123 TIIE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



And for that, first you shall observe, that usually he stays not 

 long in a place, as trouts will, but, as I said, covets still to go 

 nearer the spring-head ; and that he does not, as the trout and 

 many other fish, lie near the water-side or bank or roots of trees, 

 but swims in the deep and broad parts of the water ; and usually 

 in the middle, and near the ground, and that there you are to fish 

 for him, and that he is to be caught as the trout is, with a worm, 

 a minnow, which some call a pent, or with a fly. 



And you are to observe, that he is very seldom observed to bite 

 at a minnow, yet sometimes he will, and not usually at a fly ;* 



• Fly-fishing for salmon, now the approved practice, seems to have been 

 imperfectly understood, at least in England, until a comparatively late 

 period. Franck, in his A^orthern Memoirs (See Bib. Pref.), speaks of flies 

 for salmon, but rather as what in his pedantic language he calls a " recrea- 

 tion " or " a frolic," his maiii dependence being fishing at the float with 

 dew worms. It is remarkable, however, that he prefers a rather sober 

 colored fly, " representing the wasp or hornet or flesh-fly " (p. 301). Chet- 

 ham {Angler's Vade Mecum, 16SI), while he prefers baits, says that when 

 the fly is used, it should be of gay, gaudy colors, with " four or even six pair 

 of wings, each pair being of a different color from the body ; so that the 

 fly looketh as it were several flies together !" Howlett {Angler's Sure 

 Guide, 170G) repeats the same directions. Saunders {Complete Fisher- 

 man, 1724), though a capital angler in other respects (the first who makes 

 mention of silk-worm gut), says, " it is very rare that the salmon will bite 

 at, or is fished for with, a flie ; but if he will, the flie must be managed in 

 the same way as for a trout, but the sport is not loorth the patience." In- 

 deed Bowlker (about 171(5) is the first who seems to have any clear notions 

 on the subject. The reader need not be surprised at the mistakes of Wal- 

 ton, who had probably very little experience in salmon fishing. 



The flies used for the salmon vary in different countries. Those in Ire- 

 land and Scotland are large, gaudy flies, made of peacocks' or other gay 

 feathers, with gold, silver, or other bright colors, for the body. In Wales, 

 the native anglers prefer sober brown hues, on smaller hooks ; tlie English 

 practice is midway between the two. The gayer fly is, however, every- 

 where becoming less a favorite. Whatever may be said of trout and the 

 flies to take them with, it is very clear that salmon are not deceived by the 

 fly as resembling its natural food ; for, although attemj^ts have been made 

 to find types of tlie more successful flies, tliey are unlike any living crea- 

 ture. Still experience shows that some flies are better than others, though 

 no doubt much depends upon the state and color of the water. 



The best bait for salmon is the salmon roe, first recommended by old 

 Barker, 1G;"37, which is so killing as to be considered hardly fair angling by 

 generous fishers. " It is prepared by taking the full roe, washing it care- 



