vt SALMON-FLIES 69 



head, a small portion of that substance called pig's wool, so 

 mysterious to the uninitiated, pigs not being the usual animals 

 from which wool is supposed to be derived ; then finished . off 

 with a few turns of black ostrich feather ; not forgetting that 

 finish to the whole, two horns of red and blue macaw's feather. 

 Now, all this makes a fly, either of the dragon or some other 

 species, which no salmon who is in a taking mood (one can 

 hardly suppose he swallows it out of hunger) can resist. See 

 the gallant fish, as he rises suddenly up from the dark depths 

 of the pool, poises himself for a moment, as the fly hovers 

 before him, in the twirling eddy, then darts forward, seizes the 

 gaudy bait, and retreats again, apparently well satisfied with 

 his skill in fly-catching, till he suddenly finds himself pulled 

 up, and held fast by the unexpected strength of the insect. I 

 suspect that a salmon, after a quarter of an hour's struggle on 

 a line, would scarcely call the fisherman at the other end " a 

 fool," even if he took the fly to be some newly-discovered 

 glittering worm. Skill in fly-fishing can only be acquired by 

 practice, and no directions can make a good angler. And even 

 when fairly hooked, a salmon is only to be held by a happy 

 mixture of the suaviter in modo and fortiter in re, which keeps 

 the line at a gentle but firm stretch, from which he cannot 

 escape by dint of straightforward pulling — to which the skilful 

 fisher must gradually yield, to prevent too much strain on his 

 slight line. Nor, on the other hand, ought the fish to be 

 allowed, by the angler slackening the line, to get a sudden jerk 

 at it, by means of a fresh rush, as few lines or hooks can starid 

 this. In fishing for sea-trout, I always kill the largest fish, and 

 the greatest number, by using small flies, though certainly too 

 small hooks are apt to lead to disappointment, by not taking 

 sufficient hold of this tender-skinned fish. As all rivers require 

 different flies for sea-trout, no general rule can be given, but I 

 never find myself unable to catch trout, if there are any in the 

 water, and I use either a small palmer, red, black, or white, and 

 if these do not succeed', I try a small fly with black or blue 

 body, a turn or two of silver twist, no hackle round the body, 

 but a little black hackle immediately under the wings, which 

 latter consist of lark's or hen blackbird's feather, or that of 

 some other bird of a similar pale grey colour. I have often 

 been amused by being told gravely by some fishing-tackle 

 maker in a. country-town, when showing him one of these simple 



