SALMON -ANGLING. 69 



I have heard it said by some pseudo salmon-anglers, 

 that the only pleasure was the hooking of the fish ; and 

 some have even declared they would not mind breaking 

 every salmon directly after fastening him. Such men, to 

 be consistent, should drop the salmon and stick to the 

 trout : they will of course have more rises, and fix more 

 fish ; but the idea is absurd. If they have arrived at such 

 a pinnacle of perfection, why not reduce their tackle to a 

 single horse-hair ? And if even this should be too strong 

 for their exquisite skill, let them carefully cull the softest 

 hair from the softest lock of their own softer heads. 



However one may admire the dexterity of a master of 

 the rod, as he casts his line between every opening among 

 the trees, in a difficult river, yet I would rather see him 

 manage his fish after hooking it ; the cool nerve and 

 delicate touch is the very perfection of art : and I should 

 never pronounce a man a true salmon-fisher until I had 

 seen him working one in a difficult situation. To throw a 

 very long line, and to search the casts properly with the 

 fly, are no doubt indispensable requisites ; but a river 

 fly-angler, (for I don't here speak of either bait or loch 

 fishing,) who can work his hooked fish scientifically, will 

 seldom be deficient in all the prerequisites of fixing him ; 

 while the rising man, who has only fished preserved waters, 

 where all is clear and open, should he hook a salmon in a 

 difficult place, will most likely find that he has got hold of 

 too strong a customer. And here we may ask, what was 

 the magic in angling that captivated the intellect of such 

 men as Chantrey and Davy? Sir Humphry, I suspect, 



