THE SALMON FISHER. 87 



two seconds or so. As a rule salmon roll up slug- 

 gishly to the surface with a bulge, and take the fly 

 so quietly that a novice will fail to notice it, but the 

 ever watchful eye of the expert detects the slightest 

 " boil." In trout fishing we are accustomed to strike 

 at a rise. In salmon fishing he who strikes will most 

 certainly lose his fish. Time must be given. We do 

 not exactly let the salmon hook himself, but we in- 

 stinctively tauten the line at the proper instant, and 

 presto ! the fish is fast. The movement is as difficult 

 to describe as the traditional " wrist knack " which 

 fastens a trout. If a salmon rises once to a fly and 

 misses, immediately cast elsewhere, and let a full 

 minute elapse before trying him a second time. The 

 instant you find your fish fast, raise your rod to a 

 perpendicular and keep it up, unless the salmon leaps 

 from the water, in which event you dip the tip defer- 

 entially at once. The politeness will cost nothing 

 and will save your tackle. Subsequent manoeuvres 

 will depend on the movements of the fish. Some- 

 times it will take him several seconds to comprehend 

 that there is trouble then he scoots ! Fish when 

 first hooked usually make for the upper stream. 



