Flies and Hooks. lOi 



I draw from these considerations the following prac- 

 tical deductions. 



I believe that salmon only take the fly when its details 

 are obscure, and when there is room for the imagination 

 of the fish to clothe it with the attributes of some object 

 with which it is familiar, and for which it has an appetite 

 at the time. 



That it may be urged against this that there must be 

 some point during the progress of the fish toward the fly 

 where every detail is apparent, I have not overlooked. 

 Sometimes salmon rise to the fly and take it. We are all 

 as familiar with the phenomenon of salmon rising " short " 

 — rising at the fly, yet refusing to take it — as we desire 

 to be. That in the one case the permanence of an 

 already fixed impression and the eagerness of pursuit 

 blinds them; while in the other, that the lesser ardor of 

 a more languid appetite prompts a more cautious ad- 

 vance — is a satisfactory explanation to my mind. Indeed, 

 the fact that salmon do rise " short " at all seems to me 

 confirmatory of the theory. 



When salmon rise short, or when they refuse to rise at 

 all, I believe it is either because the fish see too much of 

 the fly, or because they can mistake it for nothing for 

 which they care at that particular time. 



These two principles, if valid, would seem especially to 

 commend themselves to the beginner. They do not, it is 

 true, direct him infallibly to the exact fly which will 

 best suit every occasion, but they will guide him in the 

 direction in which it may be sought. The particular 

 thing which a salmon may fancy at that moment, if it 

 fancies anything, is largely a matter of guesswork, to be 

 determined, if at all, by the experience of others with the 



