264 THE SALMON FLY. 



everybody who is anybody on a Salmon river, and several who are not, would have 

 seen, that the fish were not Trout. 



" ' Salmon,' I shouted ; ' seven oE them close to the slab.' 



" A few minutes latsr and I was by my Father's side with two or three of the 

 little green, hairy creatures in my hand. 



" ' Well,' said he, ' we have a chance now ! Whip up a big imitation, and we'll 

 have some of these fine fellows on the bank.' 



" The feather work proceeded, and we discussed the mode of attack (for we 

 could not cast) should we ' bob ' or fish the fly by paying out the line ? Our wing- 

 less lure was soon dressed on a No. 2 hook ; the body of green chenille, veiled in 

 four sections with real Irish-grey hackles, that would have made the mouth of a 

 Manning water, with a silver tag and tail of Ibis. I shall never forget the com- 

 motion in the water which the sight of the Grub caused. Directly it reached its 

 destination all the fish seemed to go for it after the fashion of Chub for cheese. 

 We knew what was up in a moment, and in a comparatively short time five of 

 these unwary Salmon lay lifeless by our side. This sounds well to the uninitiated, 

 perhaps, but no note of admiration is put to make it appear remarkable, for success 

 of this description does not strike me in any way as being remarkable. 



" ' Perhaps our old friend above (I mean the ' parcel ') gorged himself with 

 these caterpillars. If you'll try for him, I'll cross the ford below the ' Whebbs ' 

 and watch how the fish behaves when he sees our imitation of one.' This sugges- 

 tion from me was enough for my Father, and on getting to the spot and settling 

 myself under an old wall I soon observed : ' Let the Grub come further round, you 

 recover the line too soon.' 



" On the second trial the line was allowed to dwell, and the fly worked in 

 sight. But I saw nothing, even by the aid of the binoculars, until I heard the 

 whirr of the winch the dash of the fish being so sudden and so quick. In due 

 course the gaff was used, and the Salmon, fresh-run, was literally chock-full of 

 mashed caterpillars ! Here, then, was the sixth killed in one day with the selfsame 

 hook, dressed after the living things themselves. 



" Though I tried that fly again and again to within the last year or two, I 

 never had another rise to it, or even a pull. And this, in my idea, is because I 

 have never since met with the same conditions. 



" Another example is afforded by the ' Red Underwing ' on the Earn ? This 

 fly is tied after the gaudy Cinnabar moth (Euchelia jacobese), and is a superb killer 

 at the end of the month of September, when the moth itself is seen up ar.il down 

 the river flying about in thousands. I am aware that this fly has been described 

 as representing the Calocula nnpta ; but this is immaterial, as the fish do not stop 

 to classify. Salmon, unlike Trout, spend only a portion of their time in fresh 

 water, during which period they travel from district to district. How, then, can 

 we expect their knowledge of the insects upon which they are accustomed to feed 

 to be so precise as that of Trout, which keep to one place, if not to one spot, from 



