the other hand, there 

 may be an important difference between the position 

 of salmon and that of trout. When the trout-creel 

 is filling quickly, the trout are feeding, and when 

 they are feeding they are poised only a few inches 

 below the surface of the water ; but, although salmon 

 often leap into the air, their normal position is 

 much below the surface. That being so, one can 

 understand why fly-fishing for salmon on a loch 

 would probably yield comparatively poor results. 

 The salmon and the trout stand in relation to the 

 boat at widely different angles. As the eyes of both 

 salmon and trout look up, besides looking in other 



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