150 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING 



he had only got hold of the bell-rope, and was fishing 

 away with it in his dreams, with a salmon, of course, 

 at the end of it. Luckily he did not arouse the 

 Maritornes of the inn : no bell having ever been 

 attached to the pull, which was a mere matter of 

 ornament. 



The first thing to be considered in rod fishing is 

 the state of the water proper for the sport ; and I 

 beg that it may all along be borne in mind that my 

 observations relate to the river Tweed only : for it 

 must be obvious that as rivers vary in their depth 

 and volume of water, no general rule for their being 

 in proper order for the fly can be laid down. 



The waxing, as it is called, and the progress of a 

 flood, has been already explained in a former part 

 of these pages. 



When the Tweed is not clear, but, as it is termed, 

 drumly, salmon that have been some time in the river 

 never take well ; in such case, when there were no 

 clean fish in the water, I have sometimes had four, 

 teen or fifteen offers without taking above one or two 

 fish. They do not see the fly distinctly, and there- 

 fore come at it slowly and with hesitation.* One 

 would think they had some particular method of 

 holding it awhile by way of experiment, just within 

 the point of their noses ; for I have often struck a 

 salmon sharply, and felt as if my hook was firmly 

 fixed in him, when in a moment afterwards it has 

 come away quite easily ; and this has happened two 



* The modern development of spinning, especially with bright 

 artificial baits, has given the salmon fisherman a much better chance 

 in coloured water. Scrope evidently only used a minnow or parr-tail 

 for his spinning, cf. page 234. (D.) 



