AN AUTUMN FISHING 173 



time to time broke surface, inciting the 

 novice to further efforts. Even after 

 endless attempts to imitate that overhead 

 or the underhanded cast which, in the 

 hands of the master, sent the Hne with 

 a great serpentine swoop to straighten far 

 out across the river, but in those of the 

 pupil resulted in a violent blow in the 

 small of the back, or a tangled skein which 

 would often fall noisily some yards away 

 from the spot aimed at — even these afflic- 

 tions were forgotten when the next salmon 

 came up with resounding boil and flop. Yet 

 never once were my strenuous exertions 

 rewarded by so much as a half-hearted 

 pull. Indeed, Jean Pierre maintains that 

 all the salmon in this reach are " sleeping 

 fish " ; that they do not " wake up," or 

 assume that state of consciousness in which 

 they are apt to be attracted by any lure, 

 till they have reached the pools higher up 

 the valley. Be that as it may, it is certain 

 that these fish are quite insensible to every 

 bait. Are they, then, in reality somnam- 

 bulists, and their noisy plungings simply 

 the tossings of a troubled sleep ? An 

 open eye proves nothing — for the salmon 



