62 THE SALMON FISHER. 



touch the water at any time. Why ? Because the 

 water is so still, even when rippled by a flaw of wind, 

 that the line laying its length along the water looks 

 like a cable. The fish are so busy investigating the 

 phenomenon that they don't mind the fly. Perhaps 

 they don't see it at all. To attract his attention the 

 point of the rod should be pumped up and down. 

 This will move the fly a foot or more at each motion. 

 Sometimes it is well to draw the line through the 

 rings with the left hand while working the point of 

 the rod, which answers the like purpose. The whole 

 process is exceedingly delicate. Experienced anglers 

 will appreciate the difficulty of fastening to a rise 

 with an almost perpendicular rod, while the liability 

 of breaking the tip in case of a strike is very great. 

 The only way is not to strike when a salmon rises, 

 but to let him pull the point of the rod down three 

 or four feet, and then fix the hook in his jaw by a 

 gentle lifting of the rod so as to bring the line taut. 

 There is no method of fishing prettier than this 

 when one gets used to it. It beats skittering with a 

 spoon all hollow. 



It is obvious that this mode applies to tidal waters 



