26 How to Fish for Salmon. 



and if you do not strike, they spit it out again, 

 but this is not always the case, as I have seen 

 salmon come up in the usual way and take your 

 fly and turn down again after hooking themselves), 

 whirr went the reel ! and he run out full seventy 

 yards of my line. I kept one eye on the fish and 

 the other on my top joint (although I don't gene- 

 rally squint), which kept its position. I wound up 

 and the fish came again into the pool, and after a 

 turn or two I got on short terms with him, but the 

 moment I got him below me away went my top 

 joint down into the water and I gave him up for 

 lost, but to my surprise, up came the fish on his 

 side. He was close in, and Aitken soon gaffed 

 him. The end of the joint was sticking in his nose. 

 I supposed he was more frightened than hurt, and so 

 caved in. He was hooked by his ventral fin. 



It is necessary now and again to put on a 

 tremendous strain, when you know if you do not 

 that the fish must run all your line out, or break 

 you round a stone or snag, but then you take your 

 chance by stopping him or losing him. 



I was fishing in the Luing, a lovely little river in 

 Ross-shire, but at times very rapid, and got hold 

 of a good fish just under the Falls. After a bit 

 the river being in half flood away he went over 

 rocks and rapids as hard as he could pelt ; the line 

 running out at a great rate, and I nearly blown, 



