SALMON FISHING 185 



To me there is nothing in all sport equal to 

 the glory of success in salmon fishing, but the 

 supreme moment is undoubtedly the actual 

 hooking of the fish. However great my ex- 

 pectation and keenness, the feel of the fish when 

 it hooks itself comes upon me with a shock of 

 surprise and delight, and there is a sudden thrill 

 in having to do with the weight and strength of 

 a salmon. A sense of complete achievement and 

 satisfaction is felt merely in the hooking of it. 

 This satisfaction in hooking a salmon remains 

 undiminished as years go on, but I cannot say 

 the same of the actual playing of the fish. I 

 remember being a little disappointed, even with 

 the first salmon which I played on a salmon rod. 

 It so happened that I was, when a boy, particu- 

 larly unfortunate in salmon fishing. For five 

 years from the time I was fifteen I had a few 

 days* salmon fishing in August or September 

 every year without ever hooking a fish. During 

 all this time I built many castles in the air, and 

 imagined the play of a salmon to be like that of 

 a trout, increased many-fold, not only in strength 

 and endurance, but also in liveliness. Of course 

 it was wrong and unreasonable to expect this com- 



