SALMON FISHING WITH THE FLY. 239 
hooking him would be far greater if he were allowed time to 
close his mouth on the fly. It is highly probable that whether 
he is struck at or not, he often succeeds in ejecting a fly with- 
out being touched, having found out the trick that has been 
played upon him, and it is for this reason that many salmon 
which have been risen, cannot be tempted to rise a second time. 
What is desired when a salmon rises is to fix the barb of the hook, 
and to effect this the surest and safest way, in my opinion, is by 
adopting the following method: When a fish rises at the fly the 
rod must be held steady in the same position as before the fish 
rose; if he has taken the fly he will hook himself by his own weight 
on his downward course after the rise, and he will soon let you 
know it. Nothing more is required to fix the barb of the hook 
unless the fly used is of a large size, when, to make certain of 
doing so, it may be advisable to give one or two steady ‘pulls,’ 
the force of which must be left to the angler’s discretion ; if 
the barb is not then fixed it will be in consequence of the point 
of the hook coming into contact with a bone, when striking or 
pulling would be of no avail. If, after a salmon has risen it is 
found he has not taken the fly, the rod should still be held in 
the same position, and the fly allowed to work as if nothing had 
happened. By adopting this plan there willbe a far greaterchance 
of his rising a second time than if the fly had been snatched 
away from him ; and I have often seen fish that have risen at 
my fly and not taken it, follow it and make two or three rises at 
it before the cast is completed, but I do not often remember to 
have caught a fish following the fly in this fashion. I think it 
is a sure sign that the fly is too big, and I should much prefer 
his going back to his corner after the first rise, and giving me a 
chance of changing my fly. Ihave also observed that a fish 
that follows the fly will seldom be seen again. He finds himself 
before he is aware of it in shallow water, and the chances are 
he gets scared ; this is the only drawback (if it can be called 
so) that I can suggest to my plan of hooking a rising salmon, 
and I will now leave it to my readers to form their own opinion 
on this very important question. 
