384 Big Game Fishes 
salmon, the gallant high jumper, the ultima thule 
of the angler’s dreams and hopes, the Oxzcorhyn- 
chus tschawytscha of science. No more attractive 
country can be imagined than that contiguous 
to the waters of the bay of Monterey where it 
reaches north to Santa Cruz and south to the 
bay of Carmel, of happy days, with its old mis- 
sion, its trout streams, and charming coast line, 
a natural park, to linger long in the memory. It 
appeals to the angler in many ways, and one can 
readily understand why the old Spaniards selected 
this spot as their stronghold in the north. 
It is generally believed on the Pacific coast that, 
as a rule, the salmon will not rise to a fly, and it 
has passed into angling history that we owe our 
possession of Alaska to this fact; for did not a 
certain British admiral of sporting proclivities say 
when the question was being discussed by the 
nations of the world, “ Oh, let the Yankees have 
it, the salmon won't take a fly!” And did not 
the English press immediately drop the show of 
opposition to the purchase which it had made? 
If angling history is to be believed, it did. Dr. 
Jordan states : ‘‘ The chinook salmon does not take 
the hook [probably meaning fly] when in fresh 
water, though it is occasionally taken on the 
