JANUARY 13 



purposeful. If the fish bolts far enough 

 he will empty the reel and break away. 

 If he rushes towards the boat the line 

 will become loose, and then he has a 

 chance to be rid of the hooks. If the 

 fish leaps, the angler is apt to "tighten 

 on him" while in the air, and in that 

 case the gear will probably snap when 

 the salmon falls into the water. One 

 or another of these crises, or all of them, 

 may be expected when a fish comes on. 

 Playing a salmon is a task that calls for 

 nerve and skill. 



Besides, whilst the angler has but little 

 to do with the hooking of a fish, it behoves 

 him to know what lure is most likely to be 

 attractive. " Minnow" covers a multitude 

 of commodities. In fact, in spring salmon- 

 fishing the most notable thing that is not 

 a "minnow" is the minnow itself. A 

 gudgeon is a " minnow " ; so is a small 

 dace ; so, if one chances, illicitly, to be 

 handy, is a small trout ; so is each of 

 innumerable " phantoms," " Devons," and 

 other mechanisms ; the real minnow is too 



