248 THE SALMON FLY. 



busily at work, are not open to vulgar gaze. It will be long, perhaps, 

 before we become thoroughly acquainted with all their peculiarities ; yet 

 we have to deal with them as best we may. One thing we do know, and 

 it is this the influences at work last longer over some fish than over 

 others ; and equally certain is it that fresh-run fish are the least affected, 

 they being the first to show themselves when the " depression" is passing 

 away. 



When limited to the form of disturbance, which I have termed 

 " lingering doubt," the influence is invariably of a local character. But 

 in respect of more serious obstinacy, Nature sometimes decrees that the 

 area of the mischief is not local, but general ; and th'en every fish in the 

 river seems restrained from stirring to acknowledge any fly presented in 

 any way. On these occasions our hopes of success are so thwarted as to 

 induce us to throw up the game in despair and wait " for the next deal." 



(At this point I would remind the novice that failure to attract the 

 fish at any time may arise from the fault of the Fisherman a failure of 

 no uncommon occurrence to those who do not care to study the subject of 

 presentation. On the other hand, even if the rod is used to perfection, 

 the Angler may yet fail from want of knowledge in connection with flies. 

 He presents, well, just the very one he should keep dry in his book. He 

 is trying a tiny or a thin fly ; a big [or a bulky one ; a blue, or a poor 

 thing without much colour or marked characteristics whether the water 

 is deep, shallow, ruffled or smooth. When once he gets over these pre- 

 liminaries he will be better able to cope with the more common con- 

 tingencies in fishing. How, then, should he proceed to do so ? This is 

 not a question to be easily answered. The young Angler, like the young 

 fly-dresser, is oftsn driven to find out everything for t himself ; no wonder 

 he as often falls short of the achievements of experienced men of the day. 

 Very plausible is the argument that many of the errors and indiscretions 

 that we all commit in choosing and using flies might have been avoided 

 by a timely reference to some authoritative treatise, written in such a way 

 as to somewhat clear the ground for the uninitiated. And yet no man 

 who overcomes one trouble escapes walking into another ; but he walks 

 with his eyes open, and with a knowledge of many of the conveniences 

 and inconveniences likely to be entailed upon him thereby.) 



