HOW TO SET THE POT BOILING. 



what you should never be in striking a salmon pause, 

 and I will tell you why presently. Meanwhile, when your 

 fly is sweeping round, lower the point of the rod gradually, 

 giving line to the fly to cover as much ground as possible ; 

 and when it enters on the straight run home, or when the 

 fly is in the stream, and the line tight and straight, raise 

 and fall the point of the rod slightly as you work the fly 

 up-stream, raising and drawing at the same time, until 

 you have the fly far enough up-stream. Never work it 

 too far, so as to lose full and strong command over it ; if 

 you do, it may hap that a salmon will rise when you have 

 very little power-room left to strike him. 



OX STRIKING. 



Well, * when you see the boil and feel the pluck,' what 

 then ? Why, when you do so you are all right, and may 

 raise your rod smartly, with a fair tug, over your shoulder. 

 If you see the boil only, and don't feel him, don't be too 

 hasty ; he may be only making an offer coming up to in- 

 spect and if (as most young and nervous salmon-fishers 

 out of practice do) you strike and pull the fly away from 

 him, he goes down disgusted with the rudeness of the 

 gentleman who has asked him to dinner and then snatched 

 his dinner out of his mouth ; and you might almost as well 

 have assaulted him with a fork, or, in other words, have 

 pricked him. Ten times more fish are lost from striking 

 too quickly than by striking too slowly. It is hard to 

 wait when you see a fish coming : still, you must wait, or 

 lose your fish. Some people say that when you see the 

 boil of a salmon, if he means to have it, he has already 

 got it. But this is a fanciful theory. He comes up to see 

 what it is that has attracted his attention. If he is not 

 very eager, he first looks and then decides, and you see the 

 boil whether or no. Sometimes the decision is adverse, 



