132 ANGLING. 



tain. Formerly it was believed that there was a regular 

 stated time for them in all instances, and this led to much 

 confusion and misunderstanding. Experiment, however, 

 has taught us better. The salmon deposits a vast number 

 of eggs, from 10,000 to 20,000, or more, and were it not 

 for the number of enemies it has, and the reckless and 

 improvident way it is dealt with by man, our rivers would 

 literally swarm with them ; as it is, however, scarcely 

 a mature fish survives out of every thousand of eggs 

 deposited. Salmon fishing commences on some rivers as 

 early as February, and on some it continues as late as the 

 end of November ; most of these late fish, however, are 

 very much out of condition. 



The chief method of salmon fishing practised in Britain 

 is with the fly ; though minnow, shrimp, and even worm are 

 used, and kill a large number of fish. We will, therefore, take 

 fly fishing first. The rod and tackle used for the salmon 

 is, of course, much larger and stouter than that employed 

 for the trout. When the angler first takes to salmon 

 fishing, he should take care not to overburthen himself 

 with his rod, and, unless he is unusually strong, he will 

 find a rod of 16ft. or 16Jft. long and heavy enough to 

 commence with. After a season or a few month's practice, 

 he may be able to use a longer and heavier one, and may 

 go on to 19ft or 20ft. or even more, but unless it be in 

 exceptional water, he will very rarely need one of more 

 than 18ft., and even 17ft. will be found large enough for 

 any fish. The reel must be large enough to take 120 

 or 130 yards of eight plait dressed salmon line easily, so 

 that there may be plenty of room in winding up ; a plain 

 winch, not too wide between the plates, and with a mode- 

 rate check, just heavy enough to prevent the line over- 

 running, is the best. Multipliers are to be avoided in 



