WORKING OF THE SALMON-FLY. 259 



the bank, and allow it to sweep or sail round, so as to 

 catch the current and bring the line to its full natural 

 tension. To do this invitingly, the angler must ply his 

 rod, gradually lowering it as the fly beats round, until 

 the point has declined to within two or three feet of the 

 water's surface. The plying motion consists of a 

 measured and gentle working of the line, so as to im- 

 part a life-like appearance to the lure, causing it, as it 

 were, to amble and sport leisurely in the stream, open- 

 ing and shutting its wings, and giving opportunity to 

 the fish to pursue and seize it. This motion also assists 

 to keep the line in sufficient stretch, and to disguise all 

 the unattractive, exposed and .suspicious points of the 

 fly and tackle. 



In fishing streams, (I use the word as one differing in 

 signification from pools, and referring to those portions 

 of a river which are of rapid movement), the line, in- 

 stead of being directed across at right angles with the 

 bank, ought to be thrown more in accommodation with 

 the" run of the current, say at an angle of 45 degrees, 

 so that the fly, in describing its sweep or curve, may 

 not come round too rapidly and escape the notice of 

 the fish. In rapid water, such as the necks of streams, 

 straiks, and eddies, the plying and working. of the hook 

 is not always requisite ; at any rate, one should have 

 resort to it as a secondary measure, allowing every 

 chance to be given to the fish rising, at the juncture 

 which takes place on the completion of the curve, or 

 what is termed the moment of hing. This failing, the 

 salmon-fisher advisedly may finish off his cast with the 

 process in question, which, if it do not prove irresistibly 

 attractive to a pursuing fish, may be the means of 

 stirring up to the scratch one hitherto dormant. 



Those parts of a stream or pool, which are known to 



