278 Salmon- Fishing. 



apt to run foul of rocks and other obstructions, and 

 get anchored in mid-stream. In all untoward cir- 

 cumstances, however, nothing is gained by fretting 

 and fuming. The situation is unpleasant, perhaps, 

 but do not be rash, for even in apparently hope- 

 less cases a slight exercise of patience and per- 

 severance will often free the lure, though it may 

 indeed spoil the pool. 



Salmon sometimes take the artificial minnow, 

 the best form of which is perhaps the phantom ; 

 but when the natural can be got, let not the angler 

 think of any other. The only excuse for the use of 

 the artificial is the difficulty, sometimes experienced 

 in spring, of procuring live minnows of a suitable 

 size. This difficulty is the more to be regretted, 

 for spring is without doubt the best season for 

 salmon - fishing with this lure, as autumn is the 

 most deadly with the fly. Stoddart recommends 

 a bright day for the minnow in spring, when the 

 river is low and clear ; but my experience has al- 

 ways been that, in such conditions of water, the 

 luckiest days at this season are certainly the dull 

 cloudy ones. Indeed, a thoroughly wet day is 

 sometimes fraught with excellent sport, especially 

 if it occur after a prolonged drought. 



Fish the minnow, as you do the fly, in rocky 

 pools and heavy rough streams ; and when you 

 feel a fish, let him go a short way with the bait 



