SALMON FISHING WITH THE FLY. 239 



hooking him would be far greater if he were allowed time to 

 close his mouth on the fly. It is highly probable that whether 

 he is struck at or not, he often succeeds in ejecting a fly with- 

 out being touched, having found out the trick that has been 

 played upon him, and it is for this reason that many salmon 

 which have been risen, cannot be tempted to rise a second time. 

 What is desired when a salmon rises is to fix the barb of the hook, 

 and to effect this the surest and safest way, in my opinion, is by 

 adopting the following method : When a fish rises at the fly the 

 rod must be held steady in the same position as before the fish 

 rose; if he has taken the fly he will hook himself by his own weight 

 on his downward course after the rise, and he will soon let you 

 know it. Nothing more is required to fix the barb of the hook 

 unless the fly used is of a large size, when, to make certain of 

 doing so, it may be advisable to give one or two steady 'pulls,* 

 the force of which must be left to the angler's discretion ; if 

 the barb is not then fixed it will be in consequence of the point 

 of the hook coming into contact with a bone, when striking or 

 pulling would be of no avail. If, after a salmon has risen it is 

 found he has not taken the fly, the rod should still be held in 

 the same position, and the fly allowed to work as if nothing had 

 happened. By adopting this plan there willbe a far greater chance 

 of his rising a second time than if the fly had been snatched 

 away from him ; and I have often seen fish that have risen at 

 my fly and not taken it, follow it and make two or three rises at 

 it before the cast is completed, but I do not often remember to 

 have caught a fish following the fly in this fashion. I think it 

 is a sure sign that the fly is too big, and I should much prefer 

 his going back to his corner after the first rise, and giving me a 

 chance of changing my fly. I have also observed that a fish 

 that follows the fly will seldom be seen again. He finds himself 

 before he is aware of it in shallow water, and the chances are 

 he gets scared ; this is the only drawback (if it can be called 

 so) that I can suggest to my plan of hooking a rising salmon, 

 and I will now leave it to my readers to form their own opinion 

 on this very important question. 



