100 SALMON FISHING 



he see ? Hitherto anglers generally seem to have 

 taken it for granted that fish of the salmon-kind, 

 howsoever deep may be the water in which they 

 are lying, see straight upwards into the air ; but 

 this assumption is questionable. Does not one of 

 the characters in Aylwin, that witching romance, 

 begin his preparations for trout fishing in a Welsh 

 tarn by anchoring his coracle in one of the deepest 

 parts? He does; he is about to fish with worms, 

 too ; from which it is obvious that Mr. Watts-Dunton 

 believes it possible, where the water is deep enough, 

 to catch fish of the salmon-kind from a perpendicular 

 position, just as the seaman catches cod. We must 

 not, however, give much weight to this evidence. 

 Perhaps the passage referred to is one of the accom- 

 plished writer's lapses from accuracy, which are rare. 

 More conclusive is the fact that if, instead of 

 approaching your salmon from the front or from the 

 side, you approach him from above, he is unconscious 

 of your presence until you are very near. The 

 position is difficult to get into; but it may be 

 roughly attained, sometimes, by standing on a bridge 

 over a stream. Is there a salmon just below the rim 

 of the bridge ? You will not scare him if you hang 

 over the rim and wave your arms. His upward line 

 of vision does not reach you. Why, then, should 

 our gillie be certain that the boat is seen by a 

 salmon lying thirty feet, or more than that, below ? 

 Although he may be unconscious of the presence 

 of the boat, the fish may see the minnow which is 

 following in the depths. 



