MY FIRST SALMON 231 



outfit, read some books on the subject, bearing in 

 mind that the habits of fish vary greatly in different 

 waters, so that the methods of fishing are, of course, 

 also variable. 



Patience is one of the main requisites for success. 

 I used to have a theory that salmon and trout fish- 

 ing were very much alike beyond the fact that one 

 was on a larger scale than the other ; but in reality 

 they are very different. If there is a trout in a 

 pool and he intends rising, he usually does so before 

 many casts have been made. Not so with the 

 salmon. One grilse of medium size required an 

 hour of incessant casting over and about the place 

 where I knew him to be before he would take the 

 fly, though several times he acknowledged its 

 presence by a gentle swirl. Such experiences are 

 by no means rare. 



Occasionally it is desirable to change the fly 

 for one of a different size or pattern, but as a 

 rule if a fish does not rise to a good standard fly, 

 he will not be tempted by a change. There seems 

 to be no possible way of proving whether fish are 

 sensible to colours, or whether once they are in a 

 rising mood they will not rise to anything moving 

 that has more or less the shape of a fly. Trout 

 may frequently be seen rising to pieces of leaves or 

 flowers as they float down stream, while at other 

 times flies of different kinds may struggle on the 

 surface of the same water unnoticed. It is probable 

 that the man who goes out with, we will say, three 

 good flies, such as the silver doctor, the Jock Scott 

 and dusty miller, will, in the long run, do just as 

 well as the one who has his book filled with 



