F L Y-F ISHING IN THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER 



Gills said that fish were like ostriches in some 

 of their ways, notably in that they seemed to 

 feel safe when their noses were hid,den behind 

 a tuft of grass or in the crevices of a sunken 

 rock. 



" Fish facing the sun, and forget not this rule, 

 even when the twilight is over the waters, by cast- 

 ing toward the west," was the law of our anglers, 

 enacted by their knowledge, based upon experience, 

 of the effect of shadows upon the wary fins, which 

 are more startled by unusual appearances on the 

 surface of a pool than they are by strange things 

 below. 



The Doctor then said that, vision and hearing 

 in fishes being the senses most concerning the 

 angler in his aquatic sports, those next in impor- 

 tance are smell and taste. The possession of these 

 by fish seems to be a disputed point. They evi- 

 dently have taste in a modified degree, as they 

 will reject the artificial lure if the barb or the 

 hook is not immediately imbedded in their flesh, 

 but, on the other hand, they will take a leather or 

 rubber imitation of the natural bait with as much 

 gusto as a live minnow or bug; hence, the ques- 

 tion is a seesaw one. 



" Of course, among angling naturalists, the gift 

 of senses is, or at least they think it should be, 

 confined to game-fish, as they cannot imagine any 

 dispensation of Providence that places the ignoble 



105 



