188 NON-RISING FISH 



its attack, and as destruction, from whatever cause it 

 arises, certainly is its result, the colour of the lure 

 appears to be of secondary importance to its having a 

 natural movement and being of a natural size, and the 

 latter factors should therefore, in my opinion, be the 

 basis dominating the appearance of the lure which 

 should be chosen. 



Favourite flies on any river are the result of past 

 experience, and should always be tried, especially 

 when fish are " running." " Custom may, however, 

 stale their infinite variety " to fish which have been 

 some time in the river, or in any particular pool, and 

 such lures may become for this reason the least effective, 

 and patterns which are not usually fished on such 

 streams should be tried, and will often be found 

 effective. 



ACTUAL FISHING : NON-RISING FISH 



It may occur to the reader that if salmon, while in 

 fresh water, be actuated by an instinctive impulse 

 to destroy all the possible enemies to their future 

 young, they but too frequently display a considerable 

 disinclination to respond to this call, and the lures 

 with which he endeavours to awaken their conscience 

 to this duty, and incidentally to effect their capture, 

 are, as a consequence, disregarded. 



There are, however, several circumstances which 

 may explain this apparent lapse of duty on the part of 

 the salmon. In the first place, it is certain that 



