;oo 



RECREATION 



catechumen that when he leads him to the 

 riverside, be he adept or novice, he will be 

 able to imbue him with the full power of the 

 subtle sentiment which animates the passion 

 for salmon-fishing. By some sort of a men- 

 tal metathesis he will put his pupil in the 

 place of himself. He will guide him to the 

 swirling pool and point out the exact spot in 

 the curl of the rapid where he shall toss his 

 fly. He will act as mentor to him all the way 

 through, precisely as if he were in bodily 

 presence beside him — the only difference 

 being that instead of jogging his elbow here 

 and giving a timely hint there, the pupil will 

 be left entirely to the exercise of his own 

 judgment and discretion in the exercise of 

 his wand. Given a manual of tactics for an 

 infinite number of hypothetical situations, 

 prescribing for each a process, he will have 

 full liberty to make his own selection of 

 materials and methods. He pays his money 

 for his information and he takes his choice; 

 only he may not be able to catch any fish! 

 However, no writer that I know of, save 

 one, has ever exhibited the rare faculty re- 

 quired to produce a true vade-mecum for the 

 salmon-fisher, and he, unfortunately for the 

 craft, seldom airs his knowledge through the 

 medium of cold type. 



But, after all, where is the use ? Of what 

 advantage is classical learning if one cannot 

 put it to practical test ? No one can afford 

 to go salmon-fishing nowadays unless he has 

 a mint of money; and the man who does go 

 has his object lessons right before him. He 

 pays high for them. What need has he of 

 books when he can have realism ? And of 

 what value are books, anyway, to the multi- 

 tude who are disbarred from fishing ? An- 

 gling treatises may have had their day as 

 textbooks ? Quien sabe ? The private tutor 

 takes their place. Nowadays, the canoe- 

 man does all the coaching. Very few salmon- 

 anglers undertake the rough work of the old 

 school. They do not care to pit their mettle 

 against the tempter of what the Scotchman 

 call "wicked rivers," where the capture of a 

 heavy salmon is the test of true strategic 

 cleverness and physical endurance, rather 

 than of mere mechanical manipulation. 

 Most of their fishing is done from canoes or 

 boats on glassy and streamy water, with two 

 canoemen to handle the craft. They have 

 spent fortunes to secure their rivers and 



equip their sumptuous cottages, which in 

 these days have taken the place of primitive 

 camps, and it has taken time and money to 

 reach the delectable ground. They do not 

 propose "to work their passage leading the 

 horse." Therefore, as has been stated, the 

 boatmen do all the work, and the angler 

 enjoys the luxury. They carry the gentle- 

 man's rod and wraps and rubber cushion to 

 the canoe by the riverside, and make him 

 snug on a seat amidships. They then pole 

 out to the middle of the stream or the most 

 likely portion of the pool, which they all 

 know like a book, and drop killick to hold 

 the canoe in position. They suggest the 

 most killing flies, for they are posted by 

 critical observation, and the angler makes 

 up his cast accordingly, and pitches it at the 

 spot to which he is directed. Boatmen in- 

 stantly detect a novice, and thenceforward 

 lose no time in working in their varnish. 

 They show him how to cast properly, and 

 how to pump the rod in order to attract the 

 fish, and how to fasten to a rise. No persons 

 more able and ready to coach than they. 

 Sometimes they will take the rod in hand 

 themselves and deliver the line in a way to 

 astonish the tyro. If a fish fastens, they 

 hand the rod back to the angler, then up 

 killick at once and follow the fish with the 

 boat, snubbing or humoring it according to 

 its moods. These tactics amount to the 

 play of an automatic reel, and the angler has 

 only to keep the tip of his rod well up, ex- 

 cept when the fish jumps; the boatmen "do 

 the rest." If the fish jumps, the tip dips 

 responsively, else the salmon's likely to free 

 himself. Each crew takes personal pride in 

 the achievements of his canoe, and of the 

 trophies it returns to the camp, all of which 

 are credited to the patron of the boat, who- 

 ever kills them. Usually the boatmen tire 

 the fish out in twenty minutes or so by skill- 

 ful navigation, and gaff him alongside of 

 the canoe; but if they have an experienced 

 angler aboard, they will go ashore on occa- 

 sion, keeping deferential silence from start 

 to finish, and venturing no suggestion until 

 the result transpires, when critical remarks 

 are allowed to be in order. 



The foregoing is the vogue on many rivers, 

 especially on the Restigouche. Boats are 

 used wherever they can be, because there 

 are many pools, or more properly swims. 



