104 THE SALMON. 



not too hard, but as quick as the lightning from the 

 sky, and this although contrary to the English books, on 

 the ground that a salmon, if he rises once and fails to 

 touch the fly, will always come again. If, however, he 

 has tasted the unappetizing morsel, and has not been 

 hooked, for he is quick to spit it out, you will see him no 

 more. If you fail to hook a fish on the first rise, it is 

 well if you can keep your impatience under control, to 

 rest him by casting elsewhere a few times, and if you 

 fail to strike him on the third rise, change your fly. 

 Salmon are extremely particular and dainty in their 

 tastes, and it is never advisable to fish too long with one 

 fly unless they take it well. 



The great rules are — ^keep out of sight, change your 

 flies and rest the pools. The best time of a clear day is 

 early and late, and in the midday heat not a boat nor a 

 line should disturb the water; in fact, a pool that a 

 canoe has crossed is ruined for the day, and when there 

 is no rising, there is little good in casting. A pool that 

 is not disturbed at night would be found much better, as 

 a consequence, in the morning. 



But after your fish is hooked, after he is played and 

 almost played out, after you have exhausted him, and 

 brought him skillfully and carefully to shore, he is not 

 yet in the pot ; nor will he be unless you have an assis- 

 tant expert with the gaff. There are all sorts of direc- 

 tions about this important operation, some authors saying 

 a fish must be gaffed in the shoulder, others preferring 

 the tail, some the belly, and some the back, but, in fact, 

 one place is as good another ; the main points are not to 

 miss nor graze him, and not to jerk so hard as to throw 



