344 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



ADVANTAGES OF THE SPINNING LURE 



As there must be about at least a hundred different kinds 

 of salmon flies, each one of which is more or less individually 

 recommended, it becomes increasingly difficult to place 

 faith in any particular fly after it and several others have 

 been selected, tried and proved failures ; patient persever- 

 ance is required perseverance in continuing to make the 

 best possible cast each time, and patience as regards the 

 faith placed in the lure which you happen to be using. This 

 is the reason, I take it, that the average man, under average 

 circumstances, when he can spin properly, prefers spinning 

 to fly fishing. Spinning lures do not vary to the same 

 extent as do salmon flies, and there are always one or two 

 best spinning lures on any river, and almost invariably one 

 special lure in which the fisherman can place his faith, 

 without calling upon his patience to aid him in doing so. 



Each individual cast with a spinning lure, no matter how 

 many times it is repeated, may therefore be made with 

 confident expectation that, if a salmon is in the pool and is 

 inclined to take, the lure which the fisherman is then using 

 is the best one for the purpose. 



Personally, I cannot always pin my faith to a special 

 salmon fly, for I have found so many which, while they have 

 been successful on certain days, are absolutely failures at 

 other times, and after a series of unsuccessful casts have 

 been made in those pools most likely to hold a salmon, I 

 have always to make a mental effort to inspire myself with 

 that confidence in the fly I am using which makes salmon 

 fly fishing such a pleasant exercise. 



One of the factors which tends to make spinning interesting 

 is that attention, which creates interest, must be paid to the 

 spinning lure after it has entered the water and until it is 

 again lifted out because, unless carefully spun, it will sink 

 to the bottom, and run foul of weeds, snags or other dangers. 



