SALMON. 19 



its strength, follow it down the stream, and at 

 every opportunity keep winding up the line, un- 

 til you approach it in a wearied state ; then 

 take it softly by the gills out of the water. The 

 size of the hook, for this purpose, should be 

 No. 2, or 3, 



Salmon take little fish and worms best on 

 their first arrival in the fresh water, that is, in 

 March ; and flies from that time until the end 

 of September. Some anglers troll for them with 

 the same baits, and in the same manner, as di- 

 rected for Pike, and occasionally meet with 

 success. 



The Thames Salmon are reckoned to exceed 

 in quality those of any other river ; but those in 

 the rivers Severn and Wye, are excellent in their 

 kind, and are first in season of any in England. 



Before concluding this account of the Sal- 

 mon, it may be remarked, that a fresh wind 

 after a flood, and when the sun shines watery, 

 is the best weather for catching them ; or when 

 the river is slightly urged by the tide ; but it 

 must not be thick or muddy. 



In the Acts of Parliament for the preservation 

 of this fish, the party who catch and send Sal- 

 mon to London for sale, the produce of any 

 fishery, of less than six pounds in weight, for- 

 feits five pounds ; the same penalty is also at- 

 tached to the seller and buyer of the fish. 



