NOTES ON SALMON-FISHING. 
55 
that is imperative in trout-fishing, but he will do wisely 
to avoid any unnecessary disturbance of the water. 
A landed salmon, by the way, is killed most easily 
and expeditiously by a smart blow with a staff or stone 
across the frontal bone-plates aforesaid. 
Salmon in all streams, at home and abroad, have 
certain fixed and favourite resting-places. If the young 
angler does not know these (and has no one that can 
tell him), he must first fish the places he thinks look 
likely. Secondly, some he thinks unlikely, then those 
he had missed before. Should none give response let 
him try again with a change-fly, and make a final effort 
with the first fly of two sizes smaller. 
But, in Norway at least, he will rarely—that is, in a 
good river and under reasonably favourable conditions 
of time, wind, weather, and water—find fish so recusant. 
Casting being the first step, I will say a word on 
that. The cast is made by the rod, not by the angler, 
whose function it is so to use the rod that its full strength 
and elastic power are exerted in impelling the line. 
When the latter floats perpendicularly down stream, the 
rod should be lifted till the fly is within a few inches 
of the surface, which action is sufficient to impart to 
the rod the requisite power for the back cast. The 
whole line is then projected behind, the fly leaving 
the water with a “ pop ” like a champagne-cork and 
returning thereto with a flop like a dead sparrow as 
the forward impetus of the rod drives the line straight 
out with a margin of force still unexhausted. 
A clean straight back-cast is more than half the 
battle and is facilitated by dropping the rod-point 
down stream as each cast is fished out. 
