April 14, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



383 



"WITH FLY-ROD AND CAMERA." 



It is characteristic of the stately volume by Mr. Edward A. 

 Samuels "With Ply-Rod and Camera," that the angling reader 

 may open its pages at random and find himself at once in the 

 company of congenial spirits, as thus, page 118: 



"QIJRE enough," said Hiram. "Many's the good fish 



0 I've seen lost by the best fishermen, and sometimes 

 the oldest hands have the hardest luck. But come, 

 gentlemen, the pool is well rested now, and there is a 

 beautiful ripple on the water, and see the drift of clouds 

 that is coming over." 



Rising from our recumbent positions in the shade at his 

 words, we found that a breeze had sprung up, and taking 

 our rods we prepared for another trial in the pool. The 

 wind was rippling the surface of the water beautifully, 

 and the chances seemed good for a speedy rise. Frere 

 now took a position in the rapids at the head of the pool, 

 wading out to a depth of two or three feet, while I began 

 casting above the eddy, across the pool. 



This was a fair "turn and turn about" for us. It was 

 much easier to cast down the pool from the head, but the 

 chance for a salmon was best in the deep water near the 

 foot. Frere had had his opportunity, and it was my turn 

 now. Lengthening my line at every cast, I soon reached 

 the coveted spot, and putting my fly in the curl of the 

 water, I rose and hooked a grilse. 



' Cree-el" how the reel sang, as the fish darted up and 

 clown the pool, leap- 

 ing high in the air, 

 sometimes three or 

 four times in succes- 

 sion. 



"William seized the 

 landing net, the gaff 

 not being needed for 

 a grilse, and stood 

 ready to land my 

 fish. 



A shout from 

 Frere, who was 

 standing in the ra- 

 pids, attracted our 

 attention, and his 

 bent rod indicated 

 that he, too, had 

 hooked a large fish, 

 which a leap at that 

 instant showed to be 

 a salmon. 



" Don't give the 

 grilse any more time, 

 Doctor,"'* exclaimed 

 William. "We must 

 get him in before 

 that salmon runs 

 down here and 

 crosses your line." 



1 did not need his 

 counsel to see the 

 urgent need of such 

 action, and in a very 

 short time the land- 

 ing net passed under 

 the grilse, and he 

 was in the hands of 

 the guide. 



Frere was fast to a 

 noble fish, and his 

 heavy rod, bent into 

 an arch, showed that 

 he was endeavoring 

 to keep him up in 

 the pool, away from 

 the dangerous recks 

 where he had lost 

 trp first fish. ' r " n ww w "' e: 



It was a grand 

 fight! Frere, imme- 

 diately on striking 

 the fish, left his posi- 

 tion in the rushing 

 water,^and took his 



stand upon the point of the beach near by, thus obtain- 

 ing a perfect^command of the entire length of the pool. 



The salmon in the'.first rush took out at least 60yds. of 

 line without stopping: then, with a mighty leap, sprang 

 into the air, his red eyes gleaming like rubies in their 

 silver casing. Like a rock he struck the water, throwing 

 it up with a heavy splash in all directions. As the fish 

 fell, Frere relinquished his heavy strain upon the rod, 

 dropping the tip a foot or two, in order that the salmon 

 might not free himself by falling upon a taut casting 

 line. 



It was ouly for an instant, however, that the line was 

 slackened, and the fish had hardly returned to his native 

 element when the drag of the rod was again put upon 

 him. Again and again the salmon leaped high in air 

 four times in rapid succession; but Frere met his every 

 ( ffort with the consummate skill of the perfect angler. 



For at least a quarter of an hour did the salmon course 

 up and down the pool, now keeping it in a boil with his 

 gyrations, now swimming deep, and apparently trying 

 to chafe the line against the rocks at the bottom; then 

 darting with the speed of lightning to another part of the 

 basin, where he repeated his maneuvers. 



Fortunately he did not endeavor to reach the rapids 

 below as the other fish had done, but contented himself 

 with the deep water in the middle of the pool. 



At length it was evident that the steady strain of the 

 rod was telling upon the fish. His leap3 grew less fre- 

 quent, and his rushes less spiteful. He began swimming 

 in circles, and once or twice almost turned on his side. 



"He's done for," shouted William, who, gaff in hand, 

 was following the fish back and forth along the beach. 



"Don't be too sure, sir," said Hiram, who had been 

 watching the contest with the keenest interest. "Many's 

 the salmon lost when he keels over on his side." 



And Hiram was right: it is often one of the most crit- 

 ical moments when the salmon turns on his side. The 

 fisherman, perhaps in the certainty of his prize, uncon- 

 sciously relaxes his lift upon the rod; or the fish secures 

 an unexpected buoyancy, and thus attains an unlooked 

 for leverage; or the hook, in his new position, twists out 

 of its fastening, which had been worn wider and wider 

 by the struggles of the fish: either or all of these com- 

 bined have time and again in my observation turned the 



exultation of the fisherman to bitter disappointment and 

 chagrin, as the salmon, with no apparent effort, sank 

 back into the water, and the fly "came home." 



In Frere, however, the salmon found his conqueror. 

 With superb skill he met every effort of the fish to escape; 

 relaxing not a moment his command of the rod, he kept 

 the same steady strain upon the line; reeling in when the 

 fish yielded a foot, and holding all he gained throughout 

 the struggle. 



The salmon, in turning the third time upon its side, 

 gave Frere the opportunity he had desired; without at- 

 tempting to use the l'eel, he stepppd back quickly away 

 from the pool, the "lift" of the rod dragging the fish at 

 the same time toward the shore. In a flash the gaff was 

 in the glittering prize, and the fish was borne up high on 

 the beach, away from the dangerous proximity of the 

 water. 



"Indeed, but he was well hooked," exclaimed Hiram, 

 as he opened the mouth of the salmon to remove the fly. 



"Sure he was so," assented William, as he endeavored 

 to take out the fly. "The hook is clean through the roof 

 of his mouth." 



So securely was the hook fastened that it was found 

 necessary to cut it out, the tough skin of the palate hold 

 ing it with the greatest tenacity. 



"Shake, old chap," I said, grasping Frere's hand, as I 

 congratulated him on his first salmon of the season. 



LANDING A SALMON. 



Next to killing a good fish myself, I love to see a 

 friend take one, and I can honestly asseverate that I have 

 time and again had more pleasure in helping a comrade 

 to a royal fish than I should have had if it had fallen 

 to my own rod. It is only a "fish hog" who wants it all 

 himself. 



It was now high noon, and the guides began prepara- 

 tions for dinner, and before long an abundant meal was 

 spread out upon our rustic table. And such appetites as 

 we had, as we helped ourselves liberally to the delicious 

 viands! The active life, the bracing mountain air, the 

 excitement altogether, had stirred our blood in such a 

 way that we were absolutely hungry, a condition that 

 the city dweller knows but little of. We had a little more 

 variety than at breakfast, the canned soup, etc., lending 

 assistance, but I contented myself with a third helping 

 of boiled sea trcut and potatoes. These are always good 

 enough for me in the woods, if they are flanked with 

 good bread and butter and a good dipper of tea. 



Why is it that tea has such a relish on such occasions? 

 Usually I am very abstemious of it, in fact hardly ever 

 using it, but in my outings it is quite different, and cof- 

 fee, which at home constitutes my regular beverage, 

 loses its relish. And I have noticed time and again that 

 guides and canoemen also prefer tea to coffee, and it is 

 astonishing how much they are dependent on the cup 

 that "cheers but not inebriates." Indians and white 

 guides are the same in this respect, and many a time has 

 my canoeman, without a word from me, glanced up to 

 the noonday sun, pulled silently ashore, and lighted the 

 fire for "b'iling the tea kittle." A pint dipper of strong 

 tea with a biscuit or two has, in a hurried journey, proved 

 sufficient, if followed by the inevitable pipe: and the pad- 

 dle or setting pole was resumed with renewed vigor. 



"Well, Frere," said I, as we arose from our bountiful 

 repast, "what shall it be, stay here to night or move on 

 up the river?" 



"It is hard to decide," he replied. "We know there are 

 fish here, and don't know there are any above." 



"Oh, plenty above, no trouble," exclaimed the guides 

 with one voice, evidently anxious to be moving; like all 

 guides I have ever met, they were not satisfied to remain 

 long in one place. fc 



"We might, if that is the case," replied Frere, "go on 



as far as the fifth pool, stop there to-night, and then move 

 on to the upper pools to-morrow. What do you say?" he 

 asked, turning to me. 



"All right," I replied, "we are sure to find sport in some 

 of the pools, and even if we don't we have an abundance 

 of food." 



"Indeed ye have, and more," exclaimed Hiram, "but I 

 thought if we got up the stream to the farms in the upper 

 settlement, we could send out to the hotel a lot of fish for 

 your folks to eat." 



"Well, boys, break camp," said I, "and we will pack 

 and start." 



In a short time all our belongings were packed in the 

 canoe, and we were ready to start. 



For quite a distance up the river the water was so 

 shoal that all of us had to wade, the canoe barely clear- 

 ing the rocky bottom, with no other load than our camp 

 equipage and stores. After that there were at intervals 

 stretches of a third to a half mile where there was water 

 sufficient to float us, In fact in many places it was too 

 deep to be waded. 



We fished the best pools on the way up, but succeeded 

 in getting only a few sea trout, although we saw many 

 salmon. The sun was too bright and the water too clear 

 for us to expect old Solar to come to the fly at that time 

 of day. 



Frere and I took our stands upon the rocks by the side 



of the pool, and cast 

 for at least an hour, 

 but we rose only a 

 few trout, and we 

 responded willingly 

 to the announcement 

 from William that, 

 "Supper's ready, 

 gentlemen." 



With rousing ap- 

 petites we disposed 

 of the feast spread 

 out before us, and 

 then, once more 

 stretched out before 

 the camp fire, we 

 burned our incense 

 in comfort and con- 

 tentment with all the 

 world. 



"After all, Doc- 

 tor," said Frere, 

 "there is no pleasure 

 like that the sports- 

 man enjoys." 



"Right you are," I 

 replied, "and no 

 other sportsman gets 

 the solid satisfaction 

 that the fisherman 

 does." 



"I believe you are 

 right," he replied, 

 "there is nothing I 

 enjoy so much as 

 angling." 



"No, I've tried 

 almost everything, 

 have shot almost all 

 kinds of game, and 

 have had my share 

 of yachting and 

 hunting, but I find 

 nothing that begins 

 to effer a compari- 

 son with salmon fish- 

 ing." 



_ ; "No," said Hiram, 



"it's a king's own 

 sport, altogether." 



" It is so," said 

 William, who had 

 been busy at dish 

 washing, but who 

 had now joined our 

 group at the fire, "and it's the thing that proves the 

 nature of a man better than anything else I know of." 



"You're right, William," said. I. "I want only a few 

 hours on the stream with a man to find out exactly what 

 he is. If he is a gentleman, bred in the bone, he will not 

 fail to show it." 



"And if he is the other thing, he cannot hide it, 

 neither," replied William. 



"Many's the quare divil we've been out with, and 

 many's the hog we found out among them, hey, Hiram?" 



His brother grunted an assent, but made no other 

 reply. 



"Yes, there's nothing like a fishing trip with a man to 

 show his true character," said I. 



"I remember an incident that will illustrate this. I was 

 once fishing a river in Nova Scotia with a man whom I 

 had always considered a perfect type of a gentleman, but 

 inside of three days he exhibited traits that I would not 

 have supposed he possessed. 



"We were stopping at the same hotel and had the river 

 all to ourselves. At the beginning we agreed to draw 

 lots for pools, and it being my first choice, I took the 

 first pool from the salt water, he the second, I the third, 

 and so on through the whole five miles of fishing that we 

 had. 



"I noticed that his countenance seemed to show dis- 

 satisfaction when the choices were made, but as nothing 

 could possibly be fairer than our arrangement, I took no 

 notice of his "discomf ort. He had fully as good pools as 

 I had, and I could think of no more equitable way of 

 dividing them. 



"Well, our first day on the river was one to be remem- 

 bered. We left the hotel together and walked to the 

 river, a mile or -so, chatting pleasantly and enjoying the 

 delightful morning hugely. But when we reached the 

 river, and I began rigging for my first cast in my pool, 

 instead of going along to his own, he sat down on a log 

 and began grumbling like a bear with a sore head. 



" 'It's just my infernal luck,' he said, 'to have you get 

 this pool. I always liked it, and in fact it's a favorite 

 with me.' " 



"That was a good starter," ejaculated Hiram. 

 "Yes," I replied. 



" 'Well,' I said to him, 'I don't mind, you take my 



