BAIT AND FLY FISHING. 79 



are large, but seldom used for flight, and 

 are employed by her in delivering her spawn 

 to the water, which she does while fluttering 

 over it, switching them off in rotation with 

 her wings, but seldom escapes being caught 

 by the young salmon or par, as it is called, 

 which gives them a taste, and tempts them 

 to leap and lose their life by an imitation of 

 this fly afterwards. Although this insect is 

 called by anglers the salmon fly, they will 

 take any kind. When I was fishing for 

 trout in July, with a small dark midge, a 

 No. 14 hook, and gut as small as horse hair, 



I took two salmon in Ericht, one weighing 



II Ibs., and the other 12 Ibs. ; and at Islay 

 I captured one weighing 15 Ibs., which 

 required an hour and a quarter to lay it on 

 the bank never relaxing pressure on the 

 rod, excepting when it leaped, during the 

 whole of that time. 



The salmon fly may be imitated by using 

 the tail or wing feathers of a turkey, or the 

 many-coloured side feathers of a drake, or 

 the tail feathers of a pea-hen, for its wings ; 

 and one side of a feather of a heron's neck, 

 or one side of a mottled feather of a drake 



