NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING. 463 



sight. The young angler should not, however, follow his 

 lure too closely with his eye, or he will be apt to strike 

 when the fish rises at it ; whereas, he should always depend 

 upon the sense of touch before he raises his rod, which is 

 the only motion to be adopted. Sharp striking, as in 

 trout-fishing, is wholly reprehensible ; and all that is 

 required is the instinctive stand which it is impossible to 

 avoid making against the fish as he seizes the fly, to run 

 away with it. Sometimes, however, it is found difficult, 

 or even impossible, to tempt the salmon into actually 

 seizing the fly ; they will rise at it again and again, but 

 from some cause or other refuse to take it into their jaws. 

 In this case it must be changed until one is found to suit 

 their fancy, but the change need not be made until the 

 same fly has been tried two or three times unsuccessfully. 

 Patience and perseverance, with skill and science, will here 

 be required, and will always be served in the long run. 



In playing the salmon, greater art is required than in 

 the corresponding department of trout-fishing ; and, in 

 consequence, nearly one third of all the fish hooked escape 

 before they are landed. This arises generally from imper- 

 fect hooking, but often also from defect in the tackle, 

 which has escaped the notice of the angler. Besides 

 these causes of danger, there are others depending upon 

 the direction taken by the fish, which cannot always be 

 followed by the angler, either from the depth of the water 

 in large rivers, or from mechanical causes in the shape of 

 rocks, woods, &c, where the stream is smaller. When 

 hooked, the first thing to be done is to raise the point of 

 the rod, commonly called " giving the fish the butt," which 



