158 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING 



the river, then back out with nimble pastern, always 

 keeping a steady and proper strain of line ; and he 

 must preserve his self-possession, " even in the very 

 tempest and whirlwind of the sport/' when the 

 salmon rushes like a rocket. This is not moody 

 work ; it keeps a man alive and stirring. Patience 

 indeed ! 



It is indispensable to have a quick eye, and a 

 ready hand : your fly, or its exact position, should 

 never be lost sight of ; and you should imagine every 

 moment of the livelong day that an extraordinary 

 large salmon is coming at it. No man can do any 

 thing properly unless he is sanguine, and his whole 

 heart and soul is in the business. ' Remember, my 

 good people all, I do not wish to press this laborious 

 sport unfairly upon you : excuse me, but it may be 

 you are not exactly fit for it ' non cuivis homini' ' 

 etc. You may saunter about with a gauze net and 

 two sticks, if you prefer it, and catch butterflies. 

 Every man to his vocation ; but " what is a gentle- 

 man without his recreations ? ' 



There is a speculation in angling that gives great 

 zest to the sport. You may catch a moderate-sized 

 fish, or a distinguished one ; or, mayhap, a monster 

 of such stupendous dimensions as will render your 

 name immortal ; and he may be painted, and adorn 

 some fishing-tackle shop in London, like Colonel 

 Thornton's* pike, which threw Newmarket on his 



* Colonel T. Thornton, A Sporting Tour through the Northern 

 Parts of England and a great part of the Highlands of Scotland, pub- 

 lished in 1804. An amusing and interesting memento of the spacious 

 days of sport. The Colonel's great pike was caught on Loch Petuliche 

 and weighed, on his representation, 49 Ib. (ED.) 



