PREFACE 



Of all kinds of fishing practised in all parts 

 of the world, salmon fishing is still generally re- 

 garded as the most interesting. This sport is so 

 ancient that a lore has grown up about it and cus- 

 toms and methods have become so fixed that it 

 seems almost a sacrilege to change them, or to 

 attempt anything in the way of innovation. Being 

 an inventor by inheritance, nature, and profession, 

 I happen to be one of those who have no regard 

 for convention, or what others do, unless it appeals 

 to my sense of what is right and reasonable for 

 the result to be accomplished, and it was in this 

 spirit that I approached salmon fishing. My ob- 

 ject was to hook and play the fish on an artificial 

 fly, no matter how it was accomplished and whether 

 I followed the accepted customs or not. In this 

 way I have studied the sport for the last twelve 

 or fifteen years, and have succeeded in devising 

 methods of fishing and tackle which cause salmon 

 to rise in any water and under all conditions, so 



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