TROLLING FOR PACIFIC SALMON 



109 



boat; many trollers, in boats of every 

 kind, from the hired boat of the sports- 

 man to the trim craft of the private 

 owner, were in evidence everywhere. 

 The broad, deep river was entertaining 

 the public. As far as the eye could 

 see, boats were in view, some carrying 

 a solitary fisherman, many only the cus- 

 tomary crew of two, while others were 

 loaded with gay crowds out for sight 

 seeing. 



The salmon seemed to be in a frolic- 

 some mood, and were leaping two or 

 three feet above the water. The moun- 

 tains on either side began at the water's 

 edge and rose abruptly skyward, each 

 vying with the other in richness of 

 robe. Leaves of scarlet, gold, and som- 

 bre brown stood out in bold relief and 

 made the tall firs and spruces more 

 stately. 



To the westward an excited angler 

 was matching his skill and rebellious 

 reel with an early riser, but the taunting 

 laughter and derisive shouts that greet- 

 ed his efforts impaired his judgment. 

 He did not heed the kindly advice of his 

 companion. Another moment and the 

 silvery king shot into the air like a pro- 

 jectile and shook himself free. 



An atmosphere of goodfellowship 

 prevailed, and the autumnal scene 

 flashed before the eyes in a panorama. 

 An Indian, spectre-like, moved out from 

 the shore in a cedar canoe. He and 

 the group of Indian shacks on the bluff 

 near the water's edge added variety to 

 the happy throng, and furnished an im- 

 pression long to be remembered. Com- 

 fortable homes lined the shores, em- 

 phasizing the survival of the fittest. 



A sudden commotion ! Looking lee- 

 ward, we beheld an inspiring sight ! A 

 slender girl, standing erect in the stern 

 of a boat, faced a wildly leaping, vigor- 

 ously fighting twenty-pound silverside. 

 The slender pole "bowed a sweet ack- 

 nowledgment^ of the strenuous strike, 

 like a reed swaying before the wind, 

 and the merrily singing reel added its 

 metallic voice like the fifer in the con- 

 fusion of battle. 



The fish headed downward, stubborn- 



ly protesting. Only the swish of the 

 quivering line greeted the ears of the 

 on-lookers. The slowing z-ze-ze-ze of the 

 reel indicated the good judgment of 

 the fair angler in her efforts to stop the 

 heavy strain on the hook and line. 



After a series of spasmodic bottom 

 rushes the salmon led up, but when 

 near the boat he rose to the surface, 

 hesitating a moment, then running 

 stra ; ;Tit away, gradually settled until 

 finafly checked. For a moment he 

 struggled obstinately, keeping near the 

 bottom, then rushed wildly toward the 

 boat in a frantic effort to escape, the 

 reel rapidly taking up the slack. A 

 sudden pause, a dull tugging, and the 

 fish came toward the inevitable. 



Slowly the reel took in the slack line, 

 then the infuriated silverside had his sec- 

 ond wind, and made a wild run for the 

 deep eddy ; but the damsel at the reel 

 maintained her composure, letting out 

 the line slowly as the fish surged and 

 tumbled. The line slackened and the 

 soft grumbling reel took it up. The 

 silence was ominous, still the line was 

 slack. Had he shaken the hook loose ? 

 No ! He flashed in the bright morning 

 sun ; leaped successively two or three 

 feet into the air, then rolling, and dart- 

 ing viciously, churned the water into a 

 seething, boiling foam. Like a half 

 tamed mustang he led in, but sud- 

 denly at the appearance of the boat he 

 pulled back, throwing and shaking him- 

 self, and then as if to free his body of 

 the iridescent silver he shot out of the 

 water and fell back, slapping the water 

 savagely with his tail as he again dis- 

 appeared. Cautiously she reeled him 

 in again, but the prize fought the taut 

 line ; he was only brought to gaff when 

 overcome with exhaustion. 



The silver salmon is a well shaped, 

 handsome fish. His bright, silvery 

 scales, darker along the upper portion 

 of the body, give him a peculiar distinc- 

 tion among his kind. In weight he va- 

 ries from 5 to 30 pounds, the average 

 being about 10 pounds. 



Each fisherman selects the trolling 

 spoons and lines which he considers 



