308 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



USEFUL AXIOMS AND HINTS WHEN FISHING 



The quality which will prove invaluable to the salmon fly 

 fisherman is that of perseverance. By persistently present- 

 ing his lures throughout a long day in every possible position 

 likely to harbour a salmon, and by continuing to concentrate 

 his energies with care and attention on the purpose of 

 fishing, he will with average luck eventually establish his 

 position as a successful salmon fisherman. 



It is the billiardist who can continue to concentrate his 

 attention on each effort he makes, who will compile the 

 biggest break. 



The probable average response of the salmon to the 

 efforts of the fly fisherman throughout the year does not 

 exceed more than two per diem, and the fisherman does not 

 secure more than one fish for every four rises at his lure. 

 That is to say, however careful he may be in his methods 

 of casting and fishing out his cast, and however persistent 

 he may be in presenting his lure to the fish, the average 

 fisherman is not likely to secure more than one fish 

 for every two hundred casts he makes, and therefore 196 

 of these casts will, so far as he is aware, fail to move a 

 fish. 



As it is impossible to say at what time of the day, at what 

 part of his water, or at which moment of any cast, he may 

 be lucky enough to meet with a response, the patience 

 required in order to continue casting with unvaried attention 

 to every likely spot, and without any view of his quarry, 

 or any certainty of there being a fish in the pool he is fishing, 

 may be well imagined. 



The moments when a salmon will take are as uncertain in 

 their occurrence as those of trout. They seldom take when 

 a mist is on the water. They will both take at the com- 



