Part 9

The most essential and nicest point of all is in casting the line and trout flies neatly on the water, which, when properly accomplished in a masterly way, will be the greatest means towards the success of the fly fisher in hooking and catching his fish. In the first place, the fisher should keep as far off the water as possible when throwing next his own side, and make it a rule, whenever he can, to angle on the bank from which the wind blows, as it will enable him to throw the flies across to the opposite bank, and play them gently down the stream in a slanting direction towards him, moving backwards as they approach his side, drawing them up along the bank if the stream is any ways deep, as a trout of good size is often lying in such a place when undisturbed, as you fish cautiously down.

The line should not be let off the reel too fast when you begin to throw, that the stream may be carefully covered near you, and as you move along let it off so as to cover the whole of the water. Hold the rod firmly above the reel in the right hand, and take hold of the end of the casting line in the left, give it a motion towards your left shoulder, and over the head with a circle to the full length of the flies behind you, and with a spring of the rod and motion of the arm bring them right before you on to the stream, as straightly and lightly as possible, and by this method you will prevent them whipping off behind in a very short time; allow the line always to stretch to its full length behind, and keep them on the move, with the backward sweep of the rod round the head propel them forward to the place you desire they should fall, and I do not doubt that you will make neither splash nor ripple on the surface. And when a fish makes a rise, move the rod upwards with a gentle pull, which is better than striking hard, as the small hook is easily driven, and there is no occasion to break the hold or line. Never hold too hard on a large fish, but let him run if he will, a small one may be landed immediately. By no means attempt to go "an angling" without a landing net, as there may be danger in losing your fish, after having the trouble or sport of playing him a long time, and the bank high on your side. I have been always in the habit of fishing down the stream, throwing my flies slantingly to the opposite bank, and letting them fall gradually with the current, and walking slowly along lifting and throwing them at my leisure--it is all fancy whether up or down you go, so as it is well done--what you have habituated yourself to in fly fishing in general, that do. Keep your shadow as much as possible off the water, and when you land your fish let his head drop into the net first, and his whole weight will follow, lift him clean up on the bank with a pull of the net towards you, as this prevents him dropping out.

FLY-FISHING FOR SALMON.

When you begin fly-fishing for Salmon, you must be careful not to let out too much of the reel line first, but when you become accustomed to it, and are master of throwing a short one, let it out gradually till you are enabled to cover the pool over which you cast with ease.

If you practice throwing over a smooth wide part of the river, you will see how your line falls on the water, whether thrown in a lump, or light and straight without a splash; but at one time you may cast the line right out over the stream at its full length, and on giving another cast you may allow the line to fall on the water in the middle of it first, and the fly to fall last, which is not so good, but in either way the fish will rise and take it; by the last cast you may get the line farther off, and the fly alighting near the opposite bank, it is very apt to be taken by a fish lying close under it; and when throwing, keep the point of the rod up out of the water, and do not let it strike it; throw across in a rather slanting direction, allowing the fly to sweep down without a curve in the middle of the line, and at the same time move the rod playfully to give the fly a life-like appearance; drawing it in towards your side of the bank, moving it up and down gradually with the current, and when a fish takes the fly raise your hand, and fasten the hook without a jerk, holding up your rod at the same time with what is termed a "sweet fast," that it may not get slack at any time till you have killed him; when you poise the rod in your hands for a throw, the whole knack is in keeping the left hand steady, and with a turn of the right hand cause the line to make a circle round the left shoulder and over the head, propel it forward with the spring of the rod, keeping the fly going all the time till it falls on the water before you as straight as possible; when you lift the fly out of the water to throw again, you require to make use of the strength of the right arm, giving it the proper turn round with the wrist, making a sweep of the extent of the line behind you, and with the spring and power of the rod direct the fly on that part of the stream where you desire it should fall; letting the line out occasionally off the reel with your hand, which gives the fly a very natural motion on the water, moving it gradually down towards your side, when you lift the line out and make another throw as before a little lower down, and so on until you cover the whole stream.

You may change to the left hand when you are tired with the right, or according to the side you are fishing from, to facilitate and ease your exertion as much as possible when throwing a long line. When I have happened to be in a barn at a farm house on the river side, I have often thought when taking up the flail to thrash awhile, whilst the man was resting himself, that the exertion was remarkably like throwing the fly with the Salmon rod, the whole method appears to be in the turn of the wrist and arm, for when the flail is raised up and wound over the left shoulder, with a certain impulse known to one's self you propel it forward over the head, striking the sheaf on the ground with full force on any part you like, where you think there are any ears in it.

Many may not be acquainted with flail thrashing, but were they to understand the knack, it is easily done; so, also, is the using of the salmon rod, with a little practice, and observing a good thrower if you happen to meet one on the river, or an old fisherman you employ.

Keep yourself steady on your feet, and your body well up when casting, as it gives more power to the muscles, and when a salmon is fairly hooked it will prevent your being nervous or striking too quick, but as I said before, rise your hand and keep the line taut; as the fish will often rise several times out of the water in succession when first pricked with the hook, on finding himself detained; when he runs keep the rod nearly perpendicular, as the spring of it will soon tire him out; if he is a good way off and makes a rush towards you, wind up your line quickly, keeping it taut at the same time, and moving backwards till he is near your own shore: if he rolls over in the water apply the gaff and lift him out, but if he is not regularly beat he will rush off again on seeing the gaff with great strength, give in he must at last by the gentle strain of the rod that is always upon him. He often gets sulky, and lies down on the bottom of the river, when it will be found difficult to start him again: a clearing ring let down the line on his nose will cause him to run, and when he does so, it is best to bear stronger upon him, as in so doing you have the best chance of quickly tiring and capturing him. I think it the best plan to lay the gaff under him, and gaff him in the gills, which prevents tearing or making a hole in the fish.

The Salmon reel should be made of the lightest and hardest material, not too much contracted, but a good width, that the line may be wound up evenly without incumbrance; a plain upright handle is much the safest when playing a fish, as the portable ones are apt to crack or snap off if they meet the least obstruction in the running out of the line; and the portable handle stands too far out, which catches the line almost every time it is drawn off or a cast given. Small reels may be made with portable handles, without any fear of their breaking, as the fish are small and can be managed easily.

The salmon line should be of silk and hair eight-plait or four-plait, eighty or a hundred yards long, and for small rivers, sixty yards for a sixteen feet rod. The casting line for clear waters should be half treble and half single gut, to suit grilse or small salmon flies in summer; and in the spring of the year when large flies are in use, good strong-twisted gut, three yards long, is what is necessary for a heavy reel line, particularly in large rivers, as the Shannon and the Bann in Ireland, and the Tweed in Scotland.

There are not three better Salmon Rivers in the world than the above, were the salmon allowed access into them during the summer months for the amusement of those great angling gentlemen who would visit them during that period, or even if there were but a few let up past the "cruives" or "cuts," that there might be a sprinkling for them to throw flies over. It would not matter to them what nets the fishermen along the shores of the estuaries used, as they only affect the "Cruives," or "Fixed Traps" built across the rivers, as of course less fish run into them, and there would be abundance of salmon and grilse go up the centre or deep part of the river, which the fishermen could not possibly reach.

These "Traps" are kept down all the summer, from the early spring till the end of August, at which period they are what is termed "lifted," and up run the spawning fish; and the great fly fishers now lay by their rods and tackle for that season, as fly fishing is prohibited when the salmon are spawning in the rivers. There is certainly a respite in the Tweed, when the nets are taken off at the end of the season for the accommodation of the fly fisher; and were it so in the Shannon and the Bann, there would be very great satisfaction in having a month or six weeks' fishing in these splendid rivers. They are certainly free throughout the summer to the fly fisher, but he might labour a whole day with his rod and fly without getting a rise, except by chance.

There will never be any good done until the "cruives" or "cuts" are removed off the rivers, unless the head landlord would make an agreement with the renter of the "cruive," and enforce it as a law,--to lift the "cruive" two days in the week, that there might be fish in the rivers for the accommodation of the great body of gentlemen anglers who make it their business to travel to these rivers to find amusement in Fly Fishing, at very great expense; although I do not know if even this would do,--it would be best by all means to remove them; and, independent of fair netting for the general supply at the mouths and estuaries, a Society of Anglers could rent the entire river, were the owner to meet them on liberal terms which no doubt he would, and this would prevent the destruction by degrees of the best breeding-fish in the river.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE SALMON, AND ITS VARIETIES.

I desire merely to give some account of this beautiful fish for the information of my readers, the knowledge of which has come under my own notice, in the rivers of Ireland in particular, amongst the fishermen at their mouths, at the "cruives" or "cuts," and throughout my rambles along their banks.

This excellent salmon is a very handsome fish, the head is small, the body rather long and covered with bright scales, the back is of a bluish shade, the other parts white, and marked with irregular dark brown spots on the head, the covers of the gills, down each side from the lateral lines to near the edge of the back, very few are to be seen below the lines which run from head to tail; the tail is forked.

He takes great delight in pursuing small fish and fry, and in playing and jumping on the top of the water, at insects no doubt, and for his own sport.

It has been often said that there was never any thing found in the salmon's stomach such as edibles, but it has been recently discovered that they prey upon herrings, sprats, fry, and other dainties in their native element; and as these fish are very nutritious and fat in themselves, no doubt the nourishing channel in them receives the substance of the food very quickly, as it appears to be digested so rapidly in their stomachs. He leaves the sea for the fresh water rivers about January and February, and continues to run up till September and October, their spawning time, and some spawn after this time; they are often big with roe in December and January, in the end of August or the beginning of September; when they are in roe regularly, they cannot be in proper season; they get soft, their beautiful color and spots vanish, and they do not appear like the same fish. They travel up rivers as far as they can possibly get, into lakes and their feeders, and tributaries of large rivers, where they take delight in the broad gravelly fords, and strong deep running currents, which they like to be as clear as crystal, to effect which they will leap over weirs, waterfalls, "cuts," "cruives," and "traps," when there is a flood rushing over them, to the great delight of the fly fisher, who loves to see them run and escape these obstructions.

The male fish is supplied by nature with a hard gristly beak on the end of the under jaw, which fits into a socket in the upper jaw to a nicety; with this the Salmon go to work with their heads up stream, rising their tails sometimes nearly perpendicular, and root up the sand and gravel in heaps, leaving a hollow between, wherein the female deposits the eggs; the male fish still performing his part, chasing away the large trout that are ready to root it up (the spawn), he covers it over substantially against the forthcoming winter's floods and storms. By this time he becomes wearied, spent, and sickly, and then turns himself round and makes head for the sea, where, if once happily arrived, he soon makes up for the debility in his blue, his fresh, and ever free element. The refreshing and purging nature of the salt water soon makes him once more strong and healthy, he may be seen leaping and playing in the sea near the river's mouth on his recovery. I have been told by fishermen that they proceed in shoals to the ice fields in the North Seas, and return to the rivers and estuaries in the spring and summer as they departed, in large shoals; they discover themselves in the bays by jumping out of the water as they near the river.

The Salmon haunts the deepest, strongest, and most rapid rivers, and is rarely to be seen in those wherein there is much traffic, or that are sullen or muddy. They prefer the upper parts of rough streams that run into large pools, and the tails of these pools, behind large stones, in the middle and at sides of waterfalls in the eddies, these are the parts to throw for them, but the fisherman on the water will show the angler all the best places. The best months to angle for them are from March till the middle of August, after September they are out of season. They will take the fly best from six or seven o'clock in the morning till nine, and from three in the afternoon till dark, with a good wind blowing up stream. I have hooked them on the very top of a precipice, after surmounting the leap, where they lie to rest in the first deep pool they come to; they generally run down over the rocks or falls of water to the pool beneath, when they often get killed by the rapid descent.

THE SALMON FRY.

These beautiful little fish, the production of the spawn of the salmon, make their appearance in March and April, and if a flood happens to rise or swell the rivers about the end of the latter month, they are taken down in great numbers, till at last they enter the brackish water, where they grow in a short time as large as white trout. The salt water adds much to their growth. In the following spring and summer they run up the rivers in great quantities if they are allowed, and return to the sea again before winter. On their second return up the rivers they will be grown very large, and are then called "Grilse," or "Peals," &c.

There is a SALMON TROUT of the same species, which is rounder in proportion to the Salmon, of a reddish hue when in season; it has small fine scales, beautifully intermixed with rich red and black spots on both sides of the lateral lines, from head to tail, and its handsome head is spotted over, as also the covers of the gills; the tail is shorter, and not so much forked as the salmon, and the fins are very strong. The flesh is most delicious, and some prefer it to salmon. They may be seen in the Fishmongers' shops from May till the end of August.

Another species is the Sewen of Wales, the White Trout of Ireland and England, and the Whiting of Scotland; they are very bright in colour, and run about the size of Mackerel; they haunt the roughest, strong streams, and gravelly bottoms. When they are hooked on the fly they will spring repeatedly out of the water, and afford pleasant sport for the angler. They take small gaudy flies like the Salmon Trout, and when the water is low, dun flies, black hackle flies with silver ribs, and grouse hackles of a light brown colour and yellow bodies. The hooks about Nos. 6 and 8.

Another species is the Bull-Trout, which has a short thick head, and a brownish body, covered with spots of a brown colour, and are found in all rivers having communication with the sea, and their tributaries, if there are no obstructions to prevent their running up. They are found running up the rivers in June and July, and in these months and August, are in good season. They are rather a dry fish.

The PAR or LAST-SPRING are most plentiful in salmon rivers from May till the end of August, and are very much like the salmon fry, only for the dark bars across them, and towards the end of the season they are variously marked. There is no little fish so plump and lively when taken with the fly, except the Salmon Fry. As the Sea-Trout are known to grow to the weight of sixteen and twenty pounds in large rivers, such as the Tweed, the Shannon, and the Bann, the Par may be the fry of these fish, which run up the rivers in the spring and summer. These Sea-Trout differ much in shape and colour to the real Salmon, and are what are termed Salmon in the London markets.--This I heard from a fisherman at the mouth of the Tweed, who pointed out a large creel full to me, just taken in the nets, and amongst the whole there was but one Salmon. The Sea-Trout may be known by being paler, and covered with more spots, and by being longer and thinner in the body; the head is also much longer.

There is a rich golden hue over the Salmon when you get a side look of it; the body is plump and boar-backed, the head is very small, and there are few spots, except above the lateral lines.

I have seen the Par so numerous in the River Dovey, in Wales, that a man (a guide), took my salmon rod, and a cast of four small flies, the sun shining, and in two hours he killed nine pounds weight of these fish, about a finger in length or less. It perfectly surprised me; but it seems that this was but a small quantity in comparison to what the fishers were in the habit of taking out in a day. It appeared so, as the inn-keeper's wife potted them in large jars. These rivers abound with Sewen, Sea-Trout, and White Trout; the first-named fish is the White Trout of Wales, which corresponds with the Irish fish of that name, and called in Wales, Sewen. The Par may be the fry of these fish, which are of the Salmon species, and ought to be protected by law.