Salmon Fishing. \ 9 



My friend's remark has often recurred to me 

 since, and almost with the like result, as then, 

 in my thoughts. " For a trout-fisher." Where 

 lies the magic difference between the two ? 

 Is it desirable that on the surface of the pel- 

 lucid stream that glides so smoothly on, the 

 fly of the trout-fisher should drop like " the 

 fall of the rose-leaf," lest it scare the watchful 

 eye of the speckled beauty below with too rude 

 an offer of the counterfeit ? But is not the 

 water often and often pellucid, too, and the 

 salmon's eye keen, though he may lie deeper 

 down aye, keen enough to detect an unusual 

 disturbance on the surface that awakens his 

 suspicion, no matter how fair the fly the fisher- 

 man pins his faith to ? 



But besides the light casting of the line, was 

 it the working of the fly also, that called forth 

 his remark ? Very little difference in that respect 

 can I detect now from what it was then. I cer- 

 tainly do vary it now, more perhaps according 

 to circumstances than then. But as fishermen 



