THE IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 247 



imperfections of the artificial fly, and perhaps the gut to which it ia 

 appended, to be discovered by the intended victim. 



In nothing is piscatory skill more distinctly evidenced, than by the 

 instinctive accuracy with which, in whipping a stream, the practical 

 angler will discern what places to fish closely, accurately, neatly ; which 

 to pass over lightly — in other words, which are more and which are 

 most unlikely to hold the objects of his pursuit ; and this skill, this 

 power, like that of casting the fly, or even in a greater degree than 

 that, can be gained only by dint of long practice and accurate obser- 

 vation. 



As I had occasion to remark, not once, but many times, in my 

 " Field Sports," aeteris paribus of eye, hand and nerves, on which 

 almost everything depends, the closest observer of nature, the most 

 diligent inquirer into the actions, the habits, the prey, the haunts, the 

 every-day life pf the bird or beast which he is pursuing — in other 

 words, the best naturalist — will be the best and most successful sports- 

 man ; and so it is, and perhaps even more so, in the case of the 

 angler. And, indeed, after years spent in this exciting and yet gentle 

 pursuit, the angler will ever find that he has something still to learn, 

 that he has gained something daily, if he keep his ears, his eyes, his 

 mind open to the sounds, the sights, the beautiful provisions of nature. 



In large lakes, which must be fished from boats, the vicinity of the 

 shores, the edges of shoals, and the holes in the close neighborhood of 

 large rocks or boulders which cause eddies, and above all the entrances 

 or outlets of streams, brooks and rivers, are the likeliest places in 

 which to find Salmon, but not reedy banks or weed beds, as is the case 

 with the Pickerel and Mascalonge ; and such spots as these deserve 

 the utmost care and aitention of anglers. And now, I believe that I 

 have said all that I can say about the casting of the fly, and the places 

 into which it should be cast in order to ensure the first success, the 

 getting a rise, I mean, from this noblest of fishes. Little is done, how- 

 ever, in getting this rise, unless we know how to strike, and how to kill 

 him when he has risen. On this head, perhaps, it might be said that- 

 the art of striking a fish, or so handling the rod that the barbed hook 

 shall be buried securely and quickly, or ere the fish has time to dis- 

 cover that the gaudy bait ia an unreal mockery, without substance or 

 savor, con.sists in knowing what is not rather than what is to be done 



