SALMON FISHING. 137 



where the stream really is working up ; and the salmon 

 always lies head to the stream, so that you will have been 

 fishing in the proper direction to rise him. Enough 

 attention is not paid to this, as eddies, particularly below 

 waterfalls or at the head of heavy streams, are very 

 common, and their direction is not sufficiently borne 

 in mind. 



When a salmon rises there are three ways of knowing 

 it, you either see a part or nearly the whole of his body, 

 as he rolls over at the fly, or you see a large break or boil 

 in the water as he turns at it ; or you see nothing at all, 

 but feel a touch more or less smart ; this is often very 

 gentle indeed, for a 201b. salmon will frequently come so 

 softly and gently at the fly as scarcely to move the point 

 of the rod, and you would think that it was hardly a 

 three-ounce troutling. When you see the aforesaid body 

 of the fish, or the big break or boil, you may raise the 

 point of the rod pretty steadily and leisurely ; but, when 

 you feel the touch under water, you must strike instantly 

 and pretty smartly, as the fish is a shy one, and has taken 

 the hook very gingerly, and if not hit at once will drop it 

 directly. Many people say that you should never strike 

 till you feel the fish, because it will often happen that a 

 fish in his eagerness misses the fly, when, if it is not 

 pulled away from him, he will turn and seize it ; whereas, 

 if you snatch it away, he will get alarmed, and go down 

 sulky, and will not rise again ; and I must say that I have 

 seen this happen on several occasions. But it is by no 

 means easy (for a young hand more particularly) to avoid 

 striking when he sees the head and shoulders or the break 

 of a good fish. 



But there is another point of view to be considered, and 

 that is that fish very frequently rise false, and come at 



