248 Fishing in Amf,bican Watees. 



ing how beautiful ! Habere is nothing more beautiful than a 

 fresh-run salmon when first taken, neither is there any pen- 

 cil capable of creating its apparent counterpart. To feel a 

 salmon fast to your fly and see its leap is alone worth a voy- 

 age to Canada to experience. 



Again I swept the pool with care and got a rise. As I 

 could not allure the beauty to a second attempt, I concluded 

 to rest the pool and go to the foot of the plain water, wher^ 

 I saw the salmon disporting like dolphins just above the 

 rapid. The bed of the river was about a quarter of a mile 

 wide, and shallow on my side. I therefore waded out, and 

 after a few casts hooked a large, vigorous salmon. After a 

 high leap it struck out to the middle of the river. Then it 

 made numerous rushes and leaps, with turns and sweeps, un- 

 til finally the hook sprang back to me, and let the twenty- 

 pounder go on its way rejoicing. Very soon I hooked an- 

 • other, and it attempted to run the rapid ; but I checked it a 

 quarter of a mile below, where it stopped to sulk behind a 

 rook, and before it formed another plan, my man Duncan 

 watched his chance and gaflfed it. 



Again, after half an hour's playing, I succeeded in losing a 

 very large fresh-run salmon. I felt mortified, and so con- 

 cluded on returning to the head of the stretch to learn the 

 intentions of the large fish which had offered before I left, 

 and for which I rested the pool. I went to the head of the 

 pool and swept it along down until I came to where I got the 

 rise before I left ; but it had either leaped the chute or gone 

 from home, and after a few rises but no strikes, I returned to 

 dinner. " Moving large fish, however, is held by every true 

 angler only second to hooking them ; but many persons are 

 apt to despise the most skillful and patient effbi-ts unless 

 crowned with immediate success." This is the experience 

 of John Colquhoun and every true angler. 



Next morning, by dint of perseverance and continued ef- 

 fort, I finally hooked a salmon at the foot of the pool, and just 

 at that moment a loud crackling was heard in the thick un- 



