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TIM- 


ILLUSTRATED 


FLY-FISHER'S  TEXT  BOOK; 


COMPLKTli    (il   Il)i: 


SCIENCE    OF    FLY-FISHING     FOR     SALMON, 

TROUT,  GRAY  LI  \G. 


THEOPHILUS    SOl'TH,    GENT. 


T\\  KNTY-TIIKKK  K\<iK.VVI.\«iS.    \1-TI-;J{   I'AI\T1N«.>    IJV  (  « nH'1-1!.    NMUToX 
J-'IKLDIN(i.   Y.  \.    \.Y.Y..   AM)  OTHI;.1.'S. 


LONDON"  : 

11KNKV    G.   BOIIN,  YOKK    STHKKT,    COVENT    GARDEN. 
MDCCCXLV. 


LONDON  :     W.  SPIERS,  PRINTER,  17,  NORTH  AUDLET  STKBET. 


THE 

FLY-FISHER'S    TEXT-BOOK. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.    THE  ANGLER'S  PLEASURES    1 

II.     OF  BOOKS  ON  ANGLING 5 

THE  ANGLER'S  OUTFIT 7 

SIEBE'S  WEIGHING  MACHINE,  with  an  illustrat ion   ..  8 

GUT 9 

SALMON  GUT 11 

TUOUT  GUT 12 

REEL  LINES 12 

SALMON  REEL  LINES 13 

TROUT  REEL  LINES 14 

KEELS 15 

GAFF    17 

LANDING   NET     18 

CLEARING  RING,  AND  ROD  SCYTHE 19 

TWISTING  MACHINE 20 

THE  FLY-FISHER'S  DRESS    21 

WADING  BOOTS,  with  an  illustration    22 

III.    FLY  RODS 23 

COLOUR  OF  RODS     24 

TOP  JOINTS 26 

SPLICED  TOPS    27 

WHALEBONE  TIPS   28 

ASH  OR  WILLOW  BUTS 29 

HOLLOW  BUTS    30 

THE  GROOVE  AND  RING 31 

SPLICED  RODS   32 

ELASTICITY  OF  RODS,  with  an  illustration    34 

BALANCE  OF  RODS 38 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PACE 

HOLMES'S  RODS 39 

SALMON  RODS    40 

TROUT  RODS  41 

HOOKS,  with  two  illustrations 42 

IV.     THE  MILLS  OF  TREFRIEW,  with  an  illustration 47 

SALMON  RISING    48 

THE  HABITS  OF  FISH 49 

TOM  AND  THE   SALMON    52 

LARGE  SALMON 54 

SIZE  OF  FISH 55 

V.    HABITS  OF  SALMON    58 

CASTING  LINE    59 

COLOUR  OF  GUT   60 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  DYEING  GUT   .     61 

RECIPES  FOR  DYEING  GUT    62 

RECIPES  FOR  TRANSPARENT  WAX 65 

COLEMAN'S  INSTRUMENT  CASE   67 

LOOPS,  with  two  illustrations 68 

.  WAXING    69 

THE  INVISIBLE  KNOT,  with  three  illustrations    71 

FOOTLINES  73 

WEIGHT  OF  FISH  IN  WATER 74 

SIZE  OF  LINES    75 

FOOTLINES  76 

KNOTS  IN  LINES,  with  three  illustrations    77 

WATER  KNOTS,  with  four  illustrations 80 

WHIPPING  OFF  FLIES    82 

THROWING  THE  FLY,  with  ihreeiUustratioru 84 

VI.     FANCY'S  DIFFICULTIES  AND  FANCY'S  DANGERS  104 

VII.    RECIPE  FOR  POTTING  FISH 108 

THROWING  THE  FLY,  with  two  illustrations 110 

THROWING  AMONG  TREES,  with  two  illustrations 125 

THROWING"  UNDER    TREES,   HOW    TO    DISEN- 
TANGLE TACKLE 129 

THROWING  UNDER  BUSHES „....   132 

VIII.    THEOPHILUS  AND  TYRO  SET  OUT  136 

RECIPE  FOR  PRESERVING  TROLLING  LINES   . .   137 
THE  RECTOR'S  POOL  LLANRWST,  with  an  illustration  139 

IX.    SIZE  OF  FISH  IN  WATER 144 

HEARING  OF  FISH   .  .   145 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAI'TKIl  PAGE 

COURAGE  OF  FISH   152 

OPTICS  OF  FISH    153 

WEATHER  FOR  FISHING 154 

HAUNTS  OF  FISH 155 

HABITS  OF  SALMON 157 

POOL  FISHING,  with  an  Illustration   159 

THEOPHILUS  HOOKS  A  FISH 164 

HIS  MANOEUVRES 165 

HE  LANDS  HIS  PRIZE 166 

STRENGTH  OF  FISH 168 

THE  CAPTAIN'S  YARN   169 

THE  CONWAY 172 

MIGRATION  OF  SALMON 174 

GROWTH  OF  SALMON 175 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR    183 

SALMON  FISHING  IN  SALT  WATER    194 

SALMON  FISHING  IN  BRACKISH  WATER 195 

STAKE-NETS 200 

DESTRUCTION  OF  SALMON     202 

PRESERVATION  OF  SALMON 205 

X.  HAUNTS  OF  TROUT 210 

CHUB-HOLES    212 

BAIT  FOR  SALMON 213 

FLIES   214 

THE  AUTHOR'S  SCALE  OF  HOOKS    220 

SIZE  OF  FLIES 222 

A  KILLING  FLY 229 

EVANS'S  FLY   229 

AN  UNEXPECTED  CONCLUSION   230 


VI 


EMBELLISHMENTS. 


No.  Subject.'  Painter.  Engraver.     Page. 

1  Fresh  Water  Fish F.  R.  Lee  R.  A. . .  W.  B.  Scott . .  Front. 

2  Noon,  at  the  River-side Newton  Fielding.Radclyffe. .. .    Title 

3  Wading  the  Trout  Stream A.  Cooper,  R.  A.  J.  R.  Scott  . .        23 

4  The  Mills  at  TretView.  N.  Wales  .  L.  J.  Wood Griffiths 47 

5  The  Fisherman's  Fire-side J.  W.  Archer.  . .  J.  W.  Archer       57 

6  The  Trout  Strean    G.  Balmer J.  W.  Archer       89 

7  Trout    A.  Cooper,  R.A.J.  Outrim.  ..      108 

8  The  Rector's  Pool,  Llanrwst L.  J.  Wood  . . . .  W.  B.  Scott. .     139 

9  The  Pool A.  Cooper,  R.A.  W.  R.  Smith.     159 

10  The  Wall  Stream  on  the  Conway  L.  J.  Wood  . . .  .~J.  W.  Archer     172 

11  Leistering  Salmon  on  the  Tweed  G.  Baliner J.  VV.  Archer     174 

12  The  Thames  above  Twickenham.  J.  Jackson J.  W.  Archer     212 

AND  MANY  ILLUSTRATIVE  WOODCUTS. 


THE 


ADDITIONAL  PLATES 

TO  THE  ILLUSTRATED  FLY  FISHER'S  TEXT  BOOK. 


Llanberris  Lake,  North  Wales page   48 

The  Common  and  the  Brandling  Trout    108 

The  Bull  Trout 108 

The  Mealfburvonie  Trout 109 

Trout  Fishing  among  Trees \'2't 

A  Scene  near  Beddgelert,  North  Wales 104 

Salmon  Fishing  in  Scotland 194 

Salmon  Fishing  in  Ireland   198 

Trout  Fishing -210 

The  Grayling   211 


gurgling,  glistening  rockholes  ; — or  pausing  to 
jidinire  the  majestic  plunge  of  some  adjacent 
waterfall.  What  is  so  beneficial  to  a  body  worn 
with  the  many  cares  of  study,  or  close  application 
to  a  worldly  calling,  as  the  free  relaxation  inwhich 


VI 


THE 


FLY-FISHER'S   TEXT    BOOK. 


THE     AUTHOR      DISOOUflSETH     ON     THE     DELIGHTS     OP     FLY-FISHINO — SETTING 
FORTH    ITS    SUPERIORITY    ABOVE    ALL    OTHER    SPORTS. 

/" 

WHAT  angler  will  acknowledge  other  pleasures 

equal  to  his  own  ?    Yet  is  it  not  the  sport  alone 

which  draws  us  with  magnetic  influence  to  fix  us 

spell-bound  by  the  river's  side.     No — we  have  yet 

a  brighter  source  of  true  enjoyment  in  the  pure 

air  and  tranquil  country  scenes,  which  wait  upon 

our  wanderings^     One  while,   amid  the  wildest 

sources  of  the  mountain  stream — anon,  beside  the 

lovely  lowland  river.     Now  tempting  its   placid 

depths  of  pool, — its  freshening  runs, — its  eddy  ing, 

gurgling,   glistening    rockholes  ; — or   pausing    to 

admire    the    majestic    plunge    of    some    adjacent 

waterfall.     What  is  so  beneficial  to  a  body  worn 

with  the  many  cares  of  study,  or  close  application 

to  a  worldly  calling,  as  the  free  relaxation  inwhich 


2  THE   ANGLER  S  PLEASURES. 

we  revel  when  we  quit  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the 
crowded  town,  to  feast  upon  the  mountain  breeze? 
Or  what  can  be  so  renovating  to  the  wearied 
mind  as  to  contemplate  Nature's  loveliness,  with 
placid  thoughts,  which  gladden  and  improve  the 
heart,  and  turn  its  peaceful  reveries  in  gratitude 
to  Nature's  God  ? 

Angling  is  a  pastime  which  has  been  much  and 
frequently  villified  and  ridiculed.  I  use  the  past 
tense  advisedly ;  for  since  so  many  men,  good  and 
great,  rich  and  mighty,  not  only  in  worldly,  but 
also  in  mental  lore,  have  appeared  as  its  advocates, 
it  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  considered  a  mean, 
or  despicable  art.  Some  few  have  ventured  to 
pronounce  it  a  childish  amusement :  but  I  con- 
sider that  the  love  of  it  derives  not  its  existence 
from  juvenile  habit  alone  ;  for  though  it  mostly 
"  grows  with  our  growth  and  strengthens  with  our 
strength," — and  though  the  old  adage  "once  a 
chub-hole  always  a  chub-hole,"  may  fairly  be  read 
"  once  an  angler,  always  an  angler,"  oftentimes  it 
will  win  a  tyro  of  ripened  years,  or  be  adopted  as 
the  recreation  of  old  age.  I  need  notice  no  more 
striking  instance  of  this  than  the  conversion  of 
Sir  H.  Davy,  who  handled  aj#z/-rod,  at  all  events, 
for  the  first  time  when  he  was  Professor  of  the 
Royal  Institution;  although  he  did  so,  under  the 
preceptorship  of  one  who  might,  perhaps,  re- 
member the  use  of  thread  and  a  bent  pin  in 


THE   ANGLERS   PLEASURES.  3 

childhood,  my  late  esteemed  friend  Sir  Anthony 
Carlisle.  The  bare  mention  of  such  name,  is  surely 
enough  at  once  to  deaden  the  barb  of  derision. 

(Some  writers  have  expressed  surprise  at  the 
enthusiasm  of  anglers,  seeing  that  the  produce  of  the 
sport  seldom  appears  to  counterbalance  the  general 
disappointment  and  dulness.  But  surely  they 
have  not  traced  the  subject  up  to  its  source.  The 
sportsman's  real  object  is  not,  in  general,  to  ac- 
quire a  quantity  of  game;  else  he  might  purchase 
it  at  less  cost  and  with  less  trouble  in  the 
public  markets ;  but  it  is,  that  he  may  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  an  art,}  The  game  is  but  the  means 
of  his  excitement. 

The  quantum  of  success  by  no  means  consti-' 
tutes  the  test  of  pleasure  in  any  field  sport;  ds<» 
how  insipid  would  be  fox-hunting!     But   on  the1 
average  we  fishermen  catch   as  much  per  head, 
compared   with    the   expenditure    of  coin    upon 

tackle,  as  any  other  field  sport  produces  under 
like  comparison. 

I  Dr.  Johnson  has  the  discredit  of  having  defined 
angling  to  be  a  stick,  and  a  string,  with  "  a  worm 
at  one  end  and  a  fool  at  the  other// this  is  a  poor 
illogical  sarcasm.  The  doctor  knew  nothing  of 
the  skill  called  for  in  the  rare  art.  I  know  many 
followers  of  the  craft  who  by  their  skill  would 
have  landed  "  the  great  bear"  himself,  with  a  gut- 
line  not  thicker  than  a  single  thread  from  his 

B  2 


4  THE   ANGLER  S   SCIENCE. 

"  three  ribbed  hose,"  and  a  genuine  O'Shaughnessey 
bend,  with  as  much  ease  as  the  doctor  would 
have  hoisted  a  minnow  with  Chinese  twist  as  thick 
as  whipcord,  and  a  No.  5  hook,  from  out  the  tiny 
rivulet.  I  doubt  not  but  that  the  science  of  the 
fool  would  beat  all  the  doctor's  learning  in  this 
respect ! 

Again  as  to  the  folly  of  fishing—  -if  science  be 
the  standard  which  should  direct  our  choice,  look 
at  the  names  of  those  who  have  from  age  to  age 
enrolled  themselves  as  its  supporters,  and  the  dis- 
ciples of  Walton  will  then  appear  as  the  sands  of 
the  sea,  compared  with  the  admirers  of  Nimrod. 
—Field  sports  are  but  "  an  employment  for  idle 
time  which  is  then  not  idly  spent,"  and  I  know  no 
reason  why  the  question  of  superiority  among 
them  should  ever  have  been  mooted.  But  without 
seeking  to  give  offence  to  any,  I  might  fairly 
venture  to  assert  that  there  are,  and  have  been, 
more  thinking  men  among  anglers  than  any  other 
class  of  sportsmen,  and  in  my  humble  judgment 
there  is  likewise  more  to  think  about.  Let  no  one 
in  his  ignorance  say  that  there  is  folly  in  fishing ; 
but  rather  take  my  word  for  it,  that  there  is  a 
science  in  its  practice  and  in  the  economy  of  fish, 
the  depths  of  which  would  not  be  sounded  by  a 
lead-line  as  long  as  the  days  of  Methuselah. 


BOOKS   ON   ANGLING LONDON  TACKLE  THE  BEST — THE  FLY-FISHER'S  OUTFIT 

— SIEBE'S    WEIGHING    MACHINE — GUT    IN    GENERAL    AND    HOW    WADE — 

SALMON  AND  TROUT  OUT KEEL  LINES  IN  GENERAL DITTO  FOR  SALMON 

AND  TROUT-FISHING REELS  OR  WINCHES  IN  GENERAL  AND  FOR  SALMON 

AND  TROUT  LINES SIR    F.  CHANTREY's  PATTERN — GAFF SCYTHE  BLADE 

AND  STICK LANDING-^NET— CLEARING-RING ROD  SCYTHE  OR  "  ANGLER's 

FRIEND" — TWISTING   MACHINE — THE    AUTHOR  INFORMETH    THE  TYRO    AS 
TO  AN  APPROPRIATE  DRESS. 


I  HAVE  read  almost  every  book  on  angling  extant, 
and  out  of,  I  know  not  how  many,  for  Pickering 
published  a  fearful  catalogue,  entitled  "  Biblio- 
theca  Piscatoria,"  at  the  end  of  his  "  Piscatorial 
Reminiscences,"  and  some  have  appeared  since,  I 
cannot  pick  one  volume  that  has  pretensions  to 
anything  like  a  perfect  treatise.  This  is  surely  a 
disgrace  to  our  craft ;  since  it  tends,  either  to  the 
conclusion,  that  there  is  not  among  us  one  who 
can  express  his  thoughts,  if  he  possess  any,  as  to 
the  practice  of  the  art ;  or  else,  that  we  are  all  too 
jealous  to  divulge  our  secrets  in  a  pastime  so 
generally  enjoyed.  Many  of  these  books  have 
some  good  point  or  points,  but  none  are  altogether 


D  BOOKS   ON  ANGLING. 

worthy  of  attention,  in  regard  to  their  practical 
information.  Upon  the  subject  of  fly-fishing  (al- 
though it  unfortunately  gives  no  more  than  the 
outline  of  bright  ideas),  the  work  which  evinces 
most  thought  and  industry  in  its  author,  is  Cap- 
tain Williamson's  "Vade  Mecum,"  published  in 
1808.  In  another  work,  Ronalds'  "Fly-fisher's 
Entymology,"  the  drawings  and  descriptions  of  flies, 
natural  and  artificial,  render  it  not  only  an  acqui- 
sition, but  almost  absolutely  essential  to  an  angler's 
"  armory :"  and  that  author's  observations  on 
the  senses  of  fish,  are,  I  think,  well  worth  attention, 
though  I  do  not  entirely  subscribe  to  them,  and 
may  have  occasion  to  dispute  their  correctness  in 
some  respects  hereafter. 

With  respect  to  the  fly-fisher's  outfit,  let  me 
premise,  that  it  is  not  prejudice  which  gives  pre- 
ference in  my  esteem  to  London-made  tackle ; 
but  rather  a  strong  conviction  that  it  is  much 
more  serviceable,  better  constructed,  and  of  better 
manufacture  and  materials,  both  to  the  eye  and 
hand,  than  any  which  can  be  procured  from  the 
country  or  even  from  the  sister  countries :  and  for 
one  obvious  reason,  viz.  that  we  have  in  this 
immense  metropolis,  the  emporium  of  the  world, 
the  greatest  command  of  capital ;  which  always 
attracts  to  it  the  best  artificers  and  materials; 
while  the  best  sportsmen  of  all  kinds  (who,  in 


THE   ANGLER  S  OUTFIT.  7 

fact,  direct  the  style  of  manufacture),  always  re 
sort  hither  to  make  their  purchases. 

The  requisites  in  the  angler's  outfit  for  a  short 
excursion  are;  two  hanks  of  salmon-gut,  three 
ditto  of  stout  trout-gut,  two  ditto,  very  fine  ditto, 
a  salmon-rod  of  eighteen  feet,  a  double  handed 
trout-rod  of  about  fifteen  feet,  a  light  single-handed 
rod  of  about  twelve  feet,  two  salmon  reel  lines,  three 
trout  ditto,*  a  salmon-reel,  a  trout  ditto,  a  gaff, 
stick,  and  strap,  a  landing-net,  one  hundred  and  a 
half  of  salmon-hooks,  the  like  of  trout  ditto,  a 
clearing-ring  and  string,  a  rod-scythe  (called  by 
its  maker  "  the  angler's  friend  in  need,")  and  what 
is  equally  useful,  a  gardener's  pocket  saw-knife  or 
hatchet,  and  a  twisting  machine,  weight,  and  guide. 
These,  with  a  fly-book,  will  complete  the  usual 
outfit. 

But  there  is  one  other  article,  which,  although 
not  prone  to  novelty  seeking,  I  must  recommend 
to  the  notice  of  my  brethren.  This  is  the  "  Sports- 
man's Weighing  Machine."  The  principle  of 
it  is  somewhat  the  same  as  that  in  the  com- 
mon eighteen-penny  iron  spring  balance  :  but 
this  to  which  I  allude,  is  not  only  more  correct 
owing  to  the  reduction  of  internal  friction, 


*  A  reserve  of  these  last  two  articles  is  always  desirable,  since  breakage 
towards  tbeir  respective  centres  renders  them  comparatively  useless. 


SIEBfc  S    WEIGHING   MACHINE. 


idor 


but  being  made  of  brass,  and  more 
highly  finished,  is  so  neat  and  por- 
table, that  it  may  very  conveniently 
be  carried  in  the  waistcoat-pocket. 
It  is  altogether  a  very  beautiful 
contrivance,  and,  by  the  way,  ema- 
nates from  the  same  clever  engineer, 
who,  amongst  other  things,  invented 
what  is  called,  "  Marriott's  Patent 
Circular  Dial  Weighing  Machine/' 
now  so  universally  used ;  as  well  as 
of  the  well  known  diving  helmet  and 
dress.  These  machines  are  calcu- 
lated to  carry  any  weight,  measuring 
by  a  quarter  of  a  pound,  up  to  lOlbs. 
and  20lbs.  or  more.  One  for  20lbs. 
is  about  half  an  inch  diameter,  and 
five  inches  in  length,  and  for  lOlbs. 

S        * 

it  is  much  smaller.  To  fishermen  they  are  de- 
sirable instrumentSj  because  they  reduce  "  fish- 
erman's weight"  to  standard  measure !  or  give  by 
the  waterside  the  exact  weight  of  a  fish  the  moment 
he  is  taken  :  moreover,  they  are  extremely  handy 
to  test  the  strength  of  hooks — gut-lines,  and  so 
forth,  and  enable  us  to  feel  what  strain  we  may 
reasonably  throw  upon  our  rods,  while  playing 
a  fish.  I  need  hardly  say  they  will  weigh  beef 
and  mutton  as  well  as  fish:  and  are,  therefore. 


GUT.  9 

of  as  much  general  domestic  use  as  any  other 
weighing  machine  of  this  kind  can  be.  The 
maker  has  also  contrived  one  still  more  accurate, 
similar  to  the  circular  dials  above  mentioned, 
which,  though  they  weigh  up  to  30lbs.,  are  no 
larger  than  a  watch  made  forty  years  ago — these, 
however,  are  rather  more  expensive. 

I  shall  now  devote  some  space  to  a  more  par- 
ticular description  of  the  good  and  bad  qualities 
of  the  articles  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  list. 

GUT. — In  choosing  gut  of  any  kind,  be  not 
too  much  guided  by  an  apparent  thickness,  but, 
as  far  as  your  time  and  patience  will  permit, 
select  such  as  is  perfectly  round  ;  and  to  prove  it 
so,  try  each  piece  by  turning  it  quickly  between 
the  fore-finger  and  thumb  ;  for  if  it  be  in  anywise 
flat,  this  will  only  be  effected  with  difficulty,  and 
then  you  may  safely  condemn  it.  Each  piece  or 
length,  should  be  also  to  the  teeth,  hard  like  wire, 
— colourless,  and  transparent  as  glass,  which  tes- 
tifies strength — free  from  unravelled  fibres,  which 
are  attended  with  an  inclination  to  split  or  peel — 
knotted  roughness,  which  shows  almost  actual 
rottenness;  the  spaces  between  the  knots  when 
pulled  lengthways  between  the  fingers,  being  soft 
and  weak ;  or  flashing*  lights  when  seen  in  a 
slanting  direction,  which  indicate  flatness,  and 
consequent  weakness.  It  should  possess  stiffness, 
too,  in  bending,  and  with  this  should  be  com- 


10  GUT. 

bined  elasticity ;  so  that  after  being  doubled 
upon  itself  (in  the  shape  of  a  loop  for  instance), 
it  instantly  returns  to  its  straight  position.  If, 
in  thus  doubling,  it  assume  anything  like  angu- 
larity, it  will  not  do — for  it  surely  possesses 
unequal  degrees  of  strength,  even  if,  where  it 
forms  into  such  angles,  it  be  not  absolutely  rotten. 

When  gut  is  first  imported,  and  before  expo- 
sure to  the  air  and  light,  it  is  sometimes  of  a 
yellowish  tinge;  therefore  do  not  discard  it  on 
that  account,  if  it  be  at  the  same  time  transparent, 
and  possess  the  other  good  qualities. 

Hereafter  I  shall  explain  how  to  dye  gut ;  I 
would  therefore  recommend  you  to  buy  it  in  its 
natural  state ;  whereby  you  will  more  readily 
observe  defects,  which  the  stain  might  conceal, 
and  be  also  satisfied  that  deleterious  ingredients 
are  avoided  in  obtaining  the  colour  you  require, 
or  which  I  may  advise. 

It  may  not  be  altogether  uninteresting  to  learn 
the  mode  by  which  this  beautiful  material  is 
produced,  and  which  I  find  no  where  mentioned. 
It  is  made  in  the  silk  provinces,  where  the  silk- 
worm is  much  larger  than  any  we  see  in  this 
country.  About  two  days,  or  less,  before  the 
worm  would  spin  its  cocoon — that  is,  just  as  it 
begins  to  assume  a  transparency  about  the  head, 
it  is  immersed  in  an  acid  of  some  kind,  weaker, 
I  apprehend,  than  vinegar,  and  colourless ;  after 


SALMON   GUT.  11 

soaking  about  eighteen  hours,  the  insect  is  taken 
out,  and  on  opening  it,  two  short  thick  lobes,  or 
guts,  are  discovered  towards  the  upper  end  of  the 
body,  perfectly  transparent,  though  tinged  with 
yellow.  Each  of  these,  on  being  separately  drawn 
out  with  great  care,  stretch,  and  become  opaque 
as  they  do  so,  and  ultimately  transparent,  to  the 
length  of  upwards  of  a  yard,  and  are  then  left 
upon  the  full  stretch  to  dry,  and  the  good  part, 
from  ten  to  twenty  inches,  ultimately  becomes 
fit  for  use.  For  its  thickness,  its  strength  is  really 
wonderful,  since,  under  fair  circumstances,  a 
good  length  fit  for  salmon  fishing,  will  lift  at  least 
151bs.  dead  weight,  when  tested  by  Siebe's 
machine.  I  have  myself  made  gut  out  of  our 
native  worms  ;  not  fit  for  use,  certainly,  because 
too  fine  ;  yet  the  experiment  was  sufficient  to 
show  the  principle  of  its  production,  and  there- 
fore very  interesting.  We  find  it  to  be  the  silk 
in  its  unripe  state,  and  not  a  part  of  the  organs 
of  the  insect  itself  (as  its  name  would  imply), 
that  forms  this  invaluable  assistant  to  our  skilful 
endeavours  against  "  the  shadows  that  glide 
through  the  waters." 

SALMON  GUT  may  be  in  substance  as  thick  as 
you  can  find  it,  and  you  will  possess  a  treasure, 
if,  in  one  hank,  many  lengths  are  as  thick  as  a 
middling  sized  pin,  or  stout  netting  silk.  In 
length,  the  part  for  use,  should  run  from  sixteen 


J2  HEEL  LINES. 

to  eighteen  inches  at  least ;  and  the  longer  the 
better,  provided  the  substance  be  uniform. 

The  thicker  TROUT  GUT  should  be  of  the 
diameter  of  ordinary  sewing-silk  ;  whilst  the 
thinner  sort  may  be  almost  the  very  finest  you  can 
procure,  provided  it  be  "  round  and  sound,"  and 
keeping  in  view  all  other  requisites  for  strength. 
Ten  to  sixteen  inches  is  the  usual  length  of  each 
thread.  "  Store  is  no  sore ;"  so  a  few  extra 
hanks  cannot  be  objectionable,  especially  as  so 
much  is  consumed  in  twisted  lines  for  salmon- 
fishing,  one  hank  not  making  more  than  three 
twisted  bottom  or  foot-lines,  as  you  will  find 
hereafter. 

REEL  LINES. —  I  have  had  some  talk  with  one 
of  the  best  line  makers  in  London,  who  is  a  prac- 
tical angler  to  boot,  and  he  thinks  nothing  equal 
to  the  silk  and  hair  for  fly  lines,  or  the  plaited 
and  prepared  silk  for  trolling  or  spinning.  We 
talked  of  fly  lines  made  of  human  hair,  and  his 
objection  to  them  was  their  liability  to  "  sponge" 
up  much  water,  and  to  stretch  and  shrink  to  a 
great  degree.  He  had  found  them  shrink  a  foot 
to  the  yard  in  water,  and  if  pulled  when  dry  to 
stretch  in  the  same  proportion.  I  have  not  made 
up  my  own  mind  on  the  subject,  never  having 
tested  them  in  actual  use.  If,  as  he  says,  they 
soak  up  so  very  much  water,  that  is  a  decisive 
objection.  They  are  not  certainly  so  strong  as  a 


SALMON   REFL  LINES.  13 

new  silk  and  hair  line  of  equal  thickness  ;  but  as 
human  hair  is  thought  to  defy  the  rot  and  ruin  even 
of  the  grave  for  many  years,  I  feel  satisfied  that 
aline  of  this  latter  material  would  be  much  more 
durable;  for  the  silk  in  the  ordinary  line  is  soon 
worn  out  by  friction  against  the  rod's  rings,  if 
ever  so  great  care  be  taken  to  preserve  it  from 
rot,  and  then  its  strength  is  gone.  For  my  part 
I  never  expect  the  point  of  a  line  to  last  above 
half  a  season's  fishing,  although  I  never  put  my 
line  away  without  first  drying  it  well.  Human 
hair  lines  must  necessarily  be  nearly  double  the 
expense  of  others.  As  to  their  elasticity  I  should 
rather  look  upon  it  as  an  advantage  than  other- 
wise, especially  in  striking  and  playing  a  fish. 
However,  take  the  silk  and  hair  for  the  present, 
for  these  on  the  whole  appear  the  best.  Some 
persons  prefer  twisted  silk  alone,  lines  of  which 
are  made  at  Nottingham.  Some  use  twisted,  and 
some  plaited  hemp,  which  latter  I  know  you  can 
meet  with  in  Liverpool,  though  I  do  not  recom- 
mend them,  because  they  are  generally  too  stout, 
and,  however  nicely  prepared  (which  they  may 
be  by  being  boiled  in  linseed  oil  and  other  secrets, 
such  as  Marshall's  preparation),  I  do  not  consider 
them  so  lasting,  or  capable  of  being  thrown  so 
lightly,  as  the  silk  and  hair.  Economy  is  their 
chief  recommendation. 

SALMON  REEL  LINES. — Now  as  to  these,  they 


14  TROUT   HEEL  LINES. 

should  be  from  sixty  to  eighty  yards  long — you 
require  this  latter  length  especially,  where  a 
salmon  inclines  to  run  much,  and  from  your  con- 
tiguity to  trees  or  bushes  on  the  bank,  you  cannot 
follow  him  or  change  your  position.  Another 
advantage  is,  that  as  the  end  which  is  so  much 
on  the  water  and  so  constantly  passing  through 
the  rings  of  the  rod  in  shortening  or  lengthening 
your  throw  can  never  be  depended  on  for  sound- 
ness above  one  season  at  most,  removing  the 
damaged  part,  sufficient  length  still  remains  for 
ordinary  rivers  and  places,  while  a  joint  or  splice 
in  a  line  should  always  be  avoided,  if  feasible. 
The  material,  I  repeat,  should  be  silk  and  hair 
twisted,  and  the  end,  for  about  twelve  yards,  may 
taper  slightly  ;  though,  perhaps,  it  is  as  well  to 
have  it  of  uniform  substance  throughout,  of  about 
the  thickness  of  the  "  D"  in  the  third  octave  in 
your  sister's  harp  (to  measure  which,  borrow  her 
string  guage),  or  thinner  than  a  new  shilling, 
which  is  strong  enough  for  any  salmon  and  any 
where,  provided  it  is  used  skilfully.  Many  old  and 
experienced  salmon  fishers  adopt  much  stouter  ; 
yet  I  prefer  fine  fishing,  and  am  ready,  for  a 
wager,  to  kill  any  fish  under  50  Ibs.  in  a  tolerable 
situation  with  the  substance  I  allude  to.  It  will 
bear  at  least  18  Ibs.  dead  weight,  and  perhaps 
more. 

TROUT  REEL  LINES  should  be  of  the  same 


REEI«  15 

material,  viz.  twisted  hair  and  silk,  but  necessa- 
rily much  thinner,  and  from  thirty  to  fifty  yards 
in  length  ;  or  even  longer  for  lake-fishing,  where 
heavy  trout  are  expected.  However,  thirty 
yards  is  quite  enough  for  a  light  trout  rod.  They 
must  taper  gradually  for  the  last  eight  or  ten 
yards  to  the  end,  where,  in  substance,  they  should 
not  exceed  the  first  "  D"  on  the  aforesaid  harp 
guage,  or  very  thick  netting  silk,  while  the 
stouter  end  should  be  about  equal  to  the  second 
"D." 

REELS. — Be  particular  in  the  choice  of  winches 
or  reels ;  they  should  be  proportionate  to  the  size 
of  your  rod  and  line,  and  should  carry  the  latter 
easily,  without  being  guided  on  in  winding  up ; 
else  there  is  fear  of  entanglement.  Reels  require 
very  good  and  delicate  workmanship,  great 
strength,  and  little  weight  of  metal ;  all  the  parts 
should  be  closely  fitted  to  each  other,  and,  in 
particular,  the  inner  revolving  plate  should  be 
well  applied  upon  the  exterior  fixed  one.  They 
should  run  freely,  otherwise  you  cannot  wind  up 
steadily  ;  and  the  larger  the  diameter  of  the 
circular  plates,  and  the  narrower  in  proportion 
the  pillars  or  bars  between  them,  the  greater  will 
be  the  length  of  line  taken  up  at  each  turn  of  the 
handle.  Your  trout  reel  should  be  a  multiplier; 
but  as  the  increase  of  the  speed  by  means  of  the 
cog-wheels  diminishes  the  power,  so  for  large  fish, 


16  REELS. 

such  as  salmon,  you  should  have  no  multiplying 
movement.  Both  kinds,  however,  should  have 
check  or  click  machinery,  which  prevents  slight 
catches  from  pulling  the  line  off.  Mind,  I  don't 
mean  the  old  fashioned  stop,  that  being  quite  pass£, 
although  recommended  by  a  modern  publication 
on  the  subject.  The  usual  kind  of  winches  have 
an  axis  on  which  the  line  is  wound,  of  from  about 
a  quarter  to  a  half  inch  in  diameter ;  but  the 
most  improved  have,  instead,  barrels  of  about  one 
inch  diameter,  so  that  the  very  first  foot  wound 
on  is  taken  up  at  the  rate  of  three  inches  to  every 
turn  of  the  handle,  whereby  the  speed  is  greatly 
increased.  Mr.  Eaton,  of  Crooked  Lane,  has 
the  pattern  of  this  kind  of  winch,  which  was 
devised  by  the  eminent  sculptor,  and  devoted  fly- 
fisher,  Sir  Francis  Chantrey.  For  salmon  the 
plates  are  about  five  inches  diameter ;  and  for 
trout,  of  about  three  and  a  half  inches,  and  they 
are  very  narrow  between  the  plates.  They  are 
tremendously  strong,  but  certainly  rather  too 
heavy,  in  my  humble  judgment,  and  necessarily 
very  expensive;  yet  the  advantage  of  speed  in 
winding  up  is  great,  and  more  than  counter- 
balances these  objections.  If  the  line  you  apply 
to  a  reel  be  anywise  too  short  to  fill  it,  you  may 
always  add  to  the  thickness  of  the  axis  any  mate- 
rial, such  as  a  split  cork,  or  strong  twine,  and 
thus  gain  the  advantage  in  speed  of  winding  up. 


GAFF.  17 

For  the  convenience  of  Carriage,  and  to  avoid 
breaking  or  bending,  you  should  have  what  are 
termed,  "  return  handles ;"  that  is,  handles 
screwed  on  with  a  large  headed  screw,  which, 
when  the  reel  is  out  of  actual  use,  you  can,  with 
your  fingers,  readily  take  off,  and  reversing  it, 
put  the  ivory  handle  over  the  plate  and  screw  it 
down  in  that  position.  If,  from  economy,  you 
prefer  one  for  salmon  with  a  plain  axis,  a  reel  of 
three  inches  and  a  quarter  diameter  across  the 
plates,  and  one  inch  and  three-eighths  between 
them,  will  very  well  carry  a  sixty  yard  line, 
the  substance  I  mention ;  and  another  half 
inch  in  diameter  will  afford  ample  room  for 
twenty  yards  more. 

GAFF. --Your  gaff  hook  should  be  without  a 
barb,  and  of  tough-tempered,  well-pointed  steel, 
but  not  too  large  ;  try  its  temper  before  buying 
it.  Some  have  on  the  back  a  kind  of  sharp 
curved  blade  or  scythe  lying  flat  with  a  lateral 
hinge,  used  for  cutting  branches  whereto  your 
line  or  hook  may  have  taken  a  liking.  The  whole 
should  be  attached  by  a  strong  screw  into  a  brass 
socket,  on  the  head  of  a  stick,  about  two  feet 
six  inches  long.  This  you  may  sling  over  your 
shoulder  upon  a  leather  strap  and  swivel  hook, 
and  can  fish  with  it  in  that  position  without 
inconvenience.  In  lieu  of  this  stick,  however, 
many  have  a  brass  telescope  handle,  not  unlike 

c 


18  LANDING    NET. 

that  of  a  drawing-room  hearth  broom,  which  folds 
up  into  so  short  a  length  as  to  lie  conveniently 
in  the  coat  pocket.  Others  again  adopt  the  plan 
of  having  the  gaff  stick  in  two  or  three  pieces, 
each  of  about  eighteen  inches,  to  screw  together, 
very  similar  to  a  gun  cleaning-stick.  These 
pieces  are  carried,  detached,  in  pockets  made  for 
the  purpose,  inside  the  left  front  of  the  fishing- 
jacket.  You  have  always  plenty  of  time  between 
hooking  and  landing  a  fish  to  put  it  together, 
and  have  the  convenience  of  four  and  a  half  feet  in 
length,  which  in  some  places  is  almost  absolutely 
requisite.  Let  me  here  caution  you,  unless  the 
hook  also  revolves  on  a  hinge  so  as  to  shut  up,  to 
carry  a  cork  on  its  point,  or  you  may,  perchance, 
gaff  an  odd  fish — yourself  to  wit ! 

LANDING  NET. — For  trout  fishing,  to  screw 
into  the  same  handle,  a  landing  net  is  requisite 
about  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  diameter;  and  it 
is  very  convenient  to  have  its  hoop  hinged  so  as 
to  fold  for  the  pocket.  Or,  I  have  found  it 
extremely  handy,  and  far  preferable  for  trout 
streams,  the  banks  of  which  are  low,  to  make  one 
thus ;  take  a  stout  cane,  of  about  six  feet  in  length, 
and  along  the  middle  of  its  length  lap  tightly  a  split 
piece  of  the  same,  thinned  off  at  its  ends  ;  then 
bend  and  bind  together  the  two  ends  of  the  whole 
length,  so  that  it  assumes  the  form  of  a  pear  or 
balloon;  these  ends  form  a  short  handle,  which 


CLEARING    RING,   AND   ROD   SCYTHE,         19 

is  to  be  bound  over  with  leather  like  a  whip- 
handle.  Thus  you  have  the  hoop  and  handle  of 
your  landing  net,  to  which  your  own  ingenuity 
must  tell  you  to  attach  a  net  of  sufficient  size ; 
and  the  whole  machine  is  so  light,  that  by  a  loop 
of  string  of  the  upper  broad  part  you  may  carry 
it  handle  downwards  at  the  river  side,  suspended 
to  a  hind  button  on  your  coat,  and  moreover  if 
you  are  careless,  drop  it  behind  you  and  never 
miss  its  weight ! 

CLEARING  RING. — You  must  also  have  a 
brass -jointed  clearing  ring  and  strong  line  of 
considerable  length  attached  to  it.  This  often 
proves  serviceable  in  breaking  off  any  improper 
attachment  which  your  fly  may  form  for  sticks  or 
stumps  at  a  distance  in  the  water  ;  and  you  should 
never  fish  in  any  way  without  it. 

ROD  SCYTHE. — The  rod  scythe  is  a  machine 
for  the  like  use  as  regards  trees  on  land,  and  is 
similar  in  shape  to  a  reaper's  hook,  somewhat 
like  a  note  of  interrogation  (?)  It  is  made  very 
small  and  light,  of  good  rough  steel,  with  the 
inner  edge  very  sharp.  That  part  which  answers 
to  the  handle  in  the  reaper's  hook,  is  hollowed  so 
as  to  receive  the  point  of  a  rod ;  and  to  use  it, 
you  attach  it  to  the  cord  of  your  clearing  ring  by 
a  loop  or  hole  with  which  it  must  be  provided. 
Its  use  is  this,  that  when  your  fly  gets  hung  up 
in  a  tree  in  a  place  where  the  length  of  the  rod 

c  2 


20  THE  ANGLER'S  DRESS. 

will  reach,  (and  it  seldom  attaches  itself  higher,) 
placing  the  scythe  on  the  top  of  the  rod,  you 
hook  it  on  to  the  branch  to  which  your  fly 
hangs ;  then  removing  your  rod  and  pulling  by 
the  string,  you  can  either  cut  away  the  branch, 
if  slight  enough ;  or  at  least,  if  the  worst  comes, 
cut  the  gut  close  to  your  fly,  and  thereby  save 
straining  your  tackle.  This  I  met  with  at  Cole- 
man's,  the  cutler,  in  the  Haymarket,  who  de- 
nominates it  "  the  angler's  friend."  A  small 
garden  saw,  knife,  or  hatchet,  is  not  a  bad  thing 
to  carry  about  you  for  these  purposes. 

A  TWISTING  MACHINE  and  weight  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  a  salmon  fisher  who  manu- 
factures his  own  lines,  &c.  and  I  can  only  say 
buy  it  at  a  good  shop  and  see  that  it  turns 
smoothly  and  evenly. 

THE  ANGLER'S  DRESS. — Perhaps  I  shall  be 
thought  hypercritical  in  saying  that  some  con- 
sideration is  necessary  as  to  piscatory  costume. 
Need  I  prove  that  one  colour  is  more  perceptible 
than  another?  Need  I  point  out  the  fact  in 
natural  history,  that  fishes  have  eyes  ! — that  they 
are  shy,  timid  creatures  ?  White  or  black  are  not, 
I  think,  much  better  than  scarlet,  and  you  should 
avoid  any  marked  colours,  whether  light  or  dark. 
As  far  as  my  observation  upon  this  point  extends, 
I  have  remarked  that  the  colour  least  discernible 
in  the  distance,  is  something  of  a  light  shade, 


THE  ANGLER'S  DIIESS.  21 

between  a  green-olive,  and  a  slate-colour ;  and 
presuming  that  it  partakes  of  the  same  invisi- 
ble quality  when  near,  I  should  recommend  it. 
Moreover  not  knowing  that  fish  have  any  predilic- 
tion  for  a  b  lack  hat,  let  me  recommend  alight  drab. 
Though,  perhaps  after  all,  the  fisherman's  truly 
invisible  garb  is  woven  of  care  and  caution  ! 

John  Dennys,  on  this  subject,  says  in  his  poem 
published  A.  D.  1613- 

"  And  let  your  garments  russet  be  or  grey 
Of  colour  darke,  and  hardest  to  discry, 
That  with  the  raine  and  weather  will  away, 
And  least  offend  the  fearful  fishes  eye." 

Though,  by  the  bye,  I  by  no  means  agree  with 
his  annotator,  W.  Lauson,  that  "  white"  is  good 
because  it  is  likest  the  sky  ?  Is  white  linen 
drying  on  a  hedge  hard  to  detect  in  the  distance  ? 
or  is  a  white  cloud  soothing  to  the  sight? 

You  may  as  well  furnish  yourself  with  a  pair 
of  wading  boots,  unless  you  are  bent  on  rheumatism. 
There  is  no  sort  which  I  can  at  present  recom- 
mend. Those  of  Mackintosh  material  are  very 
good  as  long  as  they  last,  but  that  is  not  long. 
I  was  unfortunate  lately  in  missing  an  oppor- 
tunity of  buying  a  most  excellent  pair,  owing  to 
a  little  hesitation  ;  they  were  gone  when  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  adopt  them,  and  by  the 
way,  who  do  you  think  had  purchased  them? 

The  Marchioness  of  H !  Bravo  feminine 

Piscator !  I  glory  in  your  taste  for  the  art ;  but 


22  WADING   THE  TROUT  STREAM. 

wherefore  should  you  wade?  They  were  made 
of  solid  India  rubber ;  but  there  is  not  another 
pair  like  them  to  be  bought  in  the  kingdom.  In 
the  Strand  they  make  them  also  of  solid  sheet 
Indian  rubber,  but  the  price,  alas  !  is  five  guineas, 
which  is  the  only  thing  against  them,  for  they 
would  last,  I  believe,  for  ever;  besides  being  so 
perfectly  impervious  to  the  wet,  as  to  keep  the 
angler  in  comfort  and  health ;  although  his  only 
success  may  oftentimes  be  sought  and  found  as 
here  depicted, — by  "  wading  the  trout  stream." 


OF  FLY-RODS  AND  HOOKS. 

Now  as  to  FLY  RODS  IN  GENERAL  let  me  pre- 
mise, that  in  them  particularly,  the  strength  of 
every  inch  is  put  to  the  test  more  or  less  on  each 
cast  of  the  line,  and  therefore  will  they  require 
the  best  workmanship  and  most  careful  selection. 
In  choice  of  them,  it  will  be  necessary  very 
minutely  to  examine  the  grain  of  the  wood  of  which 
each  piece  is  formed,  observing  that  it  should 
run,  as  nearly  as  possible,  straight  from  end  to 
end  up  each  joint ;  if  it  crosses,  or  if  you  find  any 
knots,  or  the  slightest  appearance  of  crack,  or 
other  blemish,  it  should  be  at  once  condemned. 
Moreover  never  be  beguiled  into  trying  a  rod 
inside  a  confined  shop  ;  rather  carry  it  into  the 
open  air,  where  you  can  freely  prove  its  elasticity, 
and  other  qualities.  In  Liverpool  and  elsewhere, 
they  make  salmon  rods  of  East  India  bamboo,  of 
which  I  cannot  approve,  though  they  are  certainly 
lighter  and  very  strong ;  yet  they  are  mostly  too 
stiff,  and  can  never  be  made  to  play  and  work  so 


24 


FLY     HODS. 


pleasantlyorequablyastho.se  made  of  the  materials 
I  shall  mention.  The  wood  of  which  a  rod  is  to 
be  composed,  should  be  first  well  seasoned  for  four 
or  five  years,  at  least,  in  the  log ;  and  should  then 
be  cut  into  slips  for  joints,  which  should  remain  at 
least  two  or  three  years  more,  before  they  are 
finally  worked  up  into  form.  This  will  at  once 
show  you  the  importance  of  dealing  at  an  old  and 
well  established  shop,  as  no  small  dealer  or 
manufacturer  can  sink  his  capital  so  long;  and  it 
should  also  convince  you  of  the  wisdom  of  not 
grudging  a  good  price  for  so  important  an  article. 
It  will,  perhaps,  also  soon  be  found  advisable  to 
resort  to  one  of  the  patent  modes  of  preparing 
wood  against  dry  rot.  Not  that  such  a  disease  often 
troubles  rods,  because  when  cut  into  slips,  the  air 
has  sufficient  action  to  prevent  it.  But  by  the 
method  used  in  those  patents,  (Sir  William 
Burney's  at  all  events,)  the  wood  is  much 
strengthened. 

The  colour  of  the  rod  is  not  in  general  much 
regarded,  and  may  not  materially  signify;  al- 
though, I  for  one,  am  inclined  to  think  even  this 
worthy  of  consideration;  for  as  one  colour  is 
doubtless  more  discernible  to  the  human  eye 
than  another,  so,  if  we  can  judge  from  analogy, 
it  will  be  to  that  of  fishes.  At  one  time,  I 
preferred  black  stained,  but,  upon  observation^ 
unstained  is  less  visible.  I  al&o  much  question 


FLY    RODS.  25 

whether  it  is  not  a  disadvantage  to  have  rods 
highly  varnished;  since  in  the  sunshine  this 
reflects  the  rays  of  light,  and  is  consequently 
liable  to  excite  the  attention  of  the  keen  eye  of 
the  fish  as  he  is  about  to  rise  to  the  lure,  or 
perhaps  prevent  his  rising  altogether.  Often 
have  I  detected  the  presence  of  a  brother  sports- 
man at  a  pool  half  a  mile  off,  on  a  bright  day, 
simply  by  the  flash  of  his  rod,  his  person  being 
altogether  hidden  by  intervening  substances. 
And  I  am  convinced  some  advantage  would  be 

o 

gained  by  giving  to  those  points  more  attention. 
We  yield  great  credit  to  fish  for  acuteness  in 
their  visional  organs  in  connection  with  the  colour 
of  the  flies  we  use,  but  are  utterly  careless  in 
concealing  that  which  ought  to  be  hidden.  And 
it  may  be,  that  to  the  rough  unvarnished  dullness 
in  the  rods  of  the  lower  order  of  fishermen,  their 
frequent  advantage  over  those  more  curious  in 
their  tackle  is  to  be  attributed  ;  "  since,"  as 
Dennys  says, 

" the  fishes  are  affrighted  with  the  least 

Aspect  of  any  glittering  thing  or  white." 

Varnish,  or  something  in  the  nature  of  it,  is 
absolutely  essential  to  the  preservation  of  rods, 
as  well  as  to  prevent  their  being  temporarily 
affected  by  rain,  or  damp  air ;  but  it  would  be 
an  improvement  if  some  less  glittering  coat  were 
substituted. 


26  FLY  RODS. 

It  is  essential  to  have  at  least  three  spare 
top- joints  to  every  fly-rod ;  especially  when 
we  stretch  far  away  from  the  maker :  for  even  if 
an  accident  do  not  occur,  a  month's  daily  wear 
must  loosen  the  splicing, 

As  some  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  as  to  the 
make  of  a  top  joint,  some  prefering  it  spliced,  and 
others  of  one  entire  piece,  I  must  trouble  you 
with  a  few  observations  upon  the  subject.  Let 
me  premise  that  I  advocate  the  former,  as,  in  my 
personal  experience,  none  can  play  better  or  are 
stronger,  (as  long  as  the  splicing  holds  together), 
than  such  as  are  made  according  to  the  London 
fashion.  The  stoutest  piece  next  to  the  upper 
"  joint'* in  these,  is  lance-wood;  then,  come  two 
or  three  pieces  of  East  Indian  bamboo  split  out 
of  a  thick  stock  :  and  lastly,  a  splice  of  whale- 
bone, forms  the  point  or  tip  of  the  rod.  The 
advocates  for  solid  tops  imagine  that  the 
different  kinds  of  wood  cause  a  varied  and  im- 
proper degree  of  pliancy  to  the  whole  rod ;  and 
they  especially  object  that  the  whalebone  tip 
gives  too  much  weight  to  that  part.  Now  the 
only  objection  that  I  have  ever  found  to  spliced 
tops,  is  that  they  occasionally  get  out  of  order  by 
the  glue  at  the  joints  giving  way.  A  trifling 
annual  expence,  however,  (if  we  are  not  ourselves 
clever  enough  to  perform  the  reparation),  in 
addition  to  the  yearly  coat  of  varnish,  which 


FLY    RODS.  27 

every  rod  ought  to  have  in  order  to  its  general 
preservation,  will  remedy  that  inconvenience. 
The  advantages  of  spliced  rods  I  conceive  to 
exist,  in  the  spring  being  more  true,  and  better 
capable  of  graduation;  "while  the  woods  which 
compose  it  are  lighter,  and  quite  as  strong  as  any 
entire  piece  can  be. 

In  proof,  it  is  very  certain  that  in  making  a 
top  of  an  entire  piece,  it  would  be  madness  to 
use  a  young  shoot  of  any  kind  of  wood ;  a&  it 
would  contain  pith  down  its  centre,  and  could 
not  be  so  tough  or  strong  as  that  of  older  growth. 
It  must  therefore  be  cut  out  of  a  solid  of  more 
seasoned  stuff.  Yet  when  it  is  planed  down, 
tapering  to  a  fine  point,  the  grain  is  cut  through 
obliquely  and  so  rendered  liable  to  split  or  peel ; 
and  the  more  it  is  reduced,  it  becomes  limp  and 
worthless,  instead  of  more  elastic.  I  think  the  tops 
made  of  entire  pieces  at  Liverpool,  of  wood 
coming  from  the  Essiquibo  River,  are  too  stiff, 
from  the  impossibility  of  reducing  them  sufficiently, 
and  are  therefore  objectionable  for  fly-rods,  how- 
ever desirable  in  other  respects.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  you  take  several  pieces  of  wood,  each 
lessening  in  thickness  as  well  as  in  fineness 
of  grain,  and  splice  them  together,  inasmuch  as 
you  are  not  required  to  cut  through  the  grain  to 
taper  them,  (rubbing  down  with  sand-paper  being 
sufficient  to  adapt  the  ends  uniformly  to  each 


28  WHALEBOXE  TIPS. 

other,)  there  is  no  diminution  in  their  several 
strength.  Moreover  this  affords  an  opportunity 
of  introducing,  as  I  said  before,  the  best  sort  of 
wood  for  elasticity  as  well  as  lightness ;  viz. 
Bamboo  cane,  which  could  not  be  procured  of 
sufficient  length  for  a  top  without  splicing,  owing 
to  the  intervention  of  the  natural  joints  or  knots  ; 
and  lancewood,  though  too  heavy,  and  perhaps 
too  brittle  when  so  much  reduced  in  substance, 
for  the  point  of  the  rod,  is  yet  elastic  ;  and, 
forming  the  thickest  splice  in  the  top,  constitutes 
a  medium  weight  and  pliancy  of  wood  between 
the  hiccory  of  the  "joints"  and  the  bamboo  of 
which  the  second  and  other  splices  of  the  "  top" 
are  composed.  There  is  another  advantage  in 
spliced  tops,  namely,  that  if  a  breakage  should 
happen,  the  damaged  part  can  be  replaced  with- 
out the  expence  of  an  entire  new  top. 

WHALEBONE  TIPS. — Now  as  to  the  "weighty" 
objection  to  whalebone  tips,  what  an  exquisite 
sense  of  feeling  must  a  man  have  to  detect  it  ! 
But  supposing  it  to  be  perceptible,  look  at  the 
immense  advantage  whalebone  affords.  Elastic 
toughness  is  introduced  in  the  thinnest  part  of 
the  rod, — the  part  which  is  almost  solely  engaged 
in  receiving  the  first  shock  of  striking  a  fish ; 
and  as  the  fault  of  fishermen  is  mostly  to  strike 
too  forcibly,  it  is  as  well  that  they  should 
have  something  not  liable  to  break.  Notwith- 


ASH   OR    WILLOW   BUTS.  29 

standing  that  atop  maybe  very  well, in  good  hands, 
without  whalebone,  I  can  at  the  same  time  see 
no  disadvantage  in  having  it :  and  it  is,  assuredly, 
less  liable  to  fracture,  (if  fracture  be  possible), 
than  any  wood  of  the  same  thickness  could  be. 
Besides,  as  has  been  observed  elsewhere,  if,  in 
carrying  a  rod,  you  happened  to  poke  it,  point 
foremost,  against  the  ground,  or  a  tree,  it  is  ten 
to  one  a  wooden  tip  would  fly,  A  recent  work 
on  Fly-fishing, — Shipley  and  Fitzgibbon,  at  page 
35,  quotes  Bambridge  as  an  authority,  and  re- 
commends that  "  whatever  number  of  pieces  the 
rod  is  to  be  composed  of,  between  the  but  and 
the  top-piece,  they  must  all  be  cut  from  the  same 
log."  This  mode  of  advice  I  cannot  understand, 
for,  in  the  following  page,  they  recommend  as 
many  various  woods  to  be  used  in  a  rod  as  I  do. 

ASH  on  WILLOW  BUTS. — According  to  the 
work  before  alluded  to,  the  but  of  a  rod  should 
be  of  willow,  on  account  of  its  lightness,  rejecting 
ash  as  too  heavy.  This  merely  alludes  to  trout- 
rods,  however,  whilst  my  remarks  equally  apply 
to  those  for  trout  or  salmon.  Willow  is  much 
lighter  than  hiccory,  and  if  you  put  an  hiccory 
joint  above  a  willow  but,  how  can  you,  unless 
the  but  be  very  thick  and  clumsy,  obtain  an 
equally  graduated  weight  throughout  the  rod? 
Besides  which,  you  will  find  that  weight  in  the 
hand  is  advantageous,  and  surely  a  trout  rod  of 


30  HOLLOW  BUTS. 

fourteen  ounces  is  not  likely  to  fatigue,  (by  the 
difference  of  weight  in  ash  and  willow),  in  the 
few  hours  of  fishing. 

As  to  the  comparative  strength  of  ash  and 
willow,  the  former  bears  the  palm  beyond  a 
doubt ;  and  if  .you  attempt  to  throw  thirty  yards 
of  line  against  wind  with  a  willow  wand,  all  I 
can  say  is,  were  I  in  your  place,  I  should  like  to 
have  a  spare  ash  staff  at  hand  !  What  muscular 
strength  is  requisite  to  wield  a  trout  rod  ?  No 
muscular  exertion  ought  to  be  called  forth,  in 
trout  fishing  at  least,  otherwise  something  else  is 
surely  defective.  For  myself,  I  can  say,  that  I 
have  fished  from  five  in  the  morning  till  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  greater  part  of  the 
day  against  a  strong  wind,  with  my  single  handed 
trout-rod, — measuring  fourteen  feet,  three  inches, 
and  a  half,  and  weighing  one  pound  two 
ounces,  and  generally  throwing  from  twenty  to 
thirty  yards  of  line,  and  never  experienced  any 
trouble  from  its  weight,  or  the  exertion  required 
for  its  free  use. 

HOLLOW  BUTS. — I  do  not  advise  any  one  to 
have  a  hollow  but.  To  be  sure  it  is  often  re- 
commended as  being  less  heavy  ;  yet,  as  I  have 
already  stated,  weight  in  that  portion  of  the  rod 
is  no  disadvantage,  but  rather  assists  in  the 
facility  of  recovering  a  rod  to  its  perpendicular, 
when  fishing.  Nor  can  a  hollow,  by  possibility, 


SPLICED   RODS*  31 

be  so  strong  ;  and  as  the  only  other  object  of 
having  it  so  hollowed  out,  is  the  convenience  of 
carrying  a  spare  top,  in  case  of  accidents,  in  my 
opinion,  it  is  worse  than  useless ;  because  the 
tops  are  thereby  inevitably  injured  at  the  ends. 
If  the  carriage  of  a  spare  top  be  the  only  recom- 
mendation to  hollow  buts,  have  a  gaff,  or  land- 
ing-net-pole made  hollow,  of  sufficient  length. 
I  would  rather  even  strap  the  spare  top  to  a 
piece  of  common  straight  wood,  and  sling  it  in 
some  way  at  my  back,  if  I  went  to  the  river  un- 
attended, than  forego  solidity  in  this  part.  But 
I  am  always  inclined  to  leave  such  incumbrances 
at  my  nightly  resting-place,  carrying  with  me  a 
sharp  knife,  and  plenty  of  well-waxed  twine  in 
lieu,  to  repair  damages  to  the  single  top  that 
accompanies  me. 

THE  GROOVE  AND  RING  for  attaching  the 
winch  should  be  about  a  foot  from  the  end  of 
the  but  of  a  salmon  rod,  or  less,  according  to 
the  size  of  it ;  and  above  all  things  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  care  that  the  winch  fits  with  sufficient 
tightness.  "  Experience  makes  one  wise."  By 
disregarding  this  caution,  I  once,  when  snap- 
fishing,  lost  a  monster  of  a  pike,  the  winch  coming 
off  whilst  I  was  in  the  very  act  of  winding  up  to 
land  him. 

SPLICED  RODS. — With  regard  to  spliced  rods 
(I  mean  those  of  which  all  the  pieces  or  joints 


32  SPLICED   RODS. 

are  so  made,  that  instead  of  being  fitted  together 
with  socket  and  ferrule,  the  joints  are  tied  by  the 
owner  when  required  for  use,  and  separated 
again  when  laid  by,  and  these  are  sometimes 
called  "  scared"),  there  is  much  trouble  attending 
them  ;  yet  the  advantages  are  infinite  if  some 
little  pains-taking,  such  as  I  shall  here  point  out, 
is  bestowed,  it  is  only  the  trouble  that  keeps 
them  out  of  fashion.  The  advantages  are,  they 
are  lighter  by  the  weight  of  the  brass  ferrules  ; 
nor  is  there  that  stiffness  about  the  joints  which 
ferrules  inevitably  cause  ;  and  they  are  decidedly 
stronger,  inasmuch  as  the  letting  in  and  on  of  the 
brass  work  tends  to  weaken  the  wood.  Besides, 
there  is  always  a  sudden  resistance  in  the  spring 
close  to  the  ferrule,  which  is  the  part  where 
experience  tells  us  anglers,  rods  generally  break. 
However,  as  the  only  objection  to  splicing  is  a 
very  formidable  one,  I  do  not  like  a  rod  joined 
entirely  by  this  means.  On  the  contrary,  let  the 
but  and  "joints"  be  made  with  ferrules  and 
sockets  in  the  usual  way,  the  joints  being  pro- 
vided with  corresponding  hitchers  to  secure  them 
together  by  tying,  while  throwing.  But  of  all 
things,  avoid  any  except  plain  ferrules ;  the  Irish 
socket,  peg  and  groove,  or  the  socket  and  screw, 
being  very  seldom  perfectly  made  to  begin  with; 
and  never  continuing  long  in  order;  besides 
adding  much  in  point  of  weight.  I  recommend 


SPLICED  RODS.  33 

the  "  top"  and  the  thinner  joint  next  it  to  be 
spliced  together.  The  trouble  of  whipping  and 
unwhipping  this,  need  not  be  often  incurred,  as 
the  two  pieces,  when  once  whipped,  can  easily 
be  laid  on  a  ledge,  or  on  the  floor  of  a  room, 
during  the  evenings  of  a  "  fishing  bout,"  and 
need  seldom  be  taken  to  pieces,  excepting  for  the 
purpose  of  travelling.  Be  particular,  however, 
to  have  the  splices  left  quite  plain,  without  the 
least  notch  or  groove  in  them.  I  have  seen 
attempts,  by  means  of  small  brass  pegs  and  holes 
to  receive  them,  to  hold  the  spliced  joint  more 
firmly  together  when  whipped  ;  but  you  must 
bear  in  mind,  that  the  smallest  perforation  of  the 
wood  tends  to  weaken  it,  and  I  have  witnessed 
the  breaking  of  two  or  three  rods  exactly  at  the 
holes  formed  by,  and  corresponding  with,  the 
pegs  in  question.  My  own  rod  was  made  in  this 
style,  and  it  broke  in  that  particular  spot.  So  I 
removed  all  the  pegs  and  plugged  up  the  holes 
with  oak,  hammered  and  glued  in.  I  have  a 
secret,  which  I  think  worth  knowing,  appertain- 
ing to  splices.  With  very  fine  well-waxed  silk, 
whip  over  the  two  splices  separately  ;  it  not  only 
strengthens  them,  but  when  bound  together,  they 
are  more  tenacious  than  the  bare  wood  could  be, 
and  will  not  shift  with  ever  so  hard  a  month's 
throwing.  The  material  with  which  you  bind 


34  ELASTICITY  OF  RODS. 

the  splices  together  should  be  strong  plaited  silk 
trolling-line,  well  waxed,  one  end  of  it  should  be 
whipped  on  to  the  "  joint ;"  and  on  the  "  top  joint" 
should  be  a  hitcher,  which  is  a  doubled  piece  of 
wire,  whipped  flat,  half-way  up  it,  to  the  rod,  to 
secure  the  other  end  when  the  binding  is  com- 
pleted. The  binding  silk  should  be  long  enough 
to  bind  the  whole  splice  closely,  and  a  little  more. 
Although  the  longer  the  splice  is  cut,  the  less 
liable  it  is  to  shift ;  yet  it  is  less  strong  than  a 
shorter  one,  which,  by  the  whipping  of  silk  as  I 
have  before  recommended,  may  hold  quite  as  firm. 
However,  when  the  two  splices  are  bound  together, 
if,  on  holding  the  whole  of  it  in  the  grasp  of  my 
hand,  and  shaking  the  rod,  I  feel  more  play  in 
the  splice,  and,  consequently,  more  weakness 
than  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  top,  I  make  it  a 
rule  to  unbind  the  whole,  and  insert  a  split  quill 
well-soaked  in  water,  previous  to  the  operation, 
under  the  entire  length  of  the  binding,  which 
secures  strength  and  elasticity  at  the  game  time, 
just  as  it  doeskin  a  coach  whip. 

THE  ELASTICITY  OR  DEGREE  OF  PLIANCY 
IN  A  ROD. — Now  comes  a  part  of  the  subject 
which  is  most  difficult  to  treat ;  namely,  the  de- 
gree or  quantity  of  elasticity  a  rod  should  possess. 
Observe  that  whatever  is  the  quantity,  the  quality 
must  be  uniform  and  gradual  from  one  end  to 


ELASTICITY  OF  RODS.  35 

the  other.  If  in  waving  it,  one  part  feels  weaker 
or  more  stiff  than  another,  at  once  reject  it  as 
bad.  Some  judgment,  which  words  can  scarcely 
convey,  is  required  to  detect  this ;  but  if  you 
take  in  your  hand  a  long  green  withy  stick,  and 
wave  that  about,  you  will  readily  perceive  what 
is  the  nature  of  the  objection  I  am  endeavouring 
to  point  out;  though  I  fear  long  experience  in 
choosing,  alone  will  enable  any  one  to  become  a 
complete  judge  in  such  matters.  I,  myself,  from 
being  perpetually,  I  may  say  two  or  three  times 
every  year,  for  some  years  past,  required  by 
friends,  to  choose  for  them, — can  detect  flaws 
in  a  rod  by  the  feel  which  would  be  invisible  to 
the  eye  ;  but  this  is  only  to  be  done  by  practice, 
as  my  words,  I  fear,  must  fail  to  explain  it.  You 
will  feel  that  the  upper  part  is  too  heavy  for  the 
lower,  and  that  there  is  a  sensation  as  though  it 
would  break  in  the  middle.  In  a  good  rod,  on 
waving  it  about  with  moderate  force,  you  will 
never  experience  this  sensation — but  feel  satis- 
fied that  the  lower  part  is  fully  strong  enough 
to  support  every  succeeding  superior  inch. 

As  to  the  quantity  of  Elasticity,  or  its  curvature, 
tastes  vary.  For  myself,  I  prefer  a  rod  that  has 
the  middle  degree — being  neither  too  stiff,  nor  too 
elastic;  and,  in  choosing  such,  you  can't  go  far 
wrong ;  but  you  had  better  have  a  rod  too  stiff 

D  2 


36  BALANCE  OF  RODS. 

(provided   it   is    otherwise    well    graduated   and 
apportioned),  than  the  other  way ;  as  the  latter  is 
particularly  objectionable  in  fighting  a  heavy  fish, 
especially  in  dangerous  water  or  from  off  a  rooted 
bank  ;  as  it  is  also  during  windy  weather.  Neither 
is  it  possible  to  throw  a  large  and  consequently 
heavy  fly  with  a  very  pliable  rod.    And  whatever 
other  doctors  of  fishing  may   say,  I  know  from 
experience  that  it  is  as  easy  to  cast  a  fly  lightly 
with  a  stiff  as  with  a  pliant  rod.     I  must  leave 
this  entirely  to  the  fly-fisher's  choice  and  judg- 
ment;   not  omitting,   however,    to  mention  that 
Mr.  Eaton,  of  Crooked-lane,  tells  me,  that  of  late 
years  he  finds  stiff  fly-rods  of  every  description 
preferred,  and  from  the  quantity  he  sells  weekly 
he  is  some  authority  upon  the  subject.    Too  great 
a  degree  of  elasticity  is  now  generally  looked  upon 
as  the  fault  of  Irish  rods,  and  I  do  not  certainly 
recommend  them  for  that  reason.     I  do  not  go  so 
far   as   the  authors  of  the   work  I   have  before 
referred  to,  who  condemn  rods,  "  pliable  almost 
down  to  the  hand,"  because  I  consider  the  term 
altogether  indefinite.     Every  rod  ought  to  play, 
in  fact,  "  quite  down  to  the  hand,"  or  else  it  cannot 
be  well  proportioned  ;  but,  mark  the  distinction,  it 
should  not,  "  seem"  to  "bend  down  to  the  hand," 
and  then  the  advice  is  good. 

Mr.  Ronalds  says,  that  a  rod  held  horizontally 


ELASTICITY  OF  RODS.  37 

should  droop  very  little  from  the  straight  line. 
To  render  this  somewhat  less  indefinite,  I  subjoin 
two  figures. 

Fig.  2.  Fig.  1. 

F        __  -"  -  E        A  ____  B 


Scale  l-10th  of  an  inch  to  the  foot. 

A  to  B  (salmon  rod)  18     0  E  to  F  (trout  rod)  ..14  3£ 

BtoC     ..........     1     5  FtoG  ..........     1  6 

B  to  D    ..........     5  10J  F  to  H  ..........     5  4 

In  Figure  1,  AB  is  supposed  to  be  my  eighteen 
foot  four-jointed  salmon-rod,  straight  ;  when  held 
at  the  but  horizontally,  as  Mr.  Ronalds  says,  it 
will,  of  its  own  weight  assume  the  line  A  c,  the 
point  c  diverging  seventeen  inches  from  the 
straight  line,  or  the  height  at  which  A  is  held. 
And  I  find  on  attaching  to  the  point  B  a  half 
pound  weight,  it  will  bring  it  down,  as  A  D,  to  D, 
which  is  five  feet  ten  inches  and  a  half  out  of  the 
straight  line. 

In  Figure  2,  EF  is  my  fourteen  feet  three 
inches  and  a  half  three-jointed  trout-rod,  straight. 
It  droops  eighteen  inches,  as  to  G,  of  its  own 
weight  ;  and  to  H,  equal  to  five  feet  four  inches, 
by  a  quarter  of  a  pound  weight  attached  at  the 
point,  having,  therefore,  little  more  than  half  the 
elastic  strength  of  the  salmon-rod.  These  two 
facts  may  be  perhaps  some  guide  as  to  a 


38  BALANCE  OF  RODS. 

choice  in  the  matter  of  quantity  of  elasticity.  For 
instance,  with  half  a  pound  weight,  if  eighteen 
feet  droops  five  feet  ten  inches,  what  will  a  sixteen 
feet  rod  droop  ?  answer,  five  feet  two  inches  and 
a  half  near.  And  if  with  a  quarter  of  a  pound, 
one  of  fifteen  feet  three  inches  droops  five  feet  four 
inches,  what  will  a  twelve  feet  rod  droop?  answer, 
four  feet  eight  inches  and  three  quarters  near. 

A  bent  rod  describes  in  geometry  more  the 
shape  of  a  quarter  of  a  very  elongated  ellipsis 
than  any  other — the  but  end  almost  approaching 
to  a  straight  line. 

THE  BALANCE  OF  A  ROD. — Another  thing  I 
must  not  forget  to  mention,  is  the  balance  of  a  fly 
rod,  when  put  together  and  placed  horizontally 
on  the  finger,  for  instance,  as  the  fulcrum.  In  a 
rod  that  is  to  be  wielded  by  two  hands,  the 
fulcrum,  you  must  remember,  should  be  rather 
nearer  the  centre  of  it,  than  in  one  that  is  single 
handed.  In  order  to  have  experience  on  this 
part  of  the  subject,  I  examined  my  rods  already 
mentioned  (trout  'and  salmon),  which  are,  I  ven- 
ture to  say,  as  good  in  their  kinds  as  can  by  pos- 
sibility be  made,  I  put  them  together,  and  affixed 
the  reels.  The  salmon-rod  being  exactly  eighteen 
feet  long,  I  found  the  centre  of  balance  at 
three  feet  five  and  a  half  inches  from  the  end 
of  the  but.  The  trout-rod,  which  is  fourteen 
feet  three  inches  and  a  half,  has  its  balance 


HOLMES'S  RODS.  39 

at  two  feet  seven  and  a  half  from  the  same  part. 
By  these,  as  a  standard,  it  will  be  easy  to 
calculate  the  proper  balance  of  any  fly-rod. 
Thus,  for  a  salmon-rod,  if  eighteen  feet  give  three 
feet  five  inches  and  a  half,  what  will  ^T(the  length 
of  the  rod  proposed)  produce  ?  and  for  trout,  if 
fourteen  feet  three  inches  and  a  half  give  two  feet 
seven  inches  and  a  half,  what  will  .Zgive  you?  Do 
not  forget  the  weight  and  size  of  the  reel  which 
the  use  you  put  your  rod  to,  will  require.  If  you 
wish  to  change  it  for  a  heavier  one,  you  may  still 
keep  the  fulcrum  in  the  same  place  by  having  the 
lower  part  of  the  but  hollowed  out ;  and  if  for  a 
lighter  one,  it  can  be  regulated  by  having  it 
plugged  with  lead. 

HOLMES'S  RODS. — There  is  one  kind  of  rod  of 
rather  recent  introduction,  with  the  winch  fitted 
into  the  but,  which  I  ought  particularly  to  men- 
tion, and  of  which  I  believe  Holmes,  a  London 
tackle-maker,  is  the  inventor.  I  have  not  tried 
them  myself,  though  I  have  seen  and  heard  of 
them  in  the  hands  of  others;  yet  the  objections 
which  the  bare  sight  of  them  presents,  and  which 
prevail  in  practice,  are,  first,  that  the  rod  is  not 
kept  in  its  proper  position  while  fishing,  namely 
rings  downwards;  as  it  naturally  is  by  the  weight 
of  the  ordinary  winch,  put  on  in  the  usual  fashion ; 
and  again,  if  the  lower  end  of  the  but  is  ever  used 
as  a  fulcrum  against  the  body  in  killing  a  fish,  as 


40  SALMON  RODS. 

in  salmon-fishing  it  must  always  be,  or  if  it 
be  applied  to  a  doubled  handed  rod, — in  using 
which,  one  hand  is  kept  below,  the  other  above, 
— the  sockets  above  and  below  the  winch  will 
inevitably  become  loose  and  infirm  after  a  little 
wear.  Besides,  in  packing,  if  the  winch  is  left  on, 
it  is  in  the  way,  and  inconvenient. 

The  SALMON  ROD  should  consist  of  four  parts 
or  pieces : — First,  the  but  of  solid  ash ;  the  second 
and  third,  which  are  called  "joints,"  of  hiccory; 
and  the  fourth,  the  top,  made  as  I  have  already 
intimated.  Each  part  should  be  at  least  four  feet 
six  inches ;  forming,  in  its  whole  length,  eighteen 
feet  or  upwards.  Some  persons  use  rods  two  or 
three  feet  longer,  which  enables  them  to  command 
a  greater  breadth  of  water;  though  for  general 
fishing  I  consider  eighteen  feet  quite  sufficient, 
especially  as  the  greater  length  increases  the 
labour  materially.  As  the  separate  parts  of  a  rod 
are  those  which  mostly  break,  you  cannot  err 
if  you  have,  in  addition,  three  or  more  spare  tops, 
and  one  extra  joint  next  to  the  top.  For  a 
salmon-rod  by  all  means  have  the  top,  and  the 
joint  next  it,  made  so  as  to  splice  or  "  scare " 
together  in  the  fashion  I  mentioned. 

The  rings  of  a  salmon-rod  should  be  large, 
very  well  soldered,  and  firmly  secured  to  it,  rather 
decreasing  in  size  upwards.  That  at  the  point 
should  be  of  double  stout  wire,  rather  larger  in 


TROUT  RODS. — HOOKS.  41 

circumference  than  the  rest.  I  do  not  recommend 
the  use  of  a  spear  at  the  but  of  a  salmon-rod ; 
because,  being  weighty  and  double  handed,  the 
but  often  resting  against  the  body,  the  spear  may 
not  only  be  in  the  way,  but  even  dangerous; 
while  at  the  same  time  it  is  useless,  as  the  upper 
part  is  too  heavy  to  be  supported  by  a  short  spear 
stuck  into  the  ground,  especially  in  windy  weather. 

TROUT  RODS,  must  be  selected  by  the  rules 
which  I  have  already  laid  down.  The  length,  and 
consequently  the  weight,  may  vary  from  eleven, 
or  twelve,  to  fourteen,  or  sixteen  feet ;  some  re- 
quiring the  use  of  one,  and  others  of  two  hands. 
Those  of  from  eleven  to  thirteen  feet  long  should 
never  exceed  three  joints,  although  four  joints  may 
be  more  convenient  to  carry ;  otherwise  the  top 
joint  becomes  necessarily  so  very  fine  and  thin  at 
the  ferrule  or  splice,  that  it  is  likely  to  break 
if  you  attempt  to  throw  a  long  line.  Rods  of  from 
fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  may,  however,  be  in  four 
joints ;  and  if  this  particular  be  attended  to,  I  do 
not  think  it  absolutely  necessary,  (although  safer,) 
to  have  the  top  and  thinnest  joint  spliced  or 
"  scared  "  together.  Trout-rods  should  always  be 
adapted  for  spears  at  the  but  end;  and  the  rings 
may  be  much  smaller  than  those  on  the  salmon- 
rod. 

HOOKS. — The  last  thing,  and  by  no  means  the 
least  important,  is,  the  hook ;  of  these  the  angler 


42  HOOKS. 

should  procure  all  sorts,  trout  and  salmon,  large 
and  small,  of  O'Shaughnessy's,  or  Sell's  Limerick, 
manufacture.  But  of  whatever  make,  first 
test  their  strength  by  sticking  the  points  in  a  soft 
piece  of  mahogany  and  tugging  away  by  the 
shank ;  or  holding  the  shank  with  pincers,  pulling 
the  bend  by  a  loop  of  string.  But  as  in  either  of 
these  methods  you  may  pull  harder  than  is  requi- 
site, and  so  condemn  unfairly,  test  your  hooks 
by  "  Siebe's  Weighing  Machine."  If  the  smallest 
for  grilse  will  draw  down  fifteen  pounds,  and  the 
midge-trout  one  pound  and  a  half,  they  will  do. 
They  should  be  tough :  if  they  break  too  easily, 
or  at  these  respective  weights,  they  are  too  brittle; 
if  they  bend  and  lose  their  shape,  they  are  too 
soft ;  so  choose  the  happy  medium,  if  you  can  hit 
upon  it.  About  a  quarter  of  a  hundred  of  each 
size  will  be  about  the  quantum  snff. 

I  have  met  with  nothing  for  temper  equal 
to  O'Shaughnessy's,  or  Sell's.  It  is  the  fashion 
to  praise  the  former,  and  I  think  the  latter, 
perhaps,  still  better  and  more  uniform  in  their 
several  sizes  and  shapes. 

Here  are  drawings : — No.  1,  the  Common  Li- 
merick, and — No.  2,  O'Shaughnessy's  or  Sell's 
bend,  which  are  alike. 

No.  2.  No.  1. 


HOOKS.  43 

In  the  former,  and  in  most  others,  the  point, 
in  my  opinion,  lies  too  close  to  the  shank.  Al- 
though that  is  no  objection  for  other  fishing,  yet 
for  salmon,  whose  mouths  (especially  towards  the 
end  of  the  autumn),  are  very  large,  and  rather 
open  at  the  sides,  and  at  all  times  too  denuded 
of  tough  flesh  for  the  angler's  security,  there  is 
a  better  chance  of  fixing  the  hook,  the  greater  in 
moderation  the  width  is  between  the  shank  and 
the  point.  This  width  must  not  be  produced  by 
merely  bending  out  the  point,  for  thereby  too 
much  stress  is  thrown  upon  that  part,  or  the  bend 
itself;  but  by  giving  a  greater  curvature  in  the 
shank,  especially  towards  the  turn,  O'Shaughnessy 
and  Sell  have  avoided  the  fault;  and  the  part 
of  their  shape  between  the  turn  and  the  point, 
is  nearly  parallel  with  the  upper  end  of  the 
shank,  to  which  the  wing  feathers  are  tied.  There 
being  nothing  angular  in  any  part  of  the  bend, 
which  is  otherwise  in  the  common  Limerick,  the 
strain  comes  on  the  shank  a  little  lower  down 
towards  the  turn,  than  immediately  opposite  the 
point  itself,  which  part  is  made  thicker  and  more 
substantial  than  the  rest  of  the  hook,  in  order 
to  meet  it ;  while  that  portion  on  which  you  dress 
the  fly  (because  there  is  there  less  strain,  and,  if 
broken,  it  is  all  held  together  by  the  gut  which 
is  whipped  below)  is  thinner  than  in  other  hooks, 
and  they  are  consequently  no  heavier  altogether. 


44  HOOKS. 

In  them  there  are  also  these  advantages  ; — the  point 
is  much  more  beautifully  sharpened  than  in  any 
hook  I  have  yet  met  with ;  in  fact,  it  is  perfect, 
the  barb  being  filed  out  of  the  solid,  and  not 
cut  and  raised,  as  in  others;  and  they  are  so 
tough  as  never  to  straighten,  even  with  a  fifty 
pounder  !  In  these  two  respects,  O'Shaughnessy's 
and  Sell's  hooks  have  at  all  events  something 
more  than  a  fancied  superiority. 

The  original  O'Shaughnessy  is  long  since 
gathered  to  his  ancestors ;  his  present  repre- 
sentative is  Robert  O'Shaughnessy,  of  18,  George- 
street,  Limerick  ;  Sell  lives  in  Quay-lane,  Lime- 
rick. There  are  many  who  think  Phillips's  hooks, 
of  O'Shaughnessy's  shape,  equally  good,  but  in 
this  I  cannot  acquiesce. 

I  cannot  do  less  than  participate  in  the  regret 
of  Sir  H.  Davy,  that  more  attention  is  not  gene- 
rally bestowed  upon  the  manufacture  of  hooks ; 
much  of  the  fisherman's  hopes  depend  on  them  ; 
and  how  mortifying  is  it  to  lose  a  good  fish  from 
a  hook  snapping  !  Who,  at  the  moment  of  such 
a  misfortune,  would  not  have  given  twenty  shil- 
lings for  the  hook  rather  than  it  should  have  so 
happened. 

Formerly,  the  old  O'Shaughnessy's  salmon 
hooks  were  sold  at  sixpence  each.  But  now  the 
nineteen  sizes,  trout,  grilse,  and  salmon,  of  Sell's, 
vary,  according  to  their  magnitude,  from  three 


HOOKS.  45 

shillings  to  ninepence  per  dozen  ;  and  the  same 
of  the  present  O'Shaughnessy,  from  four  shillings 
to  one  shilling ;  and  I  would  never  object  to 
double  the  money  for  good  hooks.  Never  would 
I  use  those  made  out  of  wire  !  By  the  way,  I 
by  no  means  approve  of  Kirby's  hooks  for  flies — 
even  his  Carlisle  bend  ;  they  are,  perhaps,  the 
best  for  bait  fishing,  and,  indeed,  are  more  sure 
to  hook  a  fish  than  any  other  kind,  because  that 
portion  of  them  between  the  bend  and  the  point 
does  not  lie  in  the  same  plane  with  the  shank, 
and  they  therefore  will  not  draw  between  two 
soft  surfaces,  without  the  point  penetrating  one 
of  them.  Yet  that  very  form  prevents  flies 
dressed  on  them  from  swimming  so  straight 
as  they  would  do  on  a  hook  that  lies  flat ; 
nor  is  the  shank  end  tapered,  so  as  to  allow  of 
the  fly  being  neatly  finished  at  the  head.  Taylor 
says,  they  are  more  likely  to  break  the  hold  than 
flat-hooks ;  nor  is  their  temper  (for  they  are  of 
mere  blue-steel  wire)  equal  to  many  others, — 
still  less  to  O'Shaughnessy 's  or  Sell's. 

Perhaps  the  best  hooks  for  very  small  trout 
flies  are  Adlington  and  Hutchinson's  Kendal 
Sneck  Bend,  Nos.  2.1.0.  and  00,  which  latter,  for 
their  size,  the  very  smallest,  are  the  strongest  of 
the  kind  (w  re)  I  ever  met  with.  But,  not  being 
tapered  at  the  shank  end,  I  should  only  use  them 
for  hackled  flies  and  for  Palmers,  the  natures  of 
which  I  shall  explain  hereafter. 


46 


THE  AUTHOR  MERGETH  INTO  A  DRAMATIC  READING;  AND  TRANSPORTING 
HIMSELF  INTO  A  PLEASANT  SPOT,  THERE  MEETETH  HIS  FRItND  HERbEUT, 
WHOM  HE  INSTRUCTETH  IN  SUNDRY  MATTERS. 


SCENE. — The  Road  at  Trefriew,  between  Conway  and 
Llanrwst,  North  Wales. 

Personages. — THEOPHILUS  AND  HERBERT. 

Theoph. — AH  !  well  met !  We  are  at  last  to- 
gether. Welcome,  most  welcome,  Herbert,  to 
Wales  and  all  its  rich  sources  of  the  fisherman's 
delight. 

Herb. — Thanks,  my  most  worthy  Piscator  ! 
How  pleased  I  am  to  see  you  once  again  :  so  long 
e'er  I  expected  the  light  of  your  countenance  to 
shine  upon  me !  Were  you  determined  in  this  meet- 
ing to  bring  back  the  reminiscence  of  our  colloquy 
two  years  since,  as  we  journeyed  together  through 
this  very  country  ?  Be  it  so  ;  you  have  succeeded. 
Here  it  was,  I  remember,  that  for  the  first  time 
you  implanted  in  my  "  untutored"  mind,  the 
seeds  of  that  taste  which  neither  success  nor  dis- 
appointment in  the  attempt  you  promise  to  assist 


THE  MILLS  OF  TREFRIEW.  47 

me  in,  can  now  eradicate.  This,  if  I  mistake 
not,  is  the  identical  stone  on  which  we  rested,  and 
this,  the  very  mountain  rivulet  by  which  the  poet  of 
old  might  have  refreshed  himself,  when  he  said — 

"  The  wearie  traveller,  wandering  this  way, 

Herein  doth  often  quench  his  thirsty  heat  ! 
And  then  by  it  his  wearie  limbes  display, 

Whiles  creeping  slomber  makes  him  to  forget 

His  former  payne,  and  wipes  away  his  toilsome  sweat." 

That  "  wearie  traveller"  is  your  humble  servant, 
I  confess ;  so,  to  oblige  me,  and  with  the  aid  of 
this  pure  stream 

"  To  cool  the  malt's  intemperate  glow," 

let  us  take  a  cup  of  welcome,  and  drink  pros- 
perity to  our  coming  occupation. 

Theoph. — Agreed.  Success  to  us  both  ;  "  and 
may  the  east  wind  never  blow  when  we  go  a- 
fishing,"  as  Walton  says.  But  come,  no  more  of 
you  propitiatory  libations,  or  I  shall  never  get 
you  to  our  "  roosting"  place. 

Herb. — Stay  a  bit,  and  let  me  admire  once 
again  this  specimen  of  lovely  Wales,  where  every 
footstep  treads  on  some  fresh  burst  of  beauty, — 
ever  varying,  always  new  !  This — the  mills  of 
Trefriew  clambering  over  each  other,  like  thirsty 
hounds  to  catch  the  purest  gush  of  water — is  as 
picturesque  a  "  bit"  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
How  it  lies,  lulled  in  the  lap  of  these  wood- 
crowned  hills,  from  whose  feet  the  Conway's 


48  SALMON  RISING. 

glistening  stream  "  spirits  away" — the  pretty 
laughing  rivulet  they  nourish.  Do  you  mark 
yon  mountain  "booming"  in  the  distance  up  the 
valley — yet  a  mere  hillock,  I  suppose,  compared 
with  Snowdon  or  Moel  Shabod  ? 

Theoph. — Aye  !  On  either  side  lie  two  famous 
trout  lakes  ;  to  the  right  Lyn  Crafnant ;  and  to 
the  left,  one  with  as  many  "  aliases"  as  a  New- 
gate prisoner — Tal  y  Llyn,  otherwise  Tal  y  Esyn 
(after  a  famous  bard,  to  whose  memory  a  cross 
has  been  there  erected),  or  Gerionedd.  Now 
turn  we  to  the  fair  Conway,  our  field  of  budding 
honour ! 

Herb. — Well,  I  declare,  there  is  a  large  fish 
leaping  in  the  river  at  the  moment.  It  is  a 
tempting  sight  !  Could  you  not  catch  him  ? 

Theoph. — Oh,  that  he  would  afford  me  the 
chance  ?  But  he  will  not.  'Twas  a  fine  salmon, 
and  by  his  brightness  not  long  since  from  the  sea. 
He  rose  in  very  wantonness  :  and  when  they  do 
so,  however  lovely  to  behold,  it  is  anything  but 
an  encouraging  sight,  whatever  "  Salmonia*" 
may  say  or  imply.  It  is  no  indication  that  they 
are  on  the  feed,  or  willing  to  accept  the  fly ; 
because  it  is  next  to  certain,  that  flies  on  the 
surface  are  at  no  time  their  food  :  and  I  con- 
ceive that,  though  we  call  our  bunches  of  steel, 
tinsel,  and  feathers,  "  flies,"  the  salmon  views 

*  P.  103. 


I 


,  1.J 


fl 


THE  HABITS  OF  FISH.  49 

them  in  a  very  different  light.  Trout,  and  such 
like  entomological  destroyers,  rise  at  flies  as  food ; 
but  there  are  many  times  when  they  also  throw 
themselves  high  out  of  the  water,  in  mere  wanton- 
ness ;  and  this  may  be  particularly  remarked  in 
the  cool  of  an  evening  following  a  very  hot  day, 
at  which  time  whipping  for  them  is  next  to  use- 
less. I  am  at  a  loss  to  account  for  these  feats. 
My  conjectures  are,  that  on  such  days  fish  have 
lain,  as  it  were,  dormant  for  some  time,  and 
mostly  low  in  the  water,  to  effect  which  their  air 
bladders  have  been  continuously  much  com- 
pressed by  low  respiration,  and  have  become 
comparatively  empty  ;  and  there  is  something  in 
their  sudden  rise  to  the  surface  analogous  to  the 

o 

elevation  of  body,  and  accompanying  deep  sigh, 
wherewith  we  bipeds  relieve  our  lungs  after  a 
long,  serious,  careful  thought.  Then  again,  the 
water,  from  the  heat  of  the  day,  has  emitted 
more  than  its  due  proportion  of  air  wholesome  to 
fish  ;  and  that  which  they  pass  through  their  gills 
has  become  unpleasant  to  them,  and  they  are  glad 
for  a  moment  to  imbibe  a  portion  of  cooler  inspi- 
ration, in  another  element,  to  supply  artificially 
their  natural  wants.  The  water,  too,  as  Captain 
Williamson,  in  his  "  Vade  Mecum,"  says,  is  at 
such  times  of  higher  temperature  than  the  air ; 
whence  the  latter  becomes  to  them  a  refreshing 
bath.  Roach,  barbel,  carp,  and  other  fish,  often 

E 


50  THE  HABITS  OF  FISH. 

play  these  pranks  :  yet,  inasmuch  as  these  are 
"  anti-fly-takers,"  and  feed  at  bottom,  no  one  can 
suppose  they  seek  to  feed  at  such  moments.  It  is 
a  beautiful  sight,  but  by  no  means  an  encou- 
raging one,  except  as  saying,  "Here  we  are, 
come,  catch  us — if  you  can  !"  I  like  to  see  trout 
come  to  the  surface  quietly,  scarce  breaking  it, 
but  merely  "  sucking  in"  the  floating  prey  :  then 
is  the  time !  This  habit  of  fish,  of  which  I  am 
speaking,  is  one  of  the  subjects  I  have  often 
wished  to  point  out  to  the  attention  of  some  sci- 
entific body,  from  a  persuasion  that  the  research 
might  lead  to  important  results  in  the  advance  of 
science; — another  subject  for  their  investigation 
being,  why  it  is  that  fish  will  often  rise,  for  a 
certain  half  hour  only,  during  the  day,  in  search 
of  flies  at  the  surface,  or  in  search  of  prey.  Al- 
though fishermen  must  frequently  have  noticed 
this  peculiarity,  yet  it  has  never,  to  my  mind, 
been  even  attempted  to  be  satisfactorily  explained. 
Salmonia  treats  it  lightly,  attributing  it  to  a  very 
insufficient  cause  ;  namely,  a  certain  fly  coming 
in  abundance  on  the  water.  But  if  we  compare 
notes,  we  shall  find  that  this  has  little  or  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  We  all  know  that  in  different 
parts  of  a  stream,  miles  distant,  fish  often  rise 
freely  during  the  same  half  hour  in  the  day  only  ; 
and,  although  the  same  flies  have  preceded  and 
followed  that  half  hour  in  as  great  abundance, 


THE  HABITS  OF  FISH.  51 

the  fish,  extra  that  period,  have  remained  mo- 
tionless. Often,  too,  1  have  been  fishing  for  trout 
in  one  river,  say  the  Colne,  near  Uxbridge,  and 
my  friends  for  chub  in  another,  say  the  Lea,  per- 
haps twenty  miles  off,  and  the  same  thing  has 
occurred.  Here,  then,  it  is  not  likely  that  a  simi- 
larity of  movement  among  flies  could  have  pro- 
duced the  effect,  nor  could  it  have  been  any  acci- 
dental state  of,  or  change  in  the  water.  And,  in 
the  case  of  salmon,  observing  often  the  same 
habit,  I  am  more  particularly  impressed  ;  because 
it  is  perfectly  absurd  to  suppose  they  ever  take 
our  flies  for  natural  flies  (they  are  surely  idiots  if 
they  do  !),  even  assuming  they  take  them  as  food 
of  any  kind  ;  yet  many  a  day  have  I  been  out  on 
a  river  pretty  thickly  studded  with  rods,  and,  up 
to  a  given  hour,  it  has  been,  to  us  all,  for  miles 
up  or  down,  in  rapids  and  in  deeps,  a  perfect 
blank  ;  and  then,  on  a  sudden,  salmon  in  all  parts 
of  the  river  have  simultaneously  taken  our  flies.  I 
am  satisfied  it  is  something  in  the  atmosphere  af- 
fecting the  water  which  causes  this,  and  only  wish 
that  1  had  sufficient  practice  in,  and  time  for,  me- 
teorological observation,  that  I  might  investigate 
the  subject  by  comparing  the  temperature  and 
weight  of  the  two  different  elements  together,  and 
noting  the  state  of  wind,  and  cloud,  and  weather, 
by  thermometer,  barometer,  and  hydrometer,  when 
these  things  happen.  Oh !  that  I  could  meet 


52  TOM  AND  THE  SALMON. 

with  some  scientific  piscatory  friend,  who  would 
devote  his  attention  to  the  matter.     By  the  way, 
the  tide  leaves  its  highest  mark  just  above  this 
spot;  and  our  fishing  commences  here,  extending 
upwards  far  beyond  Llanrwst.     The  largest  fish 
I  ever  heard  of  being  hooked  in  this  river  (for,  as 
the  sequel  of  the  story  shows,  that  was  all),  was 
about  this  very  place.     The  glorious  yet  sad  tale 
was  told  me  by  the  principal  actor,  a  great  ally 
of  mine,  who  is  a  most  excellent  fisherman,  and 
an  honest  labourer,  on  whose  word  I  have  perfect 
reliance.     As  well  as  I  can  remember,  it  was 
about  five  years  ago,  that  just  round  the  first  point 
of  the  land  on  this  side  the  river,  Tom  was  fish- 
ing   one    afternoon,   and  his  reel  getting  loose, 
owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  string  by  which  it 
was  bound  to  the  rod  (for  he  was  poor  and  needy), 
he   dipped    it,  rod    and  all,   into  the  water,    to 
increase  its  tension  by  moisture ;  and  during  the 
operation,  a  little  below  him,  up  came  at  his  fly 
a  monster  of  a  salmon  !    A  complete  leviathan  ! 
and  to  his  (not  the   salmon's)   great  joy,  Tom 
found  his  hook  fast  in  him.     Away  flew  the  fish, 
out  whirred  the  line,  and  off  started  Tom  after 
them.     Both  fought  with   desperation  ;  one  for 
life  and  liberty,   the  other  for  death  and  glory. 
Long,  too,  they  wrestled.     At  last,  "  Sir  Salmo" 
needed   breath,    and    turned    to    sulking  —  such 
sulking  as  Tom  had  never  before,  in  all  his  expe- 


TOM  AND  THE  SALMON.  53 

rience,  met  with  !  The  fish  lay,  not  like  a  mere 
log,  but  a  rock  !  and  for  such  a  length  of  time, 
that  Tom  really  feared  the  fish  was  gone,  leaving 
his  hook  fast  in  a  stump  at  the  bottom  of  the 
river,  until  a  slight  motion  told  him  "  all  was 
right."  Again  he  pulled  and  tugged  with  all 
the  force  his  tackle  would  bear  ;  and  at  last,  off 
started  old  Silver- sides  again,  Again  was  the 
battle  renewed,  sometimes  in  water,  sometimes 
high  in  air ;  sometimes  he  took  to  the  profundity ; 
anon  he  was  awakened  from  his  awful  slumber,  and 
off  he  started  again  ;  then  was  he  "  bitted"  under 
the  very  tip  of  the  rod  ;  and  at  last  Tom  "  wore" 
him  round  the  point,  near  to  yon  small  boat. 
The  shades  of  evening  were  then  spreading  their 
hazy  mantles  over  the  valley.  Eighteen  yards  of 
line  whizzed  out,  and  were  "  paid"  back.  The 
gaff  was  brought  out  and  screwed  together ; 
fourteen  yards  more  were  wanted,  but  were  lent 
grudgingly;  another  turn  or  two — and  the  fish 
floated  on  his  huge  sides  as  Tom  wound  him  back 
-  -wound  him  back  to  within  a  single  yard  of  the 
gaff !  Oh  !  what  an  awful  moment !  The  mon- 
ster gave  one  languid  struggle — and  then  the  line 
hung  loose  to  the  rod  ;  the  hook  had  slipped  its 
hold,  owing  to  the  immense  pressure ;  and  Tom 
sank  exhausted  and  spiritless  on  the  ground  ! 
Thus  terminated  a  struggle  of  two  hours  and 
forty  minutes  !  and  the  fish  Tom  estimated  at 


54  LARGE  SALMON. 

about  451bs.  !  his  depth  (through)  appeared  about 
thirteen  inches,  and  his  length  about  four  feet* ; 
but  he  has  never  seen  its  like  before  or  since. 
The  worst  luck  I  wish  you  is  a  similar  chance, — 
the  best,  a  more  successful  issue. 

Herb. — It  does  not  often  happen,  I  imagine, 
that  fish  of  such  enormous  size  are  taken  by  the 

fly- 

Theoph. — These  monsters  are  by  no  means 
numerous,  at  all  events  in  Great  Britain ;  the 
netters  take  care  of  that ;  although  in  Norway  and 
in  the  Rhine,  they  are  more  common.  The  largest 
fish  I  ever  saw  in  London,  was  about  the  same 
size  (451bs.) ;  and  that  was  the  admiration  of 
crowds  of  gazers  ;  there  was  one  of  49lbs.  in 
Leadenhall  Market,  in  the  autumn  of  1838, 
Yarrell  refers  to  one  of  551bs,  from  the  Tay,  and 
another  of  83lbs.  ! !  and  some  others  between  40 
and  55lbs.  Such  sizes  are  indeed  rarities,  and 
to  have  hold  of  one  once  in  a  fisher's  life,  is  to  be 
in  luck.  Three  or  four,  upwards  of  20lbs.  are 
usually  taken  by  the  fly  every  season  in  this 
river ;  and  I  think  I  remember  having  heard  of 
one  about  30lbs.  ; — large  enough  to  satisfy  any 
moderate  piscator.  My  notion  is,  that  smaller 
fish  only  rise  more  readily  at  the  fly,  because  they 


*  Since  this  anecdote  was  related  to  me,  I  have,  by  calculation  upon  a 
general  scale,  proved  that  such  would  he  about  the  weight  of  the  fish  here 
alluded  to. 


SIZE  OF  FISH.  55 

are  more  numerous !  and  that  in  fact  a  large  fish 
is  quite  as  willing  to  do  so  as  a  smaller  one  of 
10  or    121bs.      There    is    a    marked    difference 
between   salmon   and  trout  in  this   respect ;  for 
very  large  trout  will  (it  might  be  said)  never  rise 
at  the  fly  ;  and  middling-sized,  i.  e.  of  2  to  4lbs., 
seldom,  in  proportion  with   those  of  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  pound.     As  to  rod-fishing  in  Nor- 
way, I  learn  from  a  source  beyond  doubt,  that  a 
most  noted  angler  from   these    realms,  and  two 
friends,  were  out  three  successive  days,  last  year, 
and  during  that  period  took  no  less,  between  them, 
than  one  hundred  and  eleven  salmon,   averaging 
12  or  14lbs.  ;  some  of  351bs.,  and  one  of  40lbs. ; 
but  I  do  not  remember  whether  all  were   caught 
with   the  fly,  or  some  by  spinning.     The   same 
eminent  "  artist"  has  also  taken  twenty  in  a  day 
in  that   part  of  the  world,  and  assured   me  that 
while    playing  and  killing   one   fish,   ten   others 
might  have  been  hooked — so  numerous  and  raven- 
ous were   they.     Tom  once  hooked  another  fine 
fish,  near   this  very  spot,  by  a   similar   chance. 
His  line  got  round  one  of  the  piles,  so  numerous 
along  the    banks  here;    at   the   moment  he  was 
stooping  to  clear   it  with  his   hands,  up  came   a 
salmon  at  his  fly,  which  floated  below  him  ;  he 
struck  with  the  line  in  his  hand  ; — slackened  ; — 
seized  his  rod,    and   at  length  fortunately  killed 
him — 23lbs.      This,    as    the    first    resting-place 


56  SIZE  OF  FISH. 

above  the  tide,  I  conceive  to  be  an  excellent 
spot ;  but  it  is  dangerous  ground  for  tackle,  as 
you  will  see  another  day, 

Herb.  — Your  recitals  half  incline  me  to  unpack 
and  make  my  first  essay  upon  the  instant.  But 
I  suppose  I  must  refrain — so  let  us  march. 


57 


THEOPHILUS     DISCUSSETH     MANY    WAVS    OF    COLOURING,     AND    MAKING    LINES  } 
WITH  OTHER  KNOTTY  POINTS. 


SCENE. — Llanrwst.      TIME. — Evening. 
Personages. — THEOPHILUS    AND     HERBERT. 

Theoph. — Now,  Herbert,  let  us  draw  in  our 
chairs,  and  think  of  to-morrow's  work.  What 
shall  we  do  ?  for,  as  we  crossed  Llanrwst  Bridge, 
you  remarked  the  low  and  bright  state  oif  the 
river.  In  its  streams  we  have  very  little  chance 
for  salmon;  though,  "  should  a  storm  arite  and 
awake  the  Deeps' — if  we  were  favoured-  by  a 
good  stiff  breeze,  "  a  southerly  wind  and  a  cloudy 
sky," — we  might  meet  with  success  on  some  of 
them.  I  should  advise  resorting  to  one  "f  the 
neighbouring  lakes  for  trout,  were  it  npt  that 
there  also  we  require  a  heavy  wind.  • 

Herb. — I  am  your  pupil ;  do  with  me  as  you 
list.  Hill  or  dale,  lake  or  river,  are  all  alike  to 
me,  provided  you  be  with  me. 


58  HABITS  OF  SALMON. 

Theoph. — I  thank  you  for  the  compliment.  To 
initiate  you,  then,  and  that  you  may  have  a  more 
accurate  knowledge  of  its  depths,  holes,  and 
shallows,  than  you  can  acquire  when  it  becomes 
high  and  coloured  with  its  occasional  beautiful 
coifee-brown  tinge,  I  propose,  that  we  make  an 
attempt  on  the  river ;  and  you  shall  make  your 
debut  thereon  for  a  noble  salmon. 

Herb. — I  quite  agree  with  you,  seeing  that 
I  shall  thereby  also  learn  before-hand  where 
the  stumps,  and  roots,  the  Scylla,  and  Charyb- 
dis,  of  fishermen,  lie  hidden,  and  know  how 
to  avoid  them,  "  if  I  have  luck"  in  hooking 
a  fish.  But  is  the  particular  knowledge  of 
a  river  more  important  in  salmon  than  trout 
fishing  ? 

Theoph. — Certainly;  although  there  is  scarce 
an  inch  in  a  trout  stream  where  you  may  not 
expect  to  find  sport,  more  or  less ;  in  a  salmon 
river  you  may  traverse  many  a  half-mile,  with 
the  dead  certainty  of  not  passing  by  one  salmon 
in  all  that  distance  ;  they  are,  in  fact,  only  to  be 
found  in  certain  localities,  and  a  novice  will  waste 
many  an  hour  in  vain,  if  he  knows  them  not. 
Besides,  in  any  given  favourite  spot,  of  fifty 
yards,  *for  instance,  salmon  will  shift  their  posi- 
tion with  every  alteration  in  the  height  of  the 
water/  and  we  must  fish  for  them  accordingly. 
All  this  I  must  undertake  to  teach  you  when  the 


CASTING-LINE.  59 

river  rolls  at  our  feet.  But  as  it  is  agreed  we 
try  to-morrow  for  salmon,  we  have  plenty  to  do 
between  this  and  "  roosting  "  time  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  tackle.  By  the  bye,  we  must  make  a 
gut  bottom,  casting,  or  foot-line,  as  that  article 
is  denominated,  which  we  use  at  the  end  of  the 
reel-line,  and  to  the  other  extremity  of  which  the 
fly  is  to  be  attached.  Yonder  is  my  fishing  case  ; 
open  it,  and  in  that  portfolio  you  will  find  every 
thing  labelled  in  orderly  parchment  packets. 
Give  out  of  it  the  requisites  for  a  salmon  casting- 
line,  twelve  lengths  of  treble-twisted  gut  (which 
I  should  tell  you,  are  composed  of  three  strands 
of  trout-gut)  of  different  degrees  of  stoutness, 
and  three  lengths  of  the  thickest  and  longest 
single  pieces  marked  "  salmon."  Put  these  all 
in  warm  water,  and  leave  them  to  soak  awhile, 
so  as  to  take  off  its  brittleness,  and  liability  to 
crack  or  snap  in  bending  or  knotting. 

Herb. — But  wait.  Have  I  given  you  the  right 
kind  ?  for  I  see  that  there  are  various  colours. 
What  advantage  can  that  afford  ? 

77/eo/?/?.— Look  you  :  among  my  collection  are 
various  shades,  dyed  long  since,  under  the  advice 
of  works  on  fishing  ;  light  brown  and  dark,  some 
almost  black,  some  approaching  to  yellow,  some 
of  an  olive  tint.  I  never  use  other  than  one 
colour,  which  I  call  azure  or  neutral  tint,  be  the 
water  "  clear  as  crystal,"  or  "  brown  as  a  berry  ;" 


60  COLOURS  OF  GUT. 

and  I  do  so  on  principle.  Our  aim,  of  course, 
in  colouring  the  gut  at  all,  is  to  render  it  less 
visible  to  the  fish's  eye.  Of  all  others,  plain  gut 
cannot  be  said  to  be  the  least  so,  for  when  soaked 
it  becomes  opaque  and  white.  If  the  water  be 
deep  coffee-brown,  and  you  fancy  gut  similar, 
use  the  very  lightest  tint  of  brown  ;  for,  take  a 
glass  tumbler  of  the  water,  and  holding  it  up  to 
the  light,  you  will  see  how  little  is  required  !  So 
with  all  other  colours  which  fancy  may  lead  you 
to  try.  But  treating  the  optics  of  fish  as  analo- 
gous to  man's,  and  considering  that  the  least 
attractive  of  notice,  is  the  tint  I  allude  to,  I  have 
adopted  it  for  every  water,  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  oculists  and  opticians  prefer  the  appa- 
rently blue-glass  in  spectacles  to  the  old-fashioned 
green-goggles.  This  azure,  or  neutral  shade  in 
spectacles  is  that  which  I  imitate.  If  it  be  the 
least  glaring  to  the  eye,  in  the  air, — so  is  it  when 
"thro'  purest  chrystal  gleaming;"  and  is  it  less 
visible  in  water,  thickened  or  coloured  ?  I  am 
well  aware  that  many  fishers  have  great  success 
with  plain  gut,  or  with  such  as  is  deeply  stained 
of  other  colours ;  but  might  they  not  have 
greater  with  the  tint  I  recommend  ?  That  we 
should  hide  from  the  fish  their  danger  as  much 
as  possible,  or  I  should  rather  say,  conceal  that 
which  may  distract  their  attention  from  the  hook 
(for  I  cannot  believe  they  feel  the  same  dread  of 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  DYEING  GUT.  61 

the  line,  per  se,  that  a  culprit  does  of  a  rope), 
is  universally  admitted  ;  and  why  we  should  not 
follow  out  that  rule  in  the  smallest  minutiae,  I  am 
at  a  loss  to  understand. 

Herb. — But  tell  me  now  how  do  you  procure 
this  colour?  I've  heard  something  about  the 
capability  of  common  ink  to  produce  it. 

Theoph. — It  is  generally  used,  and  when  mixed 
with  one  part  of  cold  vinegar  and  a  little  water, 
if  the  gut  be  soaked  for  two  hours  or  less,  it  will 
be  found  a  handy  process ;  but  as  there  is  much 
copperas  in  ink,  which  has  a  rotting  tendency,  I 
prefer  a  recipe,  the  ingredients  of  which  I  can 
trust.  Some  persons  stain  their  gut  by  simply 
rubbing  blotting  paper  steeped  in  ink  over  it.  I 
will  now  put  you  in  possession  of  my  secrets  in 
dyeing  gut.  But  let  me  start  with  general  direc- 
tions applicable  to  all  the  recipes  I  give  you, 
unless  otherwise  expressed. 

General  Directions  for  Dyeing  Gut. 
In  an  earthen  pipkin  boil  about  one  pint  and 
a  half  of  cold  water  with  the  dyeing  ingredients  I 
shall  mention  presently.  When  these  have  boiled 
about  ten  minutes,  take  the  pipkin  off  the  fire,  and 
after  a  minute  or  so,  immerse  the  gut,  tied,  if  at 
all,  very  loosely,  and  leave  it  in  the  still  bub- 
bling liquid,  so  long  only  by  the  watch,  as  I  direct, 
and  it  is  dyed  enough ;  for  observe,  that  these 


62  RECIPES  FOR  DYEING  GTTT. 

are  all  tried  means.  On  taking  the  gut  from  the 
pipkin,  cast  it  into  a  basin  of  clean  cold  water, 
and  rinse  it  well ;  wipe  it,  and  let  it  dry  awhile  : 
then  take  each  length  separately,  and  holding 
it  by  the  end  between  the  fore-teeth,  rub  it 
with  Indian-rubber,  which  not  only  cleans  and 
straightens  it,  but  also  tests  its  strength,  avoiding 
the  necessity  of  doing  so  again  when  about  to  be 
called  into  use.  After  this,  clip  off  the  bad  ends 
and  tie  all  up  neatly  together,  and  keep  it,  at  full 
length,  in  a  paper  or  parchment  case,  with  an 
inner  one  of  thin  paper  rubbed  with  olive-oil, 
which,  in  moderation,  preserves  gut. 

Particular  Recipes. 

The  ingredients  are  as  follows ;  and  first  in  my 
esteem  is, 

No.  1. — An  Azure  or  Neutral  Tint  (similar  to 
ink  dye) : — 

1  Drachm  Logwood, 
6  Grains  Copperas, 

Immersed  2|  or  3  minutes. 

No.  2. — An  Azure  Tint,  more  pink  than  the 
last  :— 

1  Drachm  Logwood, 
1  Scruple  Alum, 

Immersed  5  minutes. 

Or,  five  grains  alum,  added  to  No.  1,  will 
change  it  to  this  colour; — but  the  less  we  use 
copperas  the  better,  and,  therefore,  No.  2  is  best 
for  this  colour. 


RECIPES  FOR  DYEING  GUT.  G3 

No.  3. — A  Dingy  or  Dirty  Olive  (a  very  good 
colour)  : — 

To  Ingredients  of  No.  2,  add, 
3  Scruples,  Quercitron  Bark, 

Immersed  2  minutes,  or  perhaps  3  minutes. 

No.  4. — A  Light  Brown  :— 

1  Drachm  Madder, 
1   Scruple  Alum, 

Immersed  5,  or  perhaps  6  minutes. 

No.  6. — A  Light  Yellow  or  Amber  :— 

1^  Scruple  Quercitron  Bark, 

1  Scruple  Alum, 

6  Grains  Madder, 

4  Drops  Muriate  of  Tin, 

1  Scruple  Cream  of  Tartar, 

Immersed  2£  minutes. 

As  they  may  serve  for  want  of  better,  the  fol- 
lowing may  likewise  be  added; — the  faint  dirty 
olive  may  be  obtained  by  steeping  the  gut  for 
two  hours  in  two  parts  of  cold  vinegar  and  one  of 
common  ink  and  a  little  water.  About  half-a-dozen 
of  green  walnut  husks,  simmered  without  alum, 
will  produce,  and  that  most  firmly,  the  coffee 
brown ;  but  you  must  watch  that  the  colour 
becomes  not  too  deep,  for  you  can  never  extract 
it;  and  turmeric  or  onion-peelings,  with  a  like 
small  portion  of  alum,  will  give  the  yellow  tinge. 
All  these  dyes  are  harmless.  I  have  only  to  add, 
that  should  you  give  your  gut  too  deep  a  stain  of 
any  colour  (and,  I  repeat,  you  can  hardly  give  one 
too  lightly),  you  must  have  about  a  pint  and  a  half 
of  clean  water  in  a  pipkin,  and,  when  boiling,  add 


64  THE  CASTING-LINE. 

to  it  about  three  or  four  drops  of  sulphuric 
acid  (no  more,  or  you  will  destroy  the  gut),  and 
while  boiling,  or  nearly  so,  dip  the  gut  in  and  out 
of  it,  say  every  two  minutes,  till  the  colour  is 
sufficiently  extracted. 

Herb. — I  must  confess  to  you  that  I  do  not  feel 
satisfied  in  favour  of  dyeing  at  all.  Plain  glass, 
which  plain  gut  resembles,  being  colourless,  is 
always  less  visible  than  stained ;  and  so  must 
gut  be. 

Theoph. — The  advocates  for  plain  gut  would  be 
quite  right,  if  they  could  get  over  the  fact  that  by 
soaking,  it  loses  its  transparency,  and  becomes 
white,  and  thus,  of  all  things,  most  glaring.  Gut, 
neutrally  tinted,  may  likewise  become  opaque,  but 
then  it  is  less  observable  and  more  soft  to  the  vision. 
I  have  paid  some  attention  to  dyeing  feathers  and 
dubbings,  the  benefit  of  which  you  shall  have 
some  other  time,  for  we  must  "rig  out"  the 
casting-line  aforesaid. 

Now  for  the  silk;  'tis  "fine  glovers'  silk,"  the 
best  you  can  use  for  all  purposes  of  whipping 
flies,  &c.  &c.  Give  me  fawn  or  straw  colour. 
The  next  best  sort  is  white  "wig-makers'," — very 
fine  and  strong,  but  more  harsh,  and  not  so  easily 
waxed.  I  buy  all  that  I  use  at  Pearsall's,  in  Cheap- 
side,  the  general  resort  for  fishermen  "  Amateurs," 
and  "  professional"  fly  or  tackle-makers.  There 
is  some  nicety  required  in  the  procuration  even  of 


RECIPE  FOR  TRANSPARENT  WAX.  65 

your  coblers  wax.  Some  is  too  hard  and  brittle  ; 
some  too  soft.  The  former  must  be  put  into  a 
small  pipkin  and  heated,  mixing  with  it  a  very 
small  portion  of  tallow,  or  pomatum ;  the  relative 
quantity  of  which  must  of  course  depend  on  cir- 
cumstances, and  be  learnt  by  the  experience  of  an 
hour's  experiment,  If  it  be  too  soft,  simmer  it  in 
a  pipkin,  adding  a  little  powdered  resin,  till  it 
becomes  sufficiently  tenacious.  When  you  have 
the  convenience  (and  weather  of  moderate  tempe- 
rature) you  may  make  wax  which  is  perfectly 
transparent  by  the  following  method,  borrowed, 
with  a  slight  variation,  from  Mr.  Shipley's  book, 
p.  127—8. 

Recipe  for  Transparent  Wax. 

Put  two  ounces  of  the  best  and  lightest  co- 
loured yellow  resin,  and  one  drachm  of  bees'  wax, 
into  a  pipkin  over  a  slow  fire  ;  when  dissolved, 
simmer  them  for  ten  minutes  longer;  then  add 
two  and  a  half  (Mr.  S.  says  only  two)  drachms  of 
white  pomatum,  and  allow  the  whole  to  simmer  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  longer,  constantly  stirring  it ; 
pour  the  liquid  into  a  basin  of  clean  cold  water, 
and  it  will  assume  a  thick,  transparent  con- 
sistency; while  yet  warm,  knead  it  by  pulling 
it  very  much  through  the  fingers  till  cold;  the 
last  operation  giving  it  toughness,  and  that 


66  ANOTHER  RECIPE. 

silvery  opacity  which  it  assumes  when  properly 
compounded. 

I  made  some  after  Mr,  S.'s  receipt,  but  found 
it  rather  too  brittle ;  I  therefore  added  the  extra 
half  drachm  of  pomatum. 

Another  recipe  for  the  same  is  eight  ounces 
of  white  resin  and  one  table  spoonful  of  linseed- 
oil.  This  I  have  not  tried.  Both  the  above  are 
colourless  upon  the  silk,  which  may  sometimes,  in 
fly-making,  be  an  advantage.  Another  species  of 
wax  (and  which  is  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  the 
fine  glovers'  silk)  is  prepared  by  dissolving  a 
lump  of  the  coblers'  wax  in  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  spirits  of  wine,*  or  (perhaps  the  best,  as  most 
evaporating)  eau  de  Cologne:  about  half  an 
ounce  of  the  spirit  to  the  size  of  a  small 
walnut  of  the  former.  This  is  kept  in  a  corked 
bottle,  and  applied  in  a  honey-like  liquid 
state,  soon  becoming  hard  enough  from  evapora- 
tion. I  consider  it  to  be  the  very  best  mode 
with  very  fine  silk :  enabling  you  to  wax  an 
entire  skein  of  the  finest  without  a  break,  winding 
it  from  one  card,  in  its  clean  state,  on  to  another 
as  you  wax  it,  and  thus  having  it  always  ready 
for  use.  Never  hesitate  dirtying  your  fingers 
during  the  operation  (a  little  sweet  oil  or  spirits 
of  wine  will  clean  them),  but,  holding  a  drop 

*  I  u?ed  to  adopt  spirits  of  turpentine,  but  have  found  that  from  its  oily 
nature  it  changes  the  colour  of  the  silk  bodies  of  flies. 


COLEMAN'S  INSTRUMENT  CASE.  67 

between  the  fore-finger  and  thumb,  rub  it  well 
into  the  silk ;  or  you  may  wear  a  pair  of  kid 
gloves  for  the  purpose.  I  also  afterwards  take  a 
morsel  of  the  dry  wax,  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  rub 
that  over,  which  gives  additional  tenacity.  It  is 
by  far  the  best  plan  of  waxing  that  I  know  of. 

Before  I  show  you  the  use  of  the  bit  of  stick  in 
waxing,  let  me  direct  your  attention  to  the  tools 
so  useful  for  that  and  very  many  other  purposes. 
Give   me  that  folded  leather  case,  fitted   up   by 
Coleman  of  the  Haymarket,  one  of  which  I  advise 
you  to  purchase  when  you  go  to  London:  as  you 
will  perceive,  that  it  contains  various  implements  of 
immense  use  to  us  who  have  "  a  finger"  in  making 
our  tackle.     Hand-vices  to   hold   hooks   in  fly- 
dressing,  or  hook-tyeing,  more  properly  called, 
anti-finger  crampers  ;    forceps,    for  hackling  on 
feathers  ;  needles,  for  all  fishing  uses  ;   fine  scis- 
sors ;  looping  hooks,  and  table  screw  to  fix  them 
to  ;    files,  for   re-pointing  blunted   hooks  ;    and  a 
brush,  for  ordering  feathers  on  flies ;  things,  the 
use  of  which  I  have  often  heard  people  ridicule  ; 
but  as  surely  seen  them  very  glad  to  adopt,  after 
fear   of  the   charge   of  versatility   of  mind  had 
passed  !     I  remember  showing  them   to   a  very 
excellent  fly-dresser  in  this  neighbourhood,  one 
year,  but  he  despised  them  ;  he  could  not  even  use 
the   scissors — a  large  pocket  knife  being  his  best 
friend.       However,  when  next  I  paid  him  a  visit 

F  2 


68  LOOPS. 

I  laughed  to  find  him  using,  not  only  scissors, 
but  hand-vices  and  all — thoroughly  convinced  ! 
Pull  out  that  looping-wire,  bent  at  Tight  angles, 
the  remnant  of  an  old  baiting-needle. 

Fig.  1. 


The  short  leg  is  fixed  in  a  hole  in  the  table,  or 
a  table-screw  made  on  purpose,  and  I  use  it 
in  waxing  silk,  for  looping,  and  many  like 
purposes;  which,  as  it  has  a  natural  spring, 
lessens  the  chances  of  breaking  silk  while 
waxing.  And,  for  fear  of  injuring  gut  while 
looping  it,  I  have  whipped  the  hooped  end  over 
with  fine  silk.  To  repair  loops  and  breakages  of 
that  sort  at  the  water  side,  here  is  another  steel 
looping  machine, 


which,  when  sitting  on  the  grass,  you  can,  by  its 
sharp-pointed  recurved  end  A,  hook  on  to  the 
knee  of  your  trousers,  or  the  rings  of  the  rod,  or 
the  reel,  and  loop  away  as  pleasantly  as  in  your 
"  sanctum"  at  home.  Now  for  the  operation  of 
waxing  with  the  stick  ;  fix  one  well-waxed  end 
of  the  silk  by  a  turn,  thus 

Fig.  3. 


WAXING.  69 

to  the  hook  of  the  wi  e;  and,  holding  the  other 
end  with  your  left  hand,  rub  it  over  with  the  wax 
adhering  round  the  stick,  handling  it  lightly,  and 
twisting  or  twirling  it  between  your  fingers  to 
prevent  the  silk  becoming  embedded  in  the  wax, 
and  thereby  breaking.  Whenever  your  fingers 
get  sticky,  apply  a  little  sweet  oil  and  afterwards 
wash  them  clean. 

Herb. — I  should,  methinks,  soon  become  an 
adept  under  your  instruction.  I  have  seen  the 
operation  of  waxing  performed  by  others ;  some 
have  the  wax  between  leather,  the  smooth  side 
being  inwards  ;  but  a  great  length  of  fine  silk  is 
sure  to  break.  Others  use,  between  their  fingers, 
a  piece  of  wax  for  this  purpose  no  larger  than  a 
small  pea,  which  is  sure  to  soil  their  fingers. 
I  vote  for  your  wax  dissolved  in  spirits  !  But 
talking  of  spirits,  where's  the  whiskey  ?  My 
throat  partakes  of  this  adhesive  subject,  as  though 
its  essence  had  gone  downwards  instead  of  enter- 
ing my  brain  ! 

Theoph. — Before  we  can  run  we  must  submit 
to  the  chains  of  leading-strings ;  and  before  we 
can  write,  must  scratch  pot-hooks  and  hangers. 
I  would  not  weary  you,  did  I  not  think  you  were 
willing  to  add  to  your  pleasure  in  catching  fish, 
by  the  art  of  deceiving  them  through  your  own 
devices  and  handiwork.  Nor  would  I  weary 
myself,  I  assure  you,  if  I  could  refer  you  to  any 


70  WAXING  AND  LOOPING. 

book  on  angling  where  you  would  find  these 
matters  fully  and  sufficiently  detailed.  But  now 
let  me  overhaul  your  tackle.  First  and  foremost 
I  observe  that  the  loop  on  your  reel  line  is  too 
long,  so  cut  it  off,  and  let  us  make  another.  If  it 
is  sufficient  to  squeeze  the  fly  through,  head  fore- 
most, it  will  be  all  you  want ;  and  why  have  the 
line  doubled,  which  at  the  loop  it  is,  for  a  greater 
length  than  absolutely  necessary?  An  opening 
of  five-eighths  of  an  inch  is  quite  enough  for  a 
salmon-line,  and  a  smaller  one  for  trout-fishing. 
Also  bear  this  in  mind  when  making  gut-lines,  or 
looping  the  gut  of  flies ;  which  last,  if  large  enough 
to  admit  the  former  through,  requires  no  more. 
Loops  are  in  general  made  ridiculously  long. 
Now  to  make  the  loop,  observe,  that  having  bent 
the  line  into  the  length  of  loop  you  wish  it,  over 
the  looping  hook,  I  hold  the  line  thus  doubled, 
between  the  fore- finger  and  thumb  of  my  left 
hand,  having  twisted  the  loose  part  of  it  round 
my  little  finger  of  the  same,  in  order  to  have  a 
more  firm  hold.  I  now,  together  with  the  line, 
hold  one  end  of  the  waxed  silk  so  that  the  loose 
end  lies  towards  the  looping-hook,  and  wind  three 
or  four  wide  turns  tightly  over  the  double  part  of 
the  line,  proceeding  from  my  fingers  towards  the 
hook,  as  far  as  that  which  I  design  to  be  the 
opening  of  the  loop  ;  then  whip  the  silk  back 
again  over  that  part  already  laid  down,  and 


THE  INVISIBLE  KNOT. 


71 


the  doubled  part  of  the  line,  binding  it  close 
and  tight  at  each  turn  till  I  have  hidden  and 
covered  the  whole  of  the  doubled  line,  excepting, 
of  course,  the  open  loop  itself.  Hand  me  that 
long  darning  needle,  that  I  may  finish  oifwith  an 
invisible  knot. 

Herb.    How  is  that?    Let  me  see  you  do  it. 

Theoph. — I  am  now  working  from  the  looping- 
wire  towards  my  fingers,  you  see ;  and  having 
whipped  below  the  loose  end  of  the  line,  I  put 
the  needle  with  its  eye  towards  my  fingers 
alongside  it.  I  then  whip  the  silk  downwards 
towards  my  hand,  over  needle  and  line  toge- 
ther, loosely  for  four  or  five  turns.  Now  1  put 
the  loose  end  of  the  silk  through  the  eye  of 
the  needle,  and  draw  the  needle  and  silk 

Fig.  4. 


through  the  turns,  point  foremost.  Now  taking 
away  the  needle,  and  laying  the  loose  end  of  the 
silk  close  to  the  whipping  already  completed, 

Fig.  5. 

5  .  /, .  3  . *1 .  I 


72  THE    INVISIBLE   KNOT. 

pointing  towards  the  looping-hook,  I  draw  the 
loose  turn  of  the  silk  furthest  from  my  left  hand, 
and  nearest  to  the  looping-wire,  tight;  then  the 
second ;  then  the  third,  and  so  on  to  the  last, 
laying  each  down  close  to  the  whipping  com- 
pleted, and  to  each  other.  I  then  gradually  draw 
tight  the  end  of  the  silk  which  is  lapped  under 
the  turns,  holding  it  the  while  near  my  breath  to 
soften  the  wax,  thereby  avoiding  its  sticking  and 
breaking  midway  under  the  folds,  till  all  lies 
close.  I  cut  off  the  end  of  the  silk  ;  rub  the 
whipping  over  with  my  fingers,  first  dry,  and  then 
wet,  to  give  a  smoothness ;  apply  a  coat  of  var- 
nish, and  all  is  complete.  But  another  most 
excellent  and  more  handy  plan  of  making  an 
invisible  knot  is  this  ;  all  but  the  finishing  off,  or 
the  knot  itself  being  accomplished,  you  give  the 
silk  another  turn  in  the  same  direction  very  loosely 
over  the  line,  a  long  way  from  the  close  whipping, 
and  then,  within  this  loose  turn,  wind  the  end  of 
the  silk  over  the  lines  four  or  five  times  in  the 
same  direction,  working  up  towards  the  loop,  and 
lay  its  end  down  by  the  close  part  of  the  whip- 
ping, thus  : — 

Fig.  6. 


FOOT-LINES.  73 

then  wind  the  first  loose  turn,  A,  over  the  end  of 
the  silk  close  to  the  whipping  already  accom- 
plished, carrying  it  round  and  round,  till  all  the 
inner  windings  are  unwound  ;  and  pull  tight  the 
loose  end  of  the  silk,  (as  in  the  needle  plan)  to 
finish  with.  I  would  caution  you  against  a  bad 
trick,  but  too  common,  that  is,  breaking  off  the  loose 
silk  after  completing  the  knot;  by  so  doing,  you 
are  as  likely  to  break  it  under  the  last  fold  made 
as  the  first,  and  so  to  render  the  whole  of  your 
trouble  abortive.  In  preference  take  the  trouble 
of  cutting  it  close  off  with  scissors. 

Herb. — You  have  whipped  down  only  about 
three -eighths  of .  an  inch  of  the  line  to  form  the 
security  of  the  loop  ;  is  that  enough  for  strength  ? 

Theoph. — Certainly;  the  knot  or  joint  which 
the  two  loops  of  your  reel  and  gut-line,  when 
put  together  make,  (see  post.,  fig.  9),  is  of  itself 
a  knot,  properly  so  called,  and  strong  without 
whipping,  there  being  only  the  slightest  possible 
pull  on  the  ends,  nothing  is  required  but  to  keep 
them  straight.  Before  I  show  you  how  to  make 
foot  or  casting  lines,  let  me  give  you  a  few  hints 
about  them. 

Herb. — First  tell  me  what  is  the  use  of  these 
foot-lines  ? 

Thtoph. — Everything.  First,  the  finer  your 
tackle  is  near  to  the  fly,  the  less  visible  is  it  to  the 
rish. 


74  WEIGHT  OF  FISH  IN  WATER. 

Herb. — Then  why  not  have  the  reel-line  equally 
thin? 

Theoph. — Because  if  that  be  less  than  of  a 
certain  thickness,  according  to  the  strength  and 
power  of  the  rod,  it  would  be  impossible  to  throw 
it  well ;  and,  secondly,  because  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  whole  should  taper,  to  a  cer- 
tain degree,  like  a  coach  whip.  It  is  not  strength 
alone  that  requires  a  reel-line  to  be  of  the  usual 
substance ;  because,  in  reality,  a  good  single 
salmon  gut-line  will  bear  three-fifths  of  the  weight, 
which  is  much  more  than  requisite.  1  estimate 
that  a  stout  reel-line  will  bear  about  twenty-five 
pounds,  and  a  stout  piece  of  salmon-gut  about 
fifteen  pounds.  I  say  a  great  deal  more  than  is 
requisite — now  let  me  surprise  you ;  what  weight 
do  you  think  a  salmon  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
pounds  will  pull  in  the  water  at  the  end  of  a  line  ? 
You'll  hardly  credit  that  he  pulls  less  than  one 
pound  and  a  half;  except  in  his  rushes,  which  I 
have  no  means  of  estimating. 

Herb. — You  astonish  me. 

Theoph. — I  assure  you  that  such  is  the  fact. 
One  of  course  knows  pretty  well  the  force  he 
applies  to  the  rod  in  holding  a  fish.  Once, 
after  killing  such  a  one  as  I  have  mentioned, 
I  tried  that  force  by  the  "  Sportsman's  weighing 
machine,"  and  the  result  was  as  I  mention. 
Reflection  upon  it  has  taught  me  a  great  deal. 


SIZE  OF  LINES.  75 

It  shows  how  much  we  owe  to  the  elasticity  of 
the  rod,  aided  by  the  temperate  yielding  to  all 
the  fish's  movements,  which,  if  properly  applied, 
prevents  a  dead  pull  ;  and  it  should  satisfy  us 
that  we  may  safely  use  much  finer  tackle  than 
is  the  custom,  and  methinks  it  justifies  me  in  pro- 
nouncing that  which  is  said  in  "  Salmonia"  about 
triple  gut,  to  be  questionable  instruction  ;*  en 
passant,  let  me  give  you  a  hint,  that,  in  general, 
it  does  not  turn  so  much  on  what  weight  the 
line  will  bear,  as  on  what  the  hold  which  the 
hook  has  in  the  fish's  mouth,  will  retain.  If  the 
hold  in  the  mouth  of  the  fish  will  not  bear  two 
or  three  pounds,  there  is  no  use  in  having  tackle 
above  calculated  for  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds 
weight. 

Herb. — No  one  will  dispute  that. 

Thcoph. — Rather  say,  few  have  ever  thought 
about  it;  but  to  return  to  gut-lines, — if  it  were 
not  for  the  purpose  of  casting,  for  a  foot-line, 
single  gut  would  be  always  strong  enough  ;  triple 
or  twisted,  in  very  thick  water,  and  very  rocky 
situations,  may  be  excuseable,  but  not  elsewhere. 
For  all  ordinary  occasions,  therefore,  use  as  much 


*  Salmonia,  p.  107,  "But  I  see  there  is  a  large  fish  which  has  just 
risen  at  the  tail  of  the  pool."  "  My  fly  and  tackle  are  almost  too  fine  for 
so  large  a  fish,  and  I  will  put  on  my  first  fly"  (i.  e.  the  dropper),  "  with  a 
very  strong  single  gut  link,  and  a  stretcher  of  triple  gut .'"  "  a  powerful 
fish  ;  he  must  he  between  ten  and  fifteen  pounds  !"  (p.  109.)  "  I  dare 
say  his  weight  is  not  less  than  fourteen  pounds." 


76  FOOT-LINES. 

single  gut  as  you   can  throw  well,  and  as  little 
triple.      Fine   throwing  very   much  depends  on 
the  exact  adaptation  of  the  foot-line  to  that  on 
the  reel,  the  manner  of  tapering  it,  and  its  length. 
In  this  last  respect  it  should  never  exceed  three 
feet  short  of  your  rod,  exclusive  of  the   gut  to 
which  your  fly  is  tied,  because  the  junction  of  it 
with  the  reel -line  will  not  readily  pass  the  rings  of 
the  rod,  you  may  not  be  able   to  wind  up  suffi- 
cient to  reach  your  fish  for  the  purpose  of  gaffing 
or   landing   him   when   unattended.      The   term 
"  tapering,"  must  sufficiently  explain  my  mean- 
ing, for  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  more  than  a 
general  rule,  namely,  that  it  must  graduate  from 
the  thickness  and  weight  of  the  reel-line  to  as 
fine  a  point  as  is  consistent  with  strength.     For 
your  eighteen-foot  rod  you  will  find  about  eleven 
or  twelve  lengths  of  twisted  gut,  and  three  of 
single,  sufficient ;    and,  if  for  any  of  the  thinner 
triple  pieces,  you  can  substitute  single  ones  as 
thick,  so  much  the  better.     In  all  it  will  be  about 
fifteen  feet.     Trout  casting  lines  need  be  of  none 
but  single   gut,  and  much  finer,   and  in  length 
should  bear  a  similar  proportion  to  the  rod.     As 
to  making  up  casting-lines,  the  mode  of  joining 
the  lengths  of  gut  together  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance.    Gut  is  generally  brittle,   unless  well 
soaked,  and  the  knots  usually  made  by  fishermen 
are  very  much  to  be  condemned  ;  nineteen  out  of 


KNOTS   IN  T..TNES.  77 

twenty  fish  that  escape  by  breaking  tackle  owe 
their  lives  to  these  knots,  not  by  their  slipping, 
but  by  their  cutting  the  gut.  It  is  the  joints  and 
ferrules  in  rods,  and  knots  in  lines,  which  per- 
plex us.  Being  fond  of  neatness,  I  very  much 
rely  on  the  security  of  my  whippings  over  for 
strength  of  my  joints,  endeavouring  to  avoid 
abrupt  angles  in  the  bends  or  knots  which 
I  make  in  gut  ;  but  in  joining  them  I  draw 
a  distinction  between  twisted  and  single  gut, 

O  O         ' 

and  thereby,  .  in  the  former,  avoid  the  bulk 
of  any  ordinary  knot,  by  a  plan  of  my  own. 
My  plan,  perhaps,  may  be  tedious  ;  but  remember 
the  motto,  "  Finis  coronal  opus."  Having  soaked 
the  gut  for  half  an  hour,  in  warm  water,  or  much 
longer  in  cold,  with  very  fine  silk  I  first  whip  over 
separately  each  end  of  the  lengths  of  twisted  gut, 
beginning  about  three-eighths  and.  finishing  about 
one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  from  the  end,  thus: — 

Fig.  7. 


which  is  performed,  after  fixing  the  silk,  with 
three  or  four  turns,  by  holding  its  end  between 
the  little  finger  and  palm  of  the  left  hand  at  right 
angles  with  the  twisted  gut,  and  holding  each  end 
of  the  latter  in  either  hand,  and  "  twirling"  it 
round  by  means  of  the  thumbs  and  fore-fingers. 
Having  done  so  with  two  lengths,  while  they  are 
yet  moist,  I  bend  the  ends  I  wish  to  join,  straight 


78  KNOTS  IN  LINES. 

back,  about  one  eighth  of  an  inch  from  where  I 
commenced  the  whipping,  so  that  the  eighth  nearest 
to  the  end,  when  thus  bent  back,  lies  against  the 
bare  gut  above  the  whipping,  thus  : — 

Fig.  0. 


I  then  merely  hook  the  two  lengths  together,  and 
inserting  a  stoutish  bit  of  gut,  about  three  eighths 
of  an  inch  long",  to  keep  the  joint  stiff,  whip  down 
the  whole  tightly  and  closely  with  stronger  silk. 
Here  then  is  no  knot,  but  a  bend,  which, 
from  being  first  whipped  over  with  the  fine  silk, 
does  not  close  in  a  sufficiently  sharp  angle  to 
cause  the  gut  to  crack,  while  the  whipping  above 
prevents  the  short  ends  from  slipping,  when  the 
joint  is  complete  and  once  dry  after  the  previous 
soaking.  As  to  single  gut,  I  adopt  a  different 
plan  again,  because,  being  less  in  substance,  the 
simple  bend  just  described  is  more  likely  to  crack 
it.  In  all  my  experience  I  do  not  remember  a 
break  at  the  junction  of  the  loops  of  the  foot  line 
and  gut  to  which  the  fly  is  attached  ;  and  why  ? 
because  the  bend  of  the  one  is  round  the  doubled 
gut  of  the  other,  and  an  acute  angle  is  avoided  ; 
therefore,  for  single  gut,  I  adopt  precisely  that 
knot,  except  that  the  junction  of  the  two  loops 
is  altogether  permanently  whipped  over.  This  is 


KNOTS  IN  LINES.  79 

the  knot  previous  to  being  drawn  tight — and  let 

Fie.  9. 


me  recommend  it  before  all  others  for  joining  the 
gut  to  the  loop  which  is  usually  made  at  the  head 
of  salmon  flies.  Other  knots  in  general  use,  on 
an  emergency,  when  whipping  cannot  be  con- 
veniently performed,  may  be  resorted  to;  but  as 
"  the  longer  way  round  is  often  the  shorter  way 
home,"  in  the  long  run,  you  will  find  those 
I  have  described  to  be  at  once  the  least 
troublesome  and  the  most  secure  ;  for,  soak  gut 
as  much  as  you  will,  the  knots  I  am  about  to 
mention  will  break  twice  out  of  thrice  in  the 
mere  trial  with  the  hands,  before  you  can  get  one 
to  stand  ;  and,  as  you  must  again  soak  the  gut 
after  such  a  mishap,  it  will  take  a  long  time  to 
complete  a  line,  independent  of  the  wraste  of 
material  it  entails.  However,  to  make  the  best 
of  these  knots  as  soon  as  they  are  formed,  and 
before  drawing  them  tight,  resoak  the  gut,  and 
failures  will  be  less  frequent ;  nor  should  you 
draw  the  knots  very  tight  together ;  and  if  you 
whip  over  the  whole  at  all,  do  so  between  them, 
while  in  the  loose  state,  three  or  four  turns  of 
the  silk.  There  are  double  and  single  water 
knots;  the  former  not  absolutely  requiring  whip- 


80  WATER  KNOTS. 

ping :  but  I  by  no  means  recommend  the  latter 
for  any  purpose  whatever,  and  merely  mention  it 
that  you  may  not  be  ignorant  of  its  structure. 
Taking  the  two  pieces  of  gut  or  other  material 
required  to  be  joined,  the  double  water  knot  is 
thus  made — 

Fig.  10. 
Z.I 


J  .Z 

Now  pushing  the  bends,  1  1,  respectively,  over 
the  others,  2  2,  and  pulling  by  the  ends  each 
piece  of  gut  tight,  the  knot  of  each  is  complete  ; 
and,  traversing  on  the  other,  you  have  two  knots, 
which,  being  pulled  close  together  by  the  long 
ends,  complete  the  entire  joint.  The  single  water 
knot  is  the  same,  only  making  one  bend  instead 
of  two  at  each  knotted  end  of  the  gut ;  thus— 

Fig.  11. 


Another  knot  is  sometimes  used  for  attaching  gut 
to  the  loop  on  a  salmon  fly  head ;  and  occasionally 
for  joining  the  gut  of  the  fly  to  the  loop  of  the 
casting-line,  or  for  attaching  the  casting-line  itself 
to  the  reel  line  loose, — thus — 

Fig.  12. 


WATER  KNOTS.  81 

as  a  homely  poet  has  said, 

"  Once  on  a  time, — 

I'd  stng  could  I  rhyme, 
How  I  hooked  a  fine  fish, — twenty  pounder  ; 

Alack,  for  strength  I  relied, 

On  a  knot  I  thus  tied  ; 
And  I  lost  fish  and  fly,  with  one  flounder?" 

Therefore  I  never  recommend  its  use  for  joints  of 
any  kind,  unless  "  small  fry "  be  the  only  prey 
sought  for.  A  tied  loop,  even,  being  better. 

The  last  knot  I  have  to,  mention  is  a  better  sub- 
stitute for,  though  not  unlike  to  the  knot  Fig.  7. 
That  knot  being  effected  on  the  fly-head-loop,  the 
short  end  of  the  gut,  instead  of  being  whipped 
down,  is  tied  in  a  plain  knot  round  the  long  end 
of  the  gut ;  thus,  when  loose  :— 

Fig.  13. 


This,  where  whipping  cannot  be  performed,  is  the 
best  for  looped  fly  heads — but  once  for  all,  re- 
member, that  my  knot  Fig.  9,  is  of  all  others  the 
neatest  and  safest. 

As  to  flies,  for  my  own  use,  I  have  enough  to 
answer  my  purpose  for  to-morrow,  and  plenty  to 
supply  your  wants,  and  so  I  shall  not  trouble 
your  cranium  about  them  at  present.  But  do  not 
flatter  yourself  that  I  will  trust  you  with  any  I 
consider  worth  the  value  of  a  "dump,"  at  your 
first  throw.  No,  no  !  flick  !  away  goes  the  fly ; — 

G 


82  WHIPPING  OFF  FLIES. 

try  another; — flick! — that  gone  too;  another! 
another  ! !  and  another  !  !  !  This,  every  beginner 
must  expect,  and  even  proficients  are  liable  to 
it  occasionally.  I  shall  therefore  provide  you 
suitably,  and  when  you  can  throw  without  throw- 
ing away,  you  may  expect  to  catch  fish. 

Herb. — Why  is  it  that  flies  are  thus  easily  lost  ? 
I  have  often  heard  mention  of  it. 

Theoph. — Gut  when  dry  is  always  more  or  less 
brittle,  and  my  belief  is,  that  if  that  to  which  the 
fly  is  attached  were  well  soaked  (especially  close  to 
the  fly's  head),  for  about  two  hours  in  cold  water, 
or  held  in  the  mouth  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
before  it  is  thrown,  even  the  veriest  tyro  would 
not  be  so  liable  to  this  common  accident.  What 
I  always  do,  before  arriving  at  the  water-side,  is 
to  hold  in  my  mouth  five  or  six  of  the  different 
flies  I  think  most  likely  to  suit, — I  am  speaking 
of  trout-flies — changing  them,  till  I  find  one 
which  proves  "the  thing/'  By  this  simple  " pro- 
tective," I  might  almost  say  I  never  whip  off  a  fly, 
whatever  difficulties  adverse  winds  may  impose 
upon  my  throwing.  I  have  often  thought  it 
would  be  well,  for  this  purpose,  to  have  a  kind  of 
of  tin  pocket-book,  the  sides  of  which  should  be 
covered  with  thick  flannel ;  which  being  wetted, 
might  keep  gut-line  and  flies  sufficiently  moistened 
for  use  while  in  the  fields ;  and  thus  save  much 
time,  as  well  as  many  fractures.  To  understand 


WHIPPING  OFF  FLIES.  83 

the  reason  why  a  fly  is  thus  snapped  off,  you  must 
be  informed  of  the  summary  of  the  art  of  throw- 
ing; and  pray  understand  that  it  is  the  merest 
outline  of  what  I  have  to  teach  you  about  it.  It 
is  this — in  preparing  to  throw  forward,  you  first 
jerk  the  line  behind,  and  then  cast  it  forward 
again.  Now,  in  the  throw  backwards,  unless  the 
point  of  your  rod  describes  the  half  of  the  figure 
of  an  elongated  ellipsis,  or,  what  is  better  for 
a  beginner,  nearly  a  semicircle  round  the  head  ;  or 
unless  time  is  allowed  for  the  fly  end  to  reach 
behind  you  to  its  furthest  stretch,  when  you  make 
the  effort  to  throw  the  line  forward — which  you 
effect  by  giving  a  sudden  spring  to  the  rod, — 
it  becomes  doubled  up  behind  in  too  acute  a 
bend;  and  thus,  when  the  head  of  the  fly  gets 
to  the  point  of  the  bend,  from  the  sudden  re- 
sistance the  stiff  hook  affords,  and  the  brittle 
nature  of  the  gut,  away  the  fly  goes,  having,  as 
you  will  learn  hereafter,  acquired  a  motion,  or 
force,  contrary  to  the  course  you  give  to  the  line 
at  the  moment  of  its  being  broken  off.  In  the 
"  Angler's  Souvenir,"  is  an  amusing  specimen  of 
a  conceited  beginner, — a  "would-be"  self-taught, 
making  his  first  essay,  and  in  order  to  avoid 
breakages  of  this  kind,  he  is  pictured  as  laying 
his  line  straight  out  on  the  ground  in  the  con- 
trary direction  to  that  he  wished  to  make  his  cast, 
and  then  with  one  straight  forward  over-head 

G2 


84  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

throw  of  the  rod,  he  brings  the  fly  to  the  point 
desired  (?)  and,  as  is  there  observed,  a  capital 
plan  this  is,  if  you  wish  to  take  fish  by  first 
"  knocking  them  on  the  head." 

It  will  help  your  notion  as  to  whipping  off 
flies  to  understand  the  force  they  acquire  in  the- 
operation  of  throwing.  It  is  by  no  means  an 
uncommon  occurrence  to  break  a  rod,  if  a  fish 
happen  to  rise  and  be  hooked  while  the  impetus 
necessary  to  raise  the  fly  off  the  water  and  cast  it 
behind  is  in  the  act  of  being  given,  and  that  re- 
quired to  return  it  to  the  water  is  as  great.  The 
force  a  fly  acquires  in  passing  through  the  air  is 
surprising.  Strange  as  it  may  be  thought,  I  have 
even  seen  a  rod  broken  by  the  fly  striking  it  in  a 
certain  position,  cutting  it,  as  though  with  a  knife ; 
and  I  remember  once,  while  salmon-fishing,  and 
wearing  a  Mackintosh  cap,  being  struck  such  a 
blow  on  the  forehead  by  the  fly  (in  a  bad  throw 
backwards),  that  I  felt  it  tender  for  three  or  four 
days.  My  fly  was  only  dressed  on  about  a  third 
size  grill  hook,  and  yet  it  struck  me,  through  the 
cap,  like  a  small  stone.  If  such,  then,  be  the 
force,  and,  while  it  is  still  going  backwards  having 
one  impetus,  you  oppose  to  that,  another  still 
greater,  by  giving  the  spring  to  send  it  forward, 
too  soon,  how  can  you  wonder  that  so  brittle  and 
so  thin  a  thing  as  gut  should  snap  ?  I  shall,  how- 
ever, tell  you  more  of  this  hereafter. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  85 

Herb. — Very  many  thanks  for  driving  me  into 
so  much  reflection  ;  but  just  wait  while  I  stir  the 
fire  and  look  after  a  cigar,  if  you  will  allow  me. 

Theoph. — Do  so ;  it  will,  perhaps,  brighten 
your  intellects  and  nourish  the  thought  I  have 
instilled  into  you.  Moreover  although  it  is  not 
my  general  habit,  but  "  for  this  occasion  only,  I 
will  join  you  in  a  whiff." 

[THEOPHILUS  and  HERBERT  having  lighted  their  cigars 
sink  into  silent  reveries;  and  finally  disappear  in 
an  exldlirating  cloud. 


86 


THE  AUTHOR,  AWAKING  FROM  HIS  PLEASANT  SLUMBER,  INSTII.LETH  INTO  TYRO 
THE  AHT  OK  THROWING  THE  FLY,  AND  AFTERWABDS  NAfiRATETH  A 
PLEASANT  STORY. 


SCENE.— The  Preceding.  The  cloud  of  smoke  gradually 
dispersing,  reveals  THEOPHILUS  and  HERBERT  in  a  gentle 
slumber. 

Theoph.  [awaking] My  lessons  seem  to  have 

had  a  soothing  effect,  good  pupil  mine. 

Herb. — In  good  truth  I  was  fulfilling  all  your 
precepts  in  my  dreams,  with  far  more  excellence 
than,  I  fear,  I  shall  ever  in  reality  attain. 

Theoph. — Practise,  my  worthy  disciple,  prac- 
tise, and  you  will,  in  proportion  to  your  industry, 
sooner  or  later  be  able  to  answer  "  Anche  io  son 
pescatore"  Be  not  disheartened  at  the  sight 
of  the  mountain  in  your  path.  Ascend  it  but 
half-way,  and  the  prospect  over  what  is  passed 
will  recompense  all  your  former  vexatious 
failures. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  87 

Hope  is  the  angler's  staff : — walk  hence  with  that, 
And  manage  it  against  despairing  thoughts." 

The  first  difficulty  is  to  throw  the  line  at  all;  the 
next,  so  to  throw,  that  it  descends  lightly,  and, 
fully  extended  ;   then  to  throw  a  long  line  to  any 
given   spot ;  and  lastly,  to  throw,  in  almost  any 
situation  among  trees,  avoiding  entanglement.   All 
these  are  to  be  acquired  by  care  and  practice  ; 
but  the  last  two  can  only  be  achieved  by  extreme 
diligence  ;  and  there  are,  consequently,  few  who 
can  accomplish  them.     I  knew  a  gentleman,  many 
years  since,  a  poor  curate,  who,  fifteen  times  out 
of  twenty,  with  a  single  handed  rod,  could  throw 
a  trout-fly  into  a  hat  at  twenty-five  yards'  distance. 
In  fact,   I  never   saw  his   equal ;   for  so  sure  a 
fisher  was  he,  that  the  owners  of  trout  streams  in 
the  neighbourhood,  were  as  shy  of  allowing  him 
a  day's  fishing,  as  though  he  had  been  an  otter. 
The  rod,  in   the  hands  of  a  practised  fly-fisher, 
may  become  like  the  foil  in  that  of  the  celebrated 
Eoland  ;  he  may  do  anything  with  it.     But  how 
few  are  there,  who  have  either  the  talent  or  the 
time,    requisite   to   render    them    such   adepts  ! 
And  I  think   I  may    safely  say,   that  there  are 
hundreds,  who,  from  not  knowing  the  science  of 
fly-fishing,  would  never  improve,  if  their  whole  lives 
were  devoted  to  the  practice  of  that  art  alone  ! 
But  the  best  way  to  ascend  the  hill  is  to  begin  ! 


88 


THROWING  THE  FLY. 


So  give  me  pencil  and  paper,  and  I  will  describe 
to  you  the  art  of  throwing. 

Figs.  14,  15,  and  16. 


B 


There  behold  three  diagrams  (figs.  14,  15,  and 
16).  Conceive  fig.  14  to  be  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  course  the  point  of  the  rod  takes  in  throwing, 
and  fig  15,  a  horizontal  view,  taken  on  the  right 
side  of  the  fisherman,  showing  the  angles  at 
which  the  rod  is  held  at  certain  stages;  fig.  16, 
we  shall  come  at  presently.  Now,  in  both  figures, 
14  and  16,  c  represents  the  angler,  B  the  bank 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  89 

on  which  he  stands,  A,  the  opposite  bank,  D, 
the  starting  post  of  the  top,  or  point  of  the  rod, 
when  beginning  to  raise  the  fly  from  the  water, 
and  H,  the  finishing  or  winning  post,  where  it  is 
brought  at  rest  when  the  throw  is  complete. 
Place  yourself,  c,  immediately  facing  the  spot 
you  wish  the  fly  to  fall  on,  remembering  this 
throughout  my  instructions.  Imprimis,  observe 
that  it  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  good  throwing 
to  have  a  fixed  centre  on  which  the  rod  shall 
revolve.  If  you  are  about  to  throw  with  a  very 
light  single-handed  trout-rod,  all  the  motion 
should  proceed  from  the  bend  of  your  wrist  ONLY, 
which  is  to  be  the  pivot  on  which  the  rod  turns, 
as  though  the  rest  of  your  arm  were  perfectly 
fixed.  Or  if  you  are  fishing  with  a  heavier  single- 
handed  one,  you  may  move  the  fore-arm,  or  joint 
from  the  hand  to  the  elbow,  and  aid  the  motion 
by  the  bend  of  your  wrist,  while  the  elbow  must 
be  the  pivot ;  the  upper  part  of  your  arm,  from 
the  elbow  to  the  shoulder,  being  fixed.  If,  again, 
you  are  using  a  double-handed  rod,  the  lower 
end  of  the  but,  below  the  winch,  is  held  facing 
the  right  shoulder,  by  the  one  (generally  the  left) 
hand,  which  is  to  be  kept  stationary,  and  act  as 
the  pivot;  while  all  the  motion  of  the  rod  is 
communicated  by  the  other,  placed  immediately 
above  the  winch,  so  as  to  give  a  firm  command, 
and  yet  not  take  away  at  all  from  the  elasticity  of 


90  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

the  rod.     Now,  the  motion  of  the  top,  or  point 
of  your  rod  is  this  :  Having  your  right  arm  half- 
extended,  and  your  hand  elevated  to  about  the 
level  of  your  shoulder,  hold  the  rod  before  your 
right-side,  upright,  as  you  behold  it,  but   having 
the  point  D,  depressed  over  the  bank  B,  at  about 
the  angle  w  c  D,  fig.   15.       Then  by  a  gentle 
sweep  before  you,  from  your  right  over  to  your 
left  side,  and  thence  through  the  points   L  and 
M,  fig,  14  (M  being  at  the  angle  w  c  M.  fig.  15.) 
behind  you,  giving  to  it  a  light  spring — (perhaps 
"a  whisk,"  or  "jerk,"  would  express  it  better), 
from  the  wrist,  backwards,   when  it  arrives   at 
L,  fig.  14,  and  decreasing  the  force  of  the  sweep 
as  it  reaches  M,   and  increasing  it  again  till  it 
arrives  at  about  E  (the    angle   w  c  E.,  fig.  15), 
then  by  a  similar  spring  at  L,  arising  likewise 
wholly  from  the  wrist,  throw  the  point  of  the  rod 
straight  before  you,  towards  the  spot  where  you 
wish  your  fly  to  fall,  but  decreasing  the   force 
after   the  spring   is   made,   till    it   reaches,  and 
becomes  at  rest  at  H,  fig  14,  or  makes  the  angle 
w  c  H,  fig.  15,  or  even  becomes  parallel  to  the 
water,  in  case  a  greater  elevation  seems  likely  to 
check  the  fly.      This,  then,    is    the  circuit  the 
point  of  the  rod  takes.     You  will  understand  me 
to  intend,  while  using  a  double-handed   rod,  to 
give  the  springs  with  the  whole  fore-arm  of  the 
upper  hand. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  91 

Now,  if  you  attach  a  line  to  the  rod,  and, 
placing  it  straight  out  before  you,  (which  you 
must,  however,  understand  is  not  exactly  the 
scientific  way  of  proceeding  when  you  have  once 
learnt  the  art),  apply  the  motion  I  have  described, 
making  the  sweep  only  as  far  as  M  (fig.  14)  :  the 
line  would  fly  over  your  left  shoulder  in  a  semi- 
elliptical  course,  and  the  end  of  it,  by  reason  of 
the  spring  given  to  the  rod  at  L  (fig.  14),  would 
fall  on  a  spot  behind  you,  corresponding  with  the 
one  opposite  from  whence  it  started,  as  in  the 
dotted  line  N  L  T  (fig.  14).  But  if,  instead  of 
stopping  at  M  (fig  14),  a  continuous  motion  is 
kept  up,  and  the  spring  from  the  wrist  given  to 
the  rod  at  E,  the  end  of  the  line  will  first  follow, 
and  then,  by  reason  of  the  decrease  of  force,  after 
passing  E,  and  because  the  end  of  the  line  at- 
tached to  the  point  of  the  rod  is  held  back,  and 
the  impetus  given  to  the  whole  is  still  retained  in 
the  loose  or  fly  end,  that  will  double  over  the 
other  part  of  the  line,  and  fall  beyond  H  (fig  14), 
in  the  straight  line  T  E  s,  making,  in  its  entire 
course,  the  circuit  N  L  T  E  s. 

Herb. — But  tell  me  in  what  position  the  fly 
is  to  be  when  you  commence  the  motion  of  your 
rod  ;  for  I  should  feel  little  inclination  to  walk 
into  the  water  to  stretch  it  out  in  preparation  for 
the  throw.  That  is  like  the  direction  for  catching 
birds  by  putting  salt  on  their  tails. 


92  THROWING   THE  FLY. 

Theoph. — I  implied  as  much  when  I  began  the 
subject,  so  no  quizzing.     When  you  have  made 
one  fair  throw  on  to  the  water,  you  have  no  further 
difficulty,  and  when  you  acquire  to  moderate  skill, 
you  may  pick  up  your  fly  from  any  spot  by  the 
motion  of  your  rod,  as  well  as  with  your  fingers, 
preparatory  to  delivering  it  again  on  the  water. 
But  to  begin  with  the  beginning.     Hold  your  fly 
at  the  bend  lightly  between  the  forefinger  and 
thumb  of  your  left  hand,  then  make  a   sweep, 
with    the    point  of   your    rod    backwards,    then 
towards  the  water  :  then  letting  go  the  hook,  pro- 
ceed to  make  your  cast  as  I  have  already  directed  ; 
and,  in  making  your  future  casts,  always  prepare 
to  do  so  before  the  rod  comes  near  the  perpen- 
dicular, or  you  will  not  be  able  to  get  the  line 
off  the  water.      I  should  also  tell  you  that  it  is 
advisable,  as  some  situations  may  require  it,  and 
especially    to    relieve  your    arms  by  a   change, 
while  using   a    double-handed    rod,    to    reverse 
this  mode    of    throwing,    commencing  with    the 
rod    facing  your    left  shoulder,  bring    it   round 
in  front  towards  your  right  shoulder,  and  then 
over  it  and  behind  you  from  right  to  left,  and 
over  your  left    again,  as    in  this  (fig.  16  ante.} 
In  this  mode  a  double-handed  rod  must  be  held 
left   hand    uppermost.      Look    at   the    diagrams 
(figs.  14  and   16),  and  in  a  word,  the  utility  oi 
this    change   becomes   obvious.      Suppose   you 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  93 

stand  close  by  a  tree  on  your  right  hand — then, 
as  the  course  of  the  line  forward  (T  E  s)  is 
almost  straight :  by  making  the~curvilinear  cast 
backwards,  (N  L  T)  over  the  left  shoulder,  (as  in 
fig.  14),  you  incur  no  risk  (if  you  have  co?ifidence, 
which  is  an  important  quality  in  this  game)  of 
hanging  fast  in  the  tree  when  the  fly  passes  for- 
ward over  your  right  side.  So  if  the  tree  be  on 
your  left  you  must  adopt  the  change  of  throwing 
shown  in  fig.  16.  Attention  to  this  rule]  will 
enable  you  to  throw  between  two  bushes,  where 
there  would  not  be  sufficient  space  to  do  so,  if 
you  stood  midway  between  them. 

Whatever  you  do  (in  the  words  of  Capt.  Wil- 
liamson, who  has  written  with  greater^perspicuity 
upon  this  subject  than  any  author  I  have  met 
with)  ''Avoid,  above  all  things,  imitating  the 
motion  of  a  whip;  for  though  the  art  is  called 
'whipping,'  it  differs  widely  from  it,  in  regard  to 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  done.  He  who  throws 
his  line  back  as  a  coachman  does  his  whip,  will, 
like  him,  make  it  crack  when  it  reaches  its  full 
extent  behind  his  back,  losing  many  a  good  fly, 
and  coming  forward  again  with  such  violence,  as, 
instead  of  alluring,  will  scare  the  fishes." 

To  elucidate  further  the  art  of  throwing  the 
fly,  here  is  a  diagram  of  the  course  it  takes 
through  the  air  when  properly  thrown. 


94 


THROWING  THE  FLY. 

Fig.  7 . 
R 


A  is  supposed  to  be  the  hand,  and  A  o — A  B 
— A  i — A  H  the  rod  in  its  various  positions,  c 
M  the  river,  c  the  spot  whence  the  fly  is  raised 
preparatory  to  the  throw,  and  c  G  F  E  its  course 
backwards  from  the  water,  and  E  j  K  L  M  for- 
wards towards  it,  M  being  the  spot  whereon  it 
finally  alights. 

When  the  proper  springs  or  jerks  are  given, 
the  hand  follows  the  course  of  the  line,  but  has 
no  controul  so  as  to  impede  it  after  the  springs 
are  given.  Now  let  us  understand  the  laws  of 
motion  in  the  fly.  Having,  in  order  to  neutralize 
the  effect  of  its  inertia  on  the  subsequent  spring, 
drawn  it  by  a  gentle  motion  from  the  interme- 
diate space  between  M  and  c,  the  rod  being- 
raised  towards  B,  when  the  fly  is  at  c  and  the 
rod  point  at  B  (B  c  being  the  length  of  line  to 
be  thrown)  we  communicate  the  spring  ;  leaving 
the  fly  and  line  afterwards  to  pursue  their  own 
course,  and  bringing  the  rod  gently  through  the 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  95 

arc  B  i  H  to  H.  The  fly  is  thus  converted  into 
a  simple  projectile,  and,  if  it  were  not  for  gravi- 
tation, would  traverse  in  a  straight  line  from  c 
to  D  ;  because,  the  moment  the  spring  is  given 
at  B,  the  rod  is,  or  rather  ought  to  be,  at  right 
angles  with  the  lines  c  B  D.  But,  in  obedience 
with  the  laws  of  every  projectile,  being  unre- 
strained by  the  rod  or  line,  it  describes  the  para- 
bola c  G  F  E  (E  H  being  the  extended  line). 
The  force  of  the  backward  throw  being  expended, 
it  falls  below  E  of  its  own  gravity :  the  motion  of 
the  rod  being  renewed,  forwards  at  H,  and,  since 
the  rod  is  raised  in  passing  towards  i,  the  fly 
also  must  again  rise  in  following  its  course,  and, 
when  the  spring  forward  is  communicated  at  r, 
should  be  found  at  j,  in  the  parallel  E  i  H,  and 
the  rod,  i  A,  at  right  angles  with  j  i  N  (i  j  being 
the  length  of  the  line).  Here  again,  but  for 
gravitation,  the  fly  would  proceed  towards  N  ; 
instead  of  which,  it  describes  the  parabola  j  K  L 
M,  falling  on  the  water  at  M. 

Secondly,  after  the  spring  at  B  is  given,  the 
force  being  great  enough  to  send  the  fly  to  E, 
suppose,  instead  of  moving  the  rod  backwards 
to  H,  it  were  retained  at  B  ;  as  the  line,  from  its 
insufficient  length,  would  stop  it  at  F,  while 
much  force  is  still  operating  in  the  fly,  it  would 
rebound,  and  so  slacken  the  line  and  prevent  it 
falling  fully  extended.  Then,  in  attempting  to 


96 


THROWING  THE  FLY. 


cast  it  forward,  it  is  equally  evident  that  as  the 
spring  could  not  be  re-applied  until  the  rod  were 
lower  down  in  the  arc  B  o,  so  that  the  right 
angle  to  the  rod  would  fall  within  A  c,  the  fly 
also  would  fall  there  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  reel  line 
would  come  down  first,  and  its  end  and  the  fly 
would  gather  "  all  of  a  heap"  upon  it.  In  like 
manner,  if  the  rod  were  not  gradually  brought 
forward  after  the  spring  at  i,  the  fly  would 
rebound  over  the  water  and  could  not  fall  lightly ; 
— but  of  this  I  shall  say  a  word  by  and  bye. 

Thirdly,  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  con- 
troul  the  fly,  after  the  spring  is  given,  towards  the 
same  direction  ;  for  the  only  consequence  of  such 
a  power,  could  it  exist,  would  be  the  rebounding 
of  the  fly.  But  it  is  as  common  a  fault  as  I  know 
of,  after  giving  the  spring  to  the  fly  towards  the 
water,  to  counteract  the  spring  by  the  subse- 
quent swing  of  the  rod.  A  beginner  in  fly-fishing, 
if  he  is  fortunate  enough  to  hit  upon  the  proper 
spring,  in  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred, 
mars  it  by  the  force  by  which  he  subsequently 
throws  his  rod  forward,  almost  frightening  the  fish 
to  death  under  it  by  the  "  swish"  of  his  top  into 
the  water  !  and  there  are  many  who  have  fished  for 
years,  much  addicted  to  this  fault ;  and  who,  as  I 
shall  show  you  presently,  never  throw  a  line  pro- 
perly extended.  You  will  hear  their  rods  cutting 
the  air  with  a  sharp  noise,  "with  a  swish"  and 


THROWING   THE  FLY.  97 

may  at  once  mark  them  as  at  least  faulty  fisher- 
men—  men  who  thrash  the  water,  fatiguing  them- 
selves most  unnecessarily.  I  have  often  hinted 
that  it  does  not  require  any  violent  exertion  to 
cast  a  line  far  and  well ;  and  it  is  the  gentle  knack 
by  which  it  is  performed — the  science  supersed- 
ing the  necessity  for  force — which  I  am  now 
endeavouring  to  instil  into  your  mind.  Even 
in  salmon-fishing  with  an  eighteen  or  twenty  foot 
rod,  much  less  force  is  requisite  than  is  generally 
supposed.  I  remember  being  particularly  struck 
witli  this  observation  in  practice,  many  years  ago, 
I  think  the  second  season  of  my  attempt  against 
salmon.  A  few  days  before  I  was  obliged  to  give 
up  the  delightful  occupation,  and  having  previ- 
ously caught  comparatively  small  fish,  I  one  day, 
while  in  the  act  of  throwing,  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  strain  the  muscles  or  ligaments  between 
my  shoulders,  to  so  violent  a  degree,  that  I  could 
scarcely  move  my  arms  for  several  hours,  and 
Prudence  would  have  said,  "  Pack  up,  be  off,  and 
lay  yourself,  and  rods,  up  for  the  winter/'  But 
next  day,  although  I  still  continued  in  excessive 
pain,  the  river  and  weather  were  both  in  such 
beautiful  order,  that  sending  "the  wise  dame" 
to  "  Jericho,"  I  sallied  out  rod  in  hand  as  usual. 
I  found  that  to  throw,  as  I  had  heretofore  done, 
with  the  same  degree  of  force,  was  physically 
impossible  :  but  you  may  guess  my  astonishment 
on  finding  that  with  the  mitigated  muscular  effort 

H 


98  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

necessity  obliged  me  to  adopt,  I  could  not  only 
throw  a  lighter  line,  but  also  further  by  two  or 
three  yards.  A  new  light  burst  upon  me.  The 
following  day,  I  killed  a  salmon  of  eighteen 
pounds,  by  excessive  light  throwing,  and  the 
next  one  of  sixteen  pounds,  by  throwing  to  a 
spot  I  had  never  before  been  able  to  reach.  This 
experience,  so  dearly  bought,  you  may  rest  as- 
sured, I  scratched  very  deep  on  the  tablet  of  my 
memory,  and  I  never  afterwards  lost  sight  of  it. 

Herb. — But  explain  to  me  the  actual  effect  of 
this  extra  force,  or  "  swish,"  upon  the  fly. 

Theoph. — After  the  spring  is  given,  for  a  time, 
the  impulse  in  the  fly  is  unalterable.  The  line  is 
operated  on  in  the  same  manner;  but  being 
retained,  at  one  end,  by  the  !top  of  the  rod,  as 
each  succeeding  portion  passes  it,  it  is  bent  or 
doubled  upon  itself,  thus,  c  B  A  (see  fig.  18)  : 

Fig.  18. 


and  if  the  rod  were  retained  in  the  position  D  A, 
and  not  gradually  lowered  so  as  to  "  ease  it  off, 
the  impetus  left  in  the  part  of  the  line  from  A  to 
B  would  be  stopped,  and  that  of  the  fly  at  c 
accelerated,  to  a  degree  sufficient  to  carry  it  fur- 
ther than  the  length  of  the  line  would  allow  it 
to  reach ;  the  fly  itself  would  then  be  checked, 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  99 

and  would  rebound  as  I  have  already  shown  you. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  the  rod  were  brought  suddenly 
and  violently,  with  the  "  swish"  I  allude  to,  from 
B  to  x,  the  line  x  B  c  would  receive  a  contrary 
impetus,  which  would  finally  operate  on  the  fly 
end,  and  would  bring  it  "  all  of  a  heap,"  almost 
under  the  point  of  the  rod  upon  the  water,  and 
far  short  of  the  spot  intended. 

Again,  if  no  actual  spring,  nothing  except 
a  uniform  pull,  were  given,  no  superior  impetus 
could  be  imparted  to  the  fly.  The  rod  would 
then  simply  draw  the  line,  and  the  line  the  fly  after 
it;  as  great  a  distance  as  the  length  of  rod  would 
admit  of,  only. 

Again,  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  that  at  the 
moment  the  spring  is  felt  in  the  fly,  the  impetus 
is  greater  than  during  any  period  of  its  passage, 
diminishing  as  it  gets  towards  its  destination,  and 
of  course  retaining  some  portion  of  it  till  it  reaches 
the  full  stretch  of  the  line,  and  becomes  at  rest. 
If  then,  while  thus  occupied  in  one  course,  as 
towards  our  back,  we,  with  a  sudden  spring,  give 
it  a  different  course,  forwards,  there  is  a  strain 
on  the  line,  not  only  increased  by  having  to  pull 
the  fly  as  an  inert  weight,  but  equal  to  the  force 
of  the  spring  forwards,  plus  the  dead  weight,  plus 
the  contrary  impetus  still  in  the  fly  passing  back- 
wards ;  thereby  incurring  a  great  risk  of  breaking 
the  gut  at  E  F. 

H  2 


100  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

Once  more,  and  lastly.  Attend,  and  we  shall 
see  why  it  is  likely  to  break  close  to  its  junction 
with  the  fly.  At  starting,  the  line  being  stretched, 
the  point  of  its  junction  would  take  the  lead,  and 
so  continue  till  it  had  finished  its  course.  The 
fly  would  pass  through  the  air,  head  foremost, 
from  its  very  form  and  nature  ;  so  that  when  it 
had  passed  the  centre  of  power,  the  line  would 
be  doubled  or  bent  back,  and  the  bend  would,  of 
course,  be  close  to  the  fly  at  the  moment  the 
premature  spring  was  felt  in  it.  Then,  as  the 
gut  is  somewhat  thicker  than  that  which  geome- 
tricians call  "  a  line ;"  having  two  surfaces, 
both  of  which  are  necessary  to  its  strength, 
the  assistance  of  the  fibres  on  the  concave  side 
would,  by  the  bend,  be  rendered  nugatory,  and 
the  whole  force  of  the  jerk  would  be  thrown  on 
the  convex  side,  which  would  also  undergo  a 
more  than  natural  tension,  from  the  mere  fact 
of  its  being  bent.  Thus  are  the  probabilities  of 
a  fracture  reduced  almost  to  a  certainty ;  and  the 
fly  is  whipped  off !  !  But  I  fear  I  tire  you  with 
so  much  detail. 

Herb. — By  no  means  :  I  am  devoting  my  best 
attention,  in  the  hopes  of  following  your  expla- 
nation. I  am  all  ears. 

Theoph. — The  nature  of  the  springs  and  posi- 
tion where  they  are  to  be  given  still  remain  for 
your  consideration.  Of  the  first,  observe  that  you 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  101 

must  endeavour  to  impart  the  requisite  force  to 
the  top  of  the   rod ;  and  that  only  as  though  in 
fact  the  top   were  held   back,  and  the  rod  bent, 
and    then    suddenly    released.       With    a   single- 
handled  rod  it  is  performed  by  a  twist,  as  it  were, 
of  the  wrist,  raising  suddenly  the  uppermost  part 
of  the    fist  grasping  the    rod,    when  the  spring 
backwards  is  given ;  and,  with  a  similar  impulse, 
depressing   it    in    the    throw   forwards.     With   a 
double  rod  the  lower  hand   being  the  pivot  on 
which  it  acts,  the  upper  hand  moving  with  the 
forearm   on  the    elbow,    as   the  pivot  is  thrown 
backwards  or  forwards  about  a  foot  only,  the  rest 
of  the  arm  remaining  still.     You  should  also  aid 
and  increase,  if  necessary,  the  spring,  by  moving 
the  fist  inwards  or  outwards  as  the  throws  back- 
wards or  forwards  are  given :    i.  e.  letting  your 
clenched  fingers  approach  or  recede  nearer  to,  or 
further  from  your  ear  than  the  wrist  joint  does. 
Both    in    single    and   double    rod   throwing   that 
which  entitles  the  motion  to  the  name  of  a  spring 
or  jerk,  is  a  sudden  momentary  restraint;  when 
in  the  one  the  fist  is  raised  or  depressed,  or  in  the 
other  when  the  upper  hand  is  thrown  backwards 
or    forwards,    for    a   second    after,    all  motion  is 
checked  ;  and  as  the  whole  rod  acquires  a  motion, 
and   the    check  is   felt   later  in  its  top  than  its 
centre,  the  former  darts  forward  from  its  original 
impetus ;  just  as  a  man's  head  would  were  he  in 


102  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

the  act  of  running  and  his  legs  were  caught 
unawares  by  a  noose  thrown  round  them.  Do 
not  forget  that  the  check  is  but  momentary  ;  for 
the  instant  after,  the  rod  must  gently  continue 
its  course  in  the  same  direction,  else  the  top  of 
the  rod  will  also  rebound,  and  for  that  and  the 
other  reasons  I  have  already  mentioned,  the 
line  and  fly  will  be  improperly  checked.  As 
to  the  positions  of  the  rod  when  the  springs 
are  given,  they  will  vary  according  to  the  length 
of  line  engaged.  Look  again  at  the  diagram  I  gave 
you  of  the  fly's  course  (Fig.  17.),  R  A  is  the  perpen- 
dicular to  the  level  x  c  M,  on  which  the  thrower 
stands.  I  have  told  you  that  the  springs  should 
be  made  when  the  rod  is  at  right  angles  with  the 
fishing-line,  as  in  A  B  c  in  the  cast  backwards,  and 
j  i  A  in  that  forwards,  and  that  is  because  the 
spring,  given  in  that  position,  has  greater  influence 
over  the  line.  If  the  backward  spring  were  given 
with  the  rod,  as  A  o,  and  the  line  were  stretched 
from  o  to  M,  independent  of  the  attraction  of  the 
water  on  the  M  end,  the  direction  of  the  spring 
would  be  at  right  angles  with  A  o,  namely  towards 
R,  and  if  the  fly  ever  got  there  (which  it  never 
could  because  the  line  o  M  is  so  diametrically 
opposite  to  o  R),  the  next  difficulty  would  be  how 
to  get  the  line  stretched  so  as  to  give  the  fly  a 
sudden  impulse  necessary  for  the  throw  forwards 
— a  difficulty  not  to  be  surmounted.  The  same 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  103 

laws  would  necessarily  operate  more  or  less  if  the 
spring  were  made  in  any  part  of  the  arc  o  B, 
except  at  B  itself,  and  becoming  less  and  less 
objectionable  as  the  spot  of  the  spring  approached 
to  B.  Again,  if  the  spring  backwards  were  made  any 
where  between  B  and  H,  the  nearer  it  approached 
H  the  greater  would  be  the  impossibility  of  even 
raising  the  fly  from  the  water,  and  the  possibility 
of  throwing  the  line  back  to  the  water  would  only 
be  superinduced  as  the  point  of  spring  approached 
nearer  to  B.  The  reason  why  the  forward  spring 
is  made  nearer  the  perpendicular  than  the  back- 
ward one,  is  that  the  fly  is  then  allowed  to  ap- 
proach less  near  to  the  ground  in  passing  from  E 
to  j,  and  there  is  consequently  less  danger  of  its 
catching.  It  is  also  thrown  forward  nearer  to 
a  parallel  with  the  earth,  and  then  its  descent  on 
the  water  will  be  so  much  the  lighter  than  if 
it  were  thrown  more  up  towards  N,  and  thence 
fell  to  M,  or  if  thrown  more  in  a  straight  line  with 
M,  and  so  struck  the  water  instead  of  gradually 
alighting  upon  it :  while,  by  making  the  backward 
spring  further  from  the  perpendicular,  the  fly  is 
raised  higher  in  the  air,  and  traces  a  parabola,  at 
the  termination  of  which  the  fly  is  caught  by 
the  forward  spring  before  it  approaches  within 
a  "catching"  distance  of  the  ground  behind.  So 
much  for  the  science  of  plain  throwing,  in  which 


104  FANCY'S  DIFFICULTIES  AND 

I   have  included  throws  far  and  near,  light  and 
heavy,  and  lines  stretched  and  slack. 

Herb. — I    never  imagined   so  much  could  be 
said  about  it,  I  assure  you. 

Theoph. — After  all,  then,  you  perceive  that  this 
art,  when  once  understood,  and  after  a  little  prac- 
tice, is  not  so  very  difficult  to  achieve;  you  may 
now  laugh  at  the  spectral  giants  in  your  path,  as 
a  friend  of  mine  did  once.  One  day  he  went  out 
to  bathe  in  the  sea,  and  being  more  provident 
than  "Mr.  Bubb,  of  the  von  hoss  chay"  celebrity, 
engaged  me  to  take  charge  of  his  garments ;  we 
were  both  ignorant  of  the  coast,  or  set  of  the 
tide;  however,  being  a  good  swimmer,  in  he  went, 
though  the  tide  was  ebbing  fast.  I  lay  reading 
on  the  beach,  ever  and  anon  casting  a  furtive 
glance  at  the  exhibitor.  He  ventured  a  long  way 
out  methought,  but  as  he  appeared  vigorous,  I 
imagined  nothing  wrong  and  went  on  reading, 
and  when  my  volume  was  finished  I  was  surprised 
to  see  what  a  dance  I  should  have  to  reach  where 
I  then  found  he  must  come  ashore;  for  the  tide 
had  evidently  carried  him  unwittingly  far  away 
He  was,  when  I  got  opposite  him,  "  stemming " 
— almost  "  steaming"  it, — most  lustily;  and  ap- 
peared distressed.  A  fisherman  passed  me  and  I 
enquired  as  to  danger,  &c.  He  assured  me  there 
was  none;  for  though  near  half-a-mile  off,  it  was 


FANCY'S  DANGERS.  105 

not  out  of  his  depth, — so  gradual  was  the  slope  of 
the  sand.  Presently,  notwithstanding  this  as- 
surance, my  blood  curdled  in  every  vein,  as  I 
heard  my  friend's  scream  and  saw  his  up-lifted 
hands.  But  judge  my  delight — I  saw  him  next 
moment  standing  immersed  only  to  his  arm-pits,— 
and  all  of  a  sudden  heard  his  loud  out-bursting  up- 
roarious laugh  ;  and  wading  along,  he  soon  joined 
me.  "  What  in  the  name  of  wonderment,"  asked 
I,  "were  you  laughing  at?"  "You  may  well  en- 
quire," said  he ;  "  little  did  I  know  how  near  my 
legs  were  to  the  bottom  at  that  instant !  The  tide 
carried  me  out  before  I  was  aware  of  it,  and  I  had 
much  to  buffet  with  when  I  turned — my  strength, 
with  my  heart,  failed,  when  I  saw  the  work  and 
distance  before  me,  and  I  was  for  the  last  twenty 
minutes  swimming  for  my  life  at  the  top  of  my 
power.  At  last,  perfectly  exhausted,  I  really  re- 
signed myself  to  death,  for  I  could  swim  no  fur- 
ther; I  made  up  my  mind  to  die;  I  'screamt'my 
scream  and  down  I  went.  Not  less  to  my  delight 
than  surprise,  I  then,  for  the  first  time,  became 
aware  that  for  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour  I  must 
have  been  swimming  in  shoal  water,  within  my 
depth,  and  without  the  least  danger.  And  I 
could  not,  after  the  first  burst  of  thanks  to  Provi- 
dence had  passed,  refrain  from  the  outbreak  of 
laughter  you  noticed,  to  think  how  much  time, 
labour,  anxiety,  and  despair  I  had  expended  in 


106  SATISFACTORY  CONCLUSION. 

ignorance  of  my  safety."  Many  a  time  have  we 
talked  over  this  adventure,  and  as  oft  resolved  not 
to  imagine  difficulties;  with  the  immortal  Bard  ex- 
claiming : 

"  Oh,  hateful  Error,  Melancholy's  child 

Why  dost  thou  show  to  the  apt  thoughts  of  men 
The  things  that  are  not?" 

But  here  comes  supper  ! 


107 


1  HE  AUTHOR     AFIF.U   GIVING  HIS     RECIPE  FOB     POTTING    FI8II,    CONTINUETH   HIS 
INSTRUCTIONS  IN  THE  ART  OF  TROWING. 


SCENE. — As     before.      TIME.      Night. — THEOPIIILUS     and 
HERBERT  seated  before  a  smoking  dish. 

Herb. — I  must  say,  these  little  "  speckled 
beauties"  of  yours,  are  delicious. 

Theoph. — Are  they  not  ?  And  well  worth  the 
trouble  of  learning  to  catch  too.  Here  is  enough 
to  whet  your  appetite  in  search  of  them. 

Herb.-  -Never  fear  :  but  pray  what  are  they  ? 

Theoph. — They  are  called  par;  but  what  they 
are  has  puzzled  most  of  the  wise  heads  that  have 
ever  been  "  a-fishing,"  and  a  few  more  in  the 
shape  of  pure  ichthyologists  and  naturalists  to 
boot.  As  I  have  to  teach  you  how  to  "  first 
catch  your  hare,"  I  cannot  stop,  just  now,  to 
give  you  my  opinion ;  but,  for  the  present,  shall 
merely  tell  you,  in  order  to  excite  your  observa- 


108  RECIPE  FOR  POTTING  FISH. 

tion  and  increase  your  thirst  after  knowledge, 
that  many  persons  appear  to  have  taken  very 
great  pains  to  arrive  at  a  true  knowledge  of  their 
"  birth,  parentage,  and  education,"  while  all  that 
has  been  promulgated  amounts  to  "an  opining" 
only,  that  they  are  "this"  or  "  that."  I  am 
sorry  to  say  the  secrets  of  the  deep  waters  are 
but  little  known  to  us ;  and  therein  lies  an  open 
field  for  honours  yet  unplucked  ; — for  experiment 
and  investigation,  laborious,  curious,  and  most 
interesting  : — for  wonderment,  perplexity,  and 
delight ;  which,  I  fear  to  add,  can  but  the  more 
and  more  convince  us  that  we  are  only  "  lords 
in  the  creation,"  and  not  "  of"  it.  When  you 
have  learnt  to  catch  a  few,  we  will  talk  more 
about  them.  But  come, — taste  my  potted  fish, — 
the  produce  of  yesterday's  catch. 

Herb. — Most  excellent  and  palatable.  Of 
what  does  it  consist,  and  how  is  it  made  ? 

Theoph. — I  have  the  recipe  here  in  my  pocket- 
book,  and,  as  I  hardly  carry  these  things  in  my 
memory,  I  will  read  it  to  you. 

Recipe  for  Potting  Trout,  Par,   Char,    and  all 
kinds  of  small  jish. 

Open  your  fish,  and  without  washing,  rub  them 
clean  with  dry  cloths ;  cut  off  heads,  tails,  and 
fins  ;  lay  them  in  a  small  baking-dish,  having 


RECIPE  FOR  POTTING  FISH.  109 

first  seasoned  them  highly  with  a  portion  of  the 
mixture  I  will  mention  presently,  and  bake  them 
in  a  "  cool"  oven,  with  as  much  fresh  butter  as, 
when  melted,  will  cover  them  ;  allowing  them 
to  remain  in  the  oven  till  all  the  bones  are  dis- 
solved. The  time  this  part  of  the  operation  takes 
depends  on  the  heat  of  the  oven.  The  butter 
is  then  to  be  drained  off,  and  the  fish  carefully 
removed  into  proper  potting-pots,  and  well 
pressed  down,  so  as  to  leave  no  spaces  of  air 
between  them.  Fresh  butter,  melted  and  clari- 
fied, is  then  poured  over  the  top,  as  we  usually 
see  potted  meats,  shrimps,  &c.  done  ;  and  when 
cold,  it  is  fit  for  table.  Should  the  fish  be  large, 
say  above  a  quarter  or  half-pound,  it  is  better  to 
scale  them  and  take  out  the  back  bones.  The 
following  is  the  mixture,  which  will  suffice  for 
thirty  or  forty  pounds  of  fish,  and  if  kept  corked 
in  a  glass  bottle,  may  be  used  as  occasion 
requires  : — 

Six  Tea  spoonfuls  of  ground  black  Pepper 
Six         ditto  ditto  Allspice 

Four      ditto  ditto  Mace 

Two       ditto  ditto  Cloves 

Two       ditto  ditto  Nutmeg 

One       ditto  ditto  Cayenne. 

And  to  every  spoonful  of  this  mixture  used,  add, 
at  the  time  of  using,  but  not  before,  one  spoonful  of 
salt.  But  to  resume  the  subject  of  my  discourse, 
namely  "  throwing  the  fly  I'1 


110  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

I  shall  now  canvass  some  of  the  doctrines  of 
authors  who  have  professed  to  teach  "the  young 
idea  how  to  fish,"  which  I  think  questionable, 
and  which  appear  calculated  to  mislead,  if  they 
be  not  decidedly  erroneous.  For  instance,  Messrs. 
Shipley  and  Fitzgibbon,  whose  work  is  rather 
recent;  and  in  some  respects  not  devoid  of  merit, 
say,*  "  The  beginner  should  commence  learning 
to  cast  the  fly,  having  the  wind  on  his  back." 
This,  I  must  tell  you  depends  on  the  force  of  the 
wind.  If  it  be  great,  it  is  then  easy  enough  to 
cast  the  fly  forward,  —  but  one  is  never  more  likely 
to  whip  off  flies;  because  its  force  prevents  the 
line  becoming  fully  extended  behind  ;  nor  will 
it  alight  softly,  unless  he  contrive  to  let  it  blow 
full  out,  and  then,  by  lowering  the  point  of  the 
rod,  allow  the  fly  to  fall  of  its  own  weight; 
which  requires  some  experience.  To  a  beginner 
my  advice  is,  to  throw  rather  across  the  wind, 
than  directly  with  it,  whereby  he  is  more  likely 
to  avoid  both  these  misadventures.  Again,f  they 
tell  the  beginner  to  practise  with  his  reel-line  ; 
but  such  a  course  is  sure  to  wear  out  the  loop, 
by  constant  whipping,  and  at  the  same  time 
teaches  nothing  —  throwing  the^  reel-line  alone 
being  very  different  to  having  the  gut  attached, 
—  something  akin  to  learning  to  swim  before  ven- 


»  P.  75. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  Ill 

turing  into  the    water.       I  had   rather  that  he 
should  commence  with  a  short  reel  and  gut,  or 
foot-line,  and  a  hook  broken  off  at  the  bend,  if 
his  stock  of  patience  is  in  a  state  of  insolvency — 
unable  to  meet  all  due  demands  :  whereby  he  sees 
at  once  what  he  is  about,  and  avoids  at  the  same 
time  the   provoking  misfortunes  which  a  perfect 
hook  would  entail  upon  him  by  its  adhesive  pro- 
pensities, during  his  pupilage.     It  is  quite   right 
that  he  should  practise  upon  the  water,  so  as  to 
witness  the  eflfct  of  not  throwing  lightly  ;  and  Mr. 
Ronalds,  in  his  Ely-Fisher's  Entomology,  is  only 
correct    in    recommending   practice    "  ashore," 
when  the  object  is  to  achieve  throwing  among 
trees,  an  art  quite  distinct  from  throwing  on  the 
water;    though  even  this  should   ultimately   be 
practised  (with  a  broken  hook  in  the  first  instance), 
at   the  river-side.      The  first  named    authors^ 
seem,  too,  to  think  it  an  advantage  to  have  the 
line  dry  for  throwing,  and  advise  that  the  water 
should  be  "  whisked  out   of  it  and  the  fly,"  by 
quick  repetition  of  casting.     If  in  the   sunshine 
you  like    to   "  whisk"   your  line  about  for  five 
minutes,  you  may  achieve  what  they  think   so 
desirable  ;    and  which,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I 
regard  as  useless.     My  own  practice,  and  that  of 
many  most  skilful  anglers,  is,  occasionally  to  wet 

*  Sbipley  and  Fitzgibbon  p.  78. 


112  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

every  part  of  the  reel-line  beyond  the  point  of 
the  rod,  so  as  to  equalize  the  weight  of  each 
part,  and  thence  render  it  capable  of  being 
thrown  with  greater  facility  and  precision ;  yet 
it  will  drop  "  light  as  fairy  foot  can  fall."  These 
are  trivial  errors  I  admit,  even  if  they  be  more 
than  differences  of  opinion ;  but  when  I  find 
authors  professing  to  teach,  and  laying  it  down 
as  a  rule  for  beginners,  "  that  the  motion  in 
throwing,  of  the  wrist  and  elbow,  is  not  oblique, 
but  fairly  straight  backwards  and  forwards"*  I 
must  quarrel  with  them  downright.  They  had 
better  have  left  it  alone  altogether,  and  have 
directed  the  tyro,  as  some  have  done,  "  to 
manage  as  he  best  can,f"  than  have  laid  down 
such  thoughtless  rules;  being  about  as  wide  of 
the  mark  as  Mr.  Ronalds,  who  says,  "  you  should 
endeavour  to  impart  to  the  line  a  good  uniform 
sweep  or  curve  round  the  head  !"  Now  a  uniform 
curve  with  the  rod  will  produce  a  uniform  curve  in 
the  line,  and  unless  that  uniformity  be  broken  by 
the  two  springs,  backward  and  forward,  into  some- 
thing of  an  elliptic  figure,  the  fly  will  fall  shortj. 


*  Shipley  and  Fitzgibbon,  77. 

t  Should  the  fish  (Salmon)  on  being  hooked,  spring  out  of  the  water, 
the  angler  must  be  extremely  cool !  and  manage,  as  he  best  can,  to  prevent 
him  from  breaking  the  tackle,  or  getting  rid  of  the  hook  !" — Vide  Northern 
Angler ,  p.  65. 

J  See  ante,  p.  99,  last  chapter. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  113 

As  to  the  motion,  "  not  oblique,  but  fairly  straight 
backwards  and  forwards,"  if  it  be  adopted,  the 
fly  will  pursue  exactly  the  track  of  the  rod 
through  the  air,  and  should  one  chance  out  of  a 
hundred  save  it  from  being  whipped  off  behind 
(for  the  reason  1  have  already  given  you),*  and 
the  fly  be  missing  in  the  position  it  was  intended 
to  occupy  on  the  water,  you  may  as  well  look  for 
it  in  the  firm  embraces  of  the  rod  itself;  and 
there  you  will  find  it  perhaps  a  mutilated  corpse  ! 
Professor  Rennie's  advice  is  capital;  he  tells  us, 
forsooth,  to  "  observe  some  good  fly-fisher"  as 
the  means  of  learning  !  as  though  good  fly-fishers 
grew  as  thick  as  blackberries  by  the  side  of  every 
river. 

Herb. — "  First  catch  your  hare,"  again  I  sup- 
pose. 

Theoph. — You  are  right ;  and,  moreover,  if 
you  meet  with  twenty  good  fly-fishers,  not  one 
out  of  them  perhaps  can  describe  the  principles 
of  his  actions.  Again,  we  are  taught  thusf, 
"  just  as  the  line  comes  about  a  yard  above  it" 
(the  spot  aimed  at),  we  should  "  suddenly  check 
the  impulse  given  by  the  wrist  to  the  rod  ;"  and 
to  this  is  ascribed  the  advantage  of  the  fly  falling 
of  its  own  weight,  "  gossamer-like  on  the  water." 
As  Mr.  Shipley  is  evidently,  from  his  book,  a 


See  ante  p.  99.  t  Shipley  and  Fitzgibbon,  p 


.  J-  76. 
1 


114  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

good  practical  angler,  and  able  to  act,  though  not 
to  teach  perfectly,  his  firm  must  have  failed  pro- 
perly to  describe  what  they  intended  ;  for  as  sure 
as  trout  take  flies,  if  the  line  be  checked  ' ( sud- 
denly" at  such  a  moment,  the  fly,  instead  of  fall- 
ing on  the  water,  will  hit  it,  arid  that  violently, 
and  like  anything  rather  than   a    "  gossamer "- 
winged  insect.     The  motion,  as  I  have  already 
told    you,    must   gradually    die   away,   and   no 
"  sudden  check"  be  suffered  :   so  that  you  per- 
ceive I  am  not  merely  quarrelling  with  words. 
"  Much  ado  about  nothing,"  has  been  made  by 
several  writers,  in  directing  you  "  never  to  let 
your  reel  line  be  on  the  water,  except  in  a  heavy 
wind."     Now,   though  I  think  it  well  to  obey 
that  direction,   if  convenient  and  possible,  which 
it  could  only  be  while  fishing  with  a  very  short 
line,   I  am  far  from  considering  it  necessary,  or 
possible,  or  proper  (were  it  so),  with  even  twelve 
yards  of  line  out;    and   as  I  give  my  reasons 
(which  you  will  do  well  to  remember  for  more 
purposes   than  the  refutation   of  this  fallacy),  I 
will  be  judged  by  you  who  is  right.    In  so  doing, 
I  must  necessarily,   in  some  slight  degree,  touch 
upon  the  art  of  "  throwing"  ON  a  stream  ;  and 
therefore  be  prepared  for  an  occasional  digression. 
To  dispose  of  the   question  of  propriety,  under- 
stand   that  the   endeavour  to  lift  your  reel  line 
clear  of  the  water  (for  of  course  if  you  have  any 


THROWING  TIIF   FLY.  115 

length  out,  it  must  fall  on  it  in  the  first  instance), 
you  must  drag  the  fly  from  the  place  where  it 
first  falls  suddenly,  and  in  a  manner  unnatural  to 
a  living  insect,  or  else  the  line  cannot  fall  suffi- 
ciently stretched.     By  this  you  lose   an  advan- 
tage, for  it  is  generally  observed  that  the  fall  first 
engages  the  attention  of  the  fish  ;  and  it  is  for  the 
most  part  in  the  moment  after  that  he  rises  to  it, 
unless  he  be  a  salmon,  which  will  give  chase,  in 
order  to  whet  his  appetite.     This  unnatural  drag 
on  the  fly  is  too  common,  without  any  endeavour 
to  clear  the  reel  line ;  for  you  will  remark,  unless 
you  cautiously  guard  against  it,  in  regaining  the 
grasp  of  the  rod  after  it  has  become  relaxed  by 
the  delivery  of  the  fly,  an  almost  imperceptible 
check  is  conveyed  to  the  course  which  the  cur- 
rent has  already  given  to  it ;  whereas,  from  the 
moment  it  touches  the  water  it  should  be  under 
the  sole  controul  of  the^stream,  almost  precisely 
as  a  natural  fly  would ;  the  hand  at  most  only 
carrying  it  across  the  stream,  as  a  struggling  fly 
might  swim,  except  in  occasionally  communicating 
those  gentle  tremulous  jerks,  which  we  sometimes 
impart  in  order  to  give  it  the  semblance  of  life, 
and  subject  to  those  other  exceptions  which  I 
will  explain  to  you  by  and  bye : — it  is,   there- 
fore, improper  to  attempt  to  raise  the  line  off  the 
water.     But,  putting  aside  all  speculative  ques- 
tions as  to  the  likelihood  of  a  fish  being  scared  by 

i  2 


116 


THROWING  THE  FLY. 


the  line  merely  passing  over  it  (which  I  am  not 
willing  at  once  to  admit  as  likely,  for  why  should 
a  line  rather  than  a  straw  frighten  him  ?)  let  us, 
as  a  third  test  to  this  necessity,  cursorily  consider 
how  to  throw  on  a  stream,  and  whether  the  mode 
of  doing  so  does  not  render  it  immaterial  whether 
the  reel-line  be  kept  clear  or  not.  Understand, 
that  I  am  now  excluding  salmon-fishing  from  my 
remarks.  The  river,  nearest  your  position,  should 
be  fished  before  you  throw  to  the  more  distant 
parts.  Let  us  suppose  that  there  is  plenty  of  stream, 
or  current,  running  from  left  to  right.  If  you  throw 
up  against  the  stream,  you  then,  of  course,  com- 
mence at  the  lower  end  of  it ;  and  if  you  cast 
down  with  the  stream,  the  contrary.  By  this 
means  your  fly,  of  necessity,  passes  over  the 
ground  previously  to  the  line.  But,  to  be  still 
more  minute,  and  dealing  first  with  up-stream 
throws,  observe  this  diagram  (Fig.  19).  z  and 
o  represent  the  opposite  banks ;  and,  standing  at 

Fig.  19. 


z,  the  river,  you  are  to  suppose,  runs  from  left 


THROWING  THE   FLY  117 

to  right.  Now,  in  order  that  the  fly  may  tra- 
verse every  inch  before  the  line,  remaining  sta- 
tionary at  z,  you  will  at  first  throw  a  short  line 
to  A  then  to  B,  and  so  on  through  the  segment  of 
the  first  circle,  remembering  always  to  work  your 
rod  towards  your  left,  or  towards  your  right  if 
the  river  runs  the  contrary  way,  and  you  are  still 
fishing  up  stream ;  as  it  causes  the  fly  to  cross 
the  stream  and  be  more  shown.  Remaining  at  z, 
and  lengthening  your  line,  you  will  throw  to  E, 
in  the  second  segment,  then  to  r,  and  so  forth ; 
and,  thirdly,  you  will  throw  to  J,  in  the  third  seg- 
ment, then  to  K,  and  finish  at  o ;  which  I  assume 
as  the  utmost  distance  your  rod  (or  your  skill) 
will  enable  you,  or  the  width  of  the  river  require 
you,  to  reach.  During  all  these  throws  you  per- 
ceive, I  have  kept  you  stationary  at  z,  and  as  you 
are  perchance  growing  tired  of  standing  still,  you 
may  now  proceed  upwards,  a  yard  nearer  to  A, 
throwing  the  same  length  of  line  as  in  your  last 
cast,  and  advancing  up  the  river  step  by  step, 
throwing  first  to  j,  then  K,  and  so  on  to  o,  in 
another  segment.  To  fish  down-stream,  observe 


3 

0    ^^\ 

^    ^^X                           1 

fy  20 

2, 

M'                                       ^^ 

•                             Xv                           * 

H  X    \ 

J  , 

G\     L\ 

JP1  *- 

D        -              \         \     » 

__  ^ 

n>    F\   K  \ 

AAA 

118  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

this  other  diagram  (Fig.  20),  and  you  perceive 
you  have  precisely  the  same  plan  to  pursue,  still 
commencing  at  z,  and  taking  the  smallest  seg- 
ment 1,  first  throwing  to  A,  and  ending  at  o, 
with  segment  3.  Pursuing  this  plan,  which 
speaks  for  its  own  correctness,  let  me  ask,  what 
danger  is  there  that  the  reel-line  shall  scare  the 
fish,  so  as  to  deprive  you  of  sport  ?  None  ;  be- 
cause your  fly  has  always  given  it  the  lead  and 
been  before  it,  the  space  within  the  first  segment 
being  the  only  inch  of  water  that  will  not  have 
been  traversed  by  it  in  the  first  instance,  and 
before  other  parts  of  the  line  have  shown  them- 
selves to  the  fish.  Almost  all  authors  on  angling 
content  themselves  with  telling  you,  "  to  let 
your  line  fall  lightly  as  possible  on  the  water;" 
but  they  evade  describing  how  you  are  to  manage 
it.  Captain  Williamson  certainly,  in  this  parti- 
cular, bears  out  the  character  for  honest  endea- 
vours, which  I  have  already  ascribed  to  him.  He 
says,  "  as  you  feel  the  line  getting  into  its  proper 
direction,  carry  forward  your  arm  with  an  easy 
movement,  until  your  hand  is  on  a  level  with  your 
shoulder.  By  this  means,  the  little  inclination 
the  fly  might  have  to  tug,  and  consequently  to 
be  checked  short  (remember  Mr.  Shipley's  "  sud- 
den check  !")  when  the  line  acquires  the  full 
extent  will  be  totally  prevented  ;  especially  if 
you  yield  a  trifle  more  by  lowering  your  hand 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  119 

and  arm  a  little,  keeping  them  in  a  straight  line 
up  to  the  shoulder.  Thus  you  will  cause  your 
fly  to  'light  so  very  gently  on  the  water,  as  often 
to  leave  you  in  doubt  as  to  the  precise  spot  where 
it  fell ;  but  which  is  frequently  pointed  out  by  the 
rising  of  a  fish,  deceived  equally  with  yourself, 
by  the  sleight  you  have  attained."  This,  though 
clothed  in  other  language,  is  exactly  what  I 
described,  as  to  letting  the  motion  of  the  hand 
and  rod  die  away  and  discontinue  by  degrees, 
after  the  spring  in  casting  the  line  forwards : 
and  it  is  this  gradual  cessation  in  the  movement, 
which  causes  the  desired  fairy-like  lightness. 

Herb. — But  you  have  not  enlightened  me 
about  the  length  of  line  to  be  thrown  ;  which, 
from  the  mode  in  which  I  have  heard  it  spoken 
of,  seems  to  measure  the  skill  of  the  fisherman. 

Theoph. — It  measures  the  skill  in  casting  the 
line,  but  no  more ;  for  much  is  requisite,  besides 
good  throwing,  to  fill  a  fishing  pannier.  If  a 
man  can  throw  a  long  line,  he  must  necessarily 
be  able  to  throw  well,  and,  most  probably,  will 
catch  fish  ;  and,  to  the  general  observer,  he  is  a 
good  fisherman.  It  ensures  this  also,  that  he 
must  have  fished  a  long  time,  for  practice  alone 
can,  in  the  ordinary  run  of  hands,  accomplish  it 
— though  many  may  fish  for  years  without 
acquiring  this  advantage. 

Herb. — And  yet  it  is  very  common  to  hear  men 


120  THROWING   THE  FLY. 

boast  of  being  able  to  throw  thirty  yards  or  more 
of  line. 

Theoph. — The  next  man  you  hearthus  boasting, 
ask  him,  did  he  ever  measure  it !  and  you'll 
surely  find  him  "  reckoning  without  his  host.'* 
There  are  some  who  can  do  it,  certainly;  but 
they  are  as  one  in  a  thousand.  I  know  but  one 
man,  and  that  is  my  ally  down  here,  Tom  P. ; 
whom  I  have  before  mentioned  to  you.  Exclu- 
sive of  him  (pray  do  not  think  I  name  it  for 
boasting  sake,  for  I  know,  "  self-praise  is  boasting, 
and  begets  the  envy  of  them  that  hear  it") — I 
yield  in  this  respect  to  no  man,  whom  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  any  where ;  by  a  yard  or 
two  I  can  out-reach  them,  Tom  P.  excepted  ;  and 
although  I  speak  of  my  long  salmon-rod,  eighteen 
feet,  I  doubt  whether  I  can  exceed  twenty-seven 
or  twenty-eight  yards,  measured  from  the  reel, 
under  the  most  favourable  circumstances.  Tom 
P.  has  thrown  twenty-seven  measured  yards  from 
the  top  of  his  rod,  which  being  twenty  feet  long, 
according  to  my  plan  of  reckoning,  namely,  from 
the  reel,  gives  thirty-three  yards  two  feet.  Twenty- 
two  yard  may,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  a  long 
throw,  even  for  an  eighteen  foot  rod,  and  all  above 
that,  "  is  extra  superfine." 

Herb.— -But,  I  recollect  that  Tom  P.  has  a 
longer  rod ;  which,  I  suppose,  gives  him  some 
advantage. 


THROWING  THE  FLY.  121 

Theoph. — Certainly  : — yet,  with  the  same 
length  of  rod,  I  doubt  if  I  could  match  him : — 
assuredly  not,  with  his  twenty  foot  wand!  It 
requires  more  strength  than  I,  or  many  men, 
possess  to  wield  it.  This  brings  me  back  to  your 
enquiry  about  the  length  of  line  to  be  thrown. 
According  to  the  length  and  strength  of  spring 
in  a  rod,  there  is  a  certain  distance  of  line, 
which  comes  most  natural  to  it,  and  an  excess  or 
decrease  is  equally  troublesome.  If  you  will 
refer  to  my  former  diagram  (fig.  17),  you  may 
readily  perceive  how  this  is,  and,  I  calculate, 
that  about  three  times  the  length  of  the  rod,  pro- 
vided it  be  stiffish,  is  the  right  measure  of  line  to 
throw  easily  ;  thus,  twelve  feet  of  rod  give  twelve 
yards  of  line  ;  sixteen  feet,  sixteen  yards  ;  eigh- 
teen feet,  eighteen  yards  ;  twenty  feet,  twenty 
yards,  and  so  forth. 

A  pliant  rod  will  not  throw  so  far  as  a  moder- 
ately stiff  one  (I  mean  by  this,  a  rod  that  plays 
well,  yet  is  stiff  about  the  top) ;  and  for  this 
reason,  that  the  grass,  hedges,  weeds,  and  stones 
behind,  will  either  catch  the  fly,  or  ruin  the 
thrower  in  breakage  of  hooks.  Turn  again 
to  the  diagram  (fig.  17).  If  the  rod  be  pliant, 
though  the  spring  be  given  when  the  rod  is  as 
A  B,  yet,  owing  to  its  elasticity,  it  will  not  raise 
the  fly  from  the  water,  until  it  (the  rod)  is  much 
curved  (though  the  tip  may  remain  at  B),  and 


122  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

thence,  the  tip  much  lowered  in  point  of  eleva- 
tion; consequently,  if  the  line  exceed  the  measure 
I  have  assigned  to  it,  the  fly,  passing  considerably 
below  the  parabola  c  G  F  E,  will  come  in  con 
tact  with  the  earth  below  E,  as  at  x,  and  catch. 
If  the  bank  rises  behind,  even  a  shorter  line  is 
very  apt  to  do  this.  The  stiffer,  in  moderation, 
the  rod  is,  the  better  it  lifts  the  line  off  the  water 
at  the  moment  of  the  spring,  and  the  higher  is 
it  carried  backward  above  the  earth.  The  longest 
line  may  be  thrown  when  the  ground  is  level 
behind,  and  the  bank  is  high  above  the  water,  or 
where  the  bank,  being  on  a  level  with  the  water, 
rises  above  the  ground  behind.  If  the  bank  be 
high  above  the  water,  say  eight  or  ten  feet, 
then  it  is  almost  necessary  to  increase  the  length 
of  line,  else  (again  referring  to  the  diagram),  the 
point  of  spring,  the  rod  being  at  a  right  angle 
with  the  line  at  the  moment  of  it,  will  be  much 
nearer  to  o,  in  the  arc  B  o,  and,  but  for  gravita- 
tion, would  incline  the  fly  much  higher  in  the 
air  than  D,  and  nearer  B,  so  as  to  prejudice  the 
cast  forward.  A  beginner's  line  should  therefore, 
in  my  judgment,  be  in  triplicate  ratio  to  his  rod, 
and  if  he  practise  with  that,  he  will  soonest 
acquire  perfection  in  longer  or  shorter  throws. 
If  he  must  needs  throw  to  a  spot  nearer  to  his 
temporary  position,  he  had  better  shift  his  ground, 
and  retire  for  the  purpose,  as  he  will  then,  not 


THROWING  THF  FLY.  123 

only  throw  with   his  natural  length   of  line,  but 
also  be  more  removed  from  the  fish's  sight.     The 
secret  in  throwing  a  longer  line  than  that  which 
I   term    the  rod's  natural   capacity,   lies  in    the 
increase   of  spring  given   by   the  wrist   or  fore- 
arm ;    and    as  it  is  merely  a  spring,  it  is  only 
practice  which  can  strengthen  the  muscles  of  the 
wrist,  or  fore-arm,  sufficiently  to  empower  them 
to  apply  the  requisite  force,  and  instantaneously 
succeeding  check  upon  that  force, — the  propul- 
sive and   retractive   exertion — commonly  termed 
"knack,"  which  constitutes  it,  and  prevents  the 
mischief  which  mere  force  alone  would  inevitably 
tend  to,  as  I  think  I  have  already  made  you  com- 
prehend (see  fig.  18).     Oh  !    'tis  a  glorious  thing 
to   strengthen  the   arms,    is    salmon-fishing !    In 
salmon-fishing,  standing  on  a  gravel  bed  rising 
behind,  and  with  a  long  line,   it  is  a  most  ruin- 
ously provoking  thing,  every  now  and  then,  to  dis- 
co ver  your  fly  cut  to  pieces,  or  your  hook  broken. 
This  is   done,  by   its  hitting  the  gravel  behind; 
and  I  can  prescribe  no  remedy,  but  a  shorter  line, 
or  a  stiffer  rod  !     The   secret  also  of  throwing  a 
short  line  lies  in  very  much  diminishing  the  force 
of  the  spring  ;  no  greater  force  must  be  applied 
than  is  just  sufficient  to  throw  the  fly  to  the  spot 
desired,  else  the  fly  will  be  checked,  and  rebound  as 
before  described.    Before  I  quit  the  subject  of  plain 


124  THROWING  THE  FLY. 

throwing,  I  must  not  forget  some  allusion  to  our 
friend,  "  Old  Boreas,  blustering  railer  !"  who  in 
his  waking  hours  so  often  assists,  and  more  often 
teazes  us.  If  the  wind  blows  straight  down  your 
throat — the  stream  I  mean — from  your  left  to 
right,  and  you  wish  to  throw  at  a  right-angle  to 
it,  or,  in  other  words,  across  the  river,  you  must 
throw  according  to  fig.  14  ;  if  the  contrary,  ac- 
cording to  fig.  16  ;  for  reasons  too  obvious, 
both  theoretically,  and  practically,  to  require 
explanation. 

Herb. — Is  it  possible  to  throw  against  the 
wind  ;  that  is,  "  in  its  teeth  ?" 

Theoph. — Not  directly,  unless  the  line  be  very 
heavy  ;  but  by  observing  my  last  direction,  you 
may  "sail  very  close  to  it."  Let  me  also  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  to  throw  nicely, 
it  is  of  very  great  importance  to  fix  your  eyes 
well  on  the  spot  where  you  desire  the  fly  to  fall. 
The  wonderful  connexion  between  the  eye  and 
hand,  the  servile  obedience  the  latter  will  show 
towards  the  former,  are  subjects  of  which  I  will 
attempt  no  explanation.  A  ball  thrown  up,  finds 
the  hands,  though  unseen  by  the  eye,  ready  to 
receive  it ;  and  the  gun,  held  by  a  good  shot,  and 
if  suited  to  the  sportsman  in  length  of  stock  and 
shape,  is  pointed  directly  at  the  bird,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  eyes,  when  they  are  fixed  on  the  bird 


THROWING  AMONG  TREES.  125 

alone.  Another  instance  I  might  mention,  which 
must  have  struck  the  commonest  observer  who 
"  switches  his  cane"  as  he  walks.  If  he,  in 
walking  along,  direct  the  point  of  his  stick  at 
an  object  level  with  his  shoulder,  and  looks  to 
the  stick,  he  misses  it ;  but  if  he  fixes  his  eyes 
on  the  object,  hard,  ten  to  one  he  hits  it.  There- 
fore bear  this  hint  in  your  mind. 

Throwing  in  very  difficult  Places  as  among  Trees. 

But  come,  let  me  carry  you  in  fancy  to  some 
cool  river,  'midst  pendant  trees,  where  willow, 
alder,  sycamore,  and  oak,  seem  wrestling  with 
each  other  for  the  shade,  courting  the  first 
embraces  of  the  refreshing  stream,— where  big 
trouts  revel  in  treacherous  security,  and  where  the 
fisher's  thermometric  mercury,  hope,  rises  too 
often  far  above  the  "  temperate  !"  If  you  find  the 
instructions  I  shall  now  give  worth  listening  to,  I 
should  recommend  your  commiting  them  to  your 
"  Log  Book,"  since  I  fear  it  will  be  so  long  before 
you  have  acquired  dexterity  in  plain-sailing 
throws,  that  your  memory  of  them  will  not  last  till 
you  are  sufficiently  advanced  to  try  throws  under 
circumstances  of  difficulty,  which  only  tip-top 
masters  of  the  art  can  surmount :  I  mean  in  places 
encompassed  by  trees  and  bushes.  By-the-bye 
a  man  who  fishes  among  wooded  banks  should 


126 


THROWING  AMONGST  TREES. 


know  something  about  climbing  with  fearlessness. 
And  it  is  to  those  that  Coleman's  "  Angler's 
Friend,"  as  well  as  the  portable  bill-hook,  prove 
"friends  in  need  and  indeed."  Some  very, 
few  there  are  who  could  almost  throw  amidst  a 
thick  forest  without  risk  !  and  if  you  can,  by  ex- 
treme practice,  achieve  a  victory  over  difficulties 
such  as  I  shall  now  point  out,  you  will  gain  the 
advantage  of  fishing  places  unwhipped  before,  or 
little  flogged  over,  however  numerous  the  body  of 
anglers  on  the  river  ;  and  also  catch  the  best  fish  ; 
for  such  usually  lurk  in  the  most  sequested,  shel- 
tered spots,  trout  especially.  Now,  for  instance, 
first  drawing  my  bird's  eye  plan,  the  arrow  show- 
ing the  course  of  the  stream;  (and  by  the  way,  this 

Fig.  21. 


r-^K 


^ 


s. 


r 


is  the  identical  representation  of  a  spot  we  shall, 
perhaps,  get  at  to-morrow) ;  suppose  you  wish  to 
throw  to  A,  while  standing  on  the  projecting  point 


THROWING  AMONGST  TREES.  127 

B,  which  is  backed  on  all  sides  by  high  trees : 
to  throw  up  or  down  the  river,  to  your  left  or 
right,  is  easy  enough;  but  how  will  you  throw 
straight  before  you  ?  You  cannot  effect  it  in  the 
ordinary  method;  because  the  trees  behind  will 
surely  entangle  your  fly.  It  is  done  thus :  first 
throw  down  the  river  towards  D  ;  and,  while  your 
line  is  well  stretched,  bringing  it  thence  with  a 
spring  round  in  front,  towards  and  then  over  your 
left,  and  behind  your  back  to  the  right,  and  at 
the  same  time  turning  your  body  to  face  A,  throw 
forwards  towards  that  spot.  You  must,  of  course, 
form  but  a  very  close  small  circle  with  the  point  of 
your  rod,  as  E  F  B,  otherwise  the  sweep  of  the 
line  backwards  will  be  too  great,  and  you  will  get 
"  hung  up."  The  spring  of  the  rod  in  both  in- 
stances should  be  given  at  about  the  same  point, 
E;  and,  provided  you  can  avoid  touching  the 
trees  at  K,  with  a  moderate  length  of  line  you  will 
effect  your  object  without  doubt.  If  the  stream 
runs  the  other  way,  you  have  but  to  reverse  the 
rule.  To  give  you  confidence,  try  this  without 
a  hook  under  a  tree  in  a  field,  some  day ;  but 
it  requires  great  command  of  muscle.  Here 
is  another  difficulty  and  perhaps  the  greatest 
you  can  have  to  encounter.  It  requires  most 
perfect  power  over  the  rod,  and  consequently  the 
extreme  of  practice.  The  bushes  are  here  (Fig. 
22)  supposed  to  be  thick  behind  you,  and  at  inter- 


128  THROWING  AMONG  TREES. 

Fig.  22. 


r\ 


vals  to  overhang  the  bank  :  though  you  cannot 
throw  at  all  if  they  project  further  than  half  the 
length  of  your  rod,  and  though  I  cannot  suggest 
any  plan  that  would  enable  you  to  throw  to  A  ,  be- 
cause they  do  project  that  much,  and  because  of 
the  trees  behind  ;  if,  instead  of  throwing  with  the 
rod  held  perpendicularly,  as  in  the  ordinary 
manner,  you  can  go  through  the  motions  I  first 
prescribed,  holding  your  rod  horizontally  over 
the  river,  and  directly  pointing  to  the  opposite 
bank,  you  will  be  enabled  to  throw  a  short  line 
anywhere  up  or  down  the  stream. 

Herb.  —  But  would  not  the  surface  of  the  water 
prevent  the  circle  of  the  point  of  the  rod  you 
described  ? 

TTieoph.'  —  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  that 
long  before  you  ought  to  attempt  these  difficulties, 
you  will  be  able  to  avoid  whipping  off  fties,  though 
instead  of  a  semi-circle  and  straight  line,  you 
form  an  entire  but  much  elongated  ellipsis  with 
the  point  of  your  rod  ;  and  thus  it  is,  you  are 


THROWING  UNDEB  TREES.  129 

enabled  to  throw,  as  I  have  just  related,  with  so 
limited  a  space  between  it  and  the  surface  of  the 
water, 

Throwing  under  Trees,  and  how  to  Disentangle  the 

Tackle. 

Occasions  will  also  frequently  require  a  throw 
under  branches  hanging  within  two  yards,  or 
even  one,  of  the  water, 

"  Would  you  lure 

From  his  dark  haunt  beneath  the  tangled  roots 
Of  pendant  trees,  the  monarch  of  the  brook." 

This,  well  performed,  is  an  admirable  sight,  and 
often  excites  the  praise  of  less  practised  fishers. 
Yet  it  is  after  all  not  so  very  difficult,  with  a  little 
bold  practice  ;  nor  when  the  first  dread  of  entan- 
glement is  conquered.  To  this  latter  end,  I  have 
often  pointed  out  to  you  the  necessity  of  being 
accompanied,  at  the  river's  side,  by  Colman's 
'*  angler's  friend,"  to  disengage  the  fly  from  trees 
on  the  angler's  side — while  the  common  folding 
brass  clearing  ring,  and  a  long  strong  hempen 
line,  come  into  use  on  the  opposite  bank.  But 
should  entanglement  take  place,  in  eight  times 
out  of  ten,  neither  is  required — nothing  but 
CTConnell's  delight,  agitation  !  agitation  !  In 
other  words,  when  this  mishap  happens  to  myself, 
the  first  thing  I  do  is  to  lay  down  my  rod,  and 
taking  hold  of  the  line,  gently  to  tug  and  shake 
it,  till  (if  success  attends  me)  the  fly  drops  off. 

K 


130  THROWING  UNDER  TREES. 

If  this  fail,  I  use  one  or  other  of  my  instruments. 
Remember  you  should  never  attempt  to  disengage 
the  fly  by  "  striking"  with  the  rod.  Having 
digressed  thus  far  and  "  hung  you  up,'*  I  had 
better  give  you  all  the  advice  I  can  to  release 
your  line  from  the  tree,  and  yourself  from  the 
subject.  It  frequently  happens  that  in  raising 
the  fly  and  line  off  the  waters,  or  casting  towards 
them,  some  spiteful  detestable  gale  carries  the 
one  into  the  lower  and  the  other  into  the  upper 
part  of  a  large  bush  ;  so  that  a  double  entangle- 
ment takes  place.  "  Agitation"  becomes  impos- 
sible, and  cutting  away  the  branch  where  the 
hook  attaches  alone,  comparatively  useless,  from 
the  difficulty  of  releasing  the  other  parts  of  the 
line.  Here,  either  by  the  "  angler's  friend,"  or 
by  the  pocket  hatchet,  you  must  first  cut  the 
branch  where  the  hook  is ;  and  if  the  fly  continue 
still  attached  thereto,  then  get  hold  of  the  branch 
somehow  or  other,  either  by  the  "  angler's  friend," 
by  your  gaff  hook,  or  by  cutting  another, — a 
hooked  sticked.  If  the  fly  detaches  itself  from 
its  first  lodgment  and  floats  afar  off  in  the  air, 
before  you  proceed  to  anything  else,  cut  a  long 
stick,  leaving  a  few  twigs  about  its  upper  end ; 
with  this  reach  the  fly,  and,  twisting  it  about, 
entangle  the  fly  in  the  stick,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
draw  the  fly  towards  you,  meanwhile  leaving  the 
line  sufficiently  loose  from  the  end  of  the  rod  for 


THROWING  UNDEP  TREES.  131 

the  purpose.     Having  once  hold  of  the  fly,  take 
it  off  the  loop  of  the  line,   and   you  may  then 
quietly   draw  the  line  by  the  rod  from  out  the 
bush.     Should  you  have,  in  trout  fishing,  many 
flies  on,  I  pity  you  ;  for  your  hopes  of  escape  are 
few  indeed,   except   by   the   sharp   edge    of  the 
hatchet ;  though  even  then  the  foregoing   hints 
may  assist  you.    As  to  entanglement  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river  ; — in  throwing  under  bushes, 
provided  the  throw  be  proper,  that  is,  with  much 
skill  and  no  unnecessary  force,  even  should  it  touch 
the  bush,  it  is  ten  to  one  but  that  it  will   shake 
or  fall  from  it  again  without  catching  ;  whereas, 
if  the  fly  be  cast  with  violence,  so  that,  except  for 
the  bush,  it  would  "  hit"  the  water,  it  will,  the 
moment  the  line  touches  the  branch,  double  itself 
upon  it,  and  there  to  a  certainty  remain,  and  the 
clearing  ring  is  the  only  remedy.     But  to  return 
to  the  subject  we  were  upon,  viz.  throwing  under 
bushes,   should  you  be  standing  at  the   water's 
level  throwing  a  long  line,  and  the  bush  be  a  yard 
or  more   above  the   water,  the  fly   will    seldom 
touch,  even  in  the  ordinary  mode  of  throwing : 
but  if  you  stand  on  a  high  bank,  fishing  short, 
and  the  bushes  close,   you  must  adopt  another 
course.     I  must  first  explain  to  you  that  if  the 
branch,  under  which  you  desire  to  throw,  lie  to 
the  left,  you  must  then  throw  on  the  principle 
of   fig.    14    (ante),  and  if  it  lie  on   your  right, 

K  2 


132  THROWING  UNDER  BUSHES. 

you  must  reverse  your  throw  as  in  fig.  16 
Whichever  way  it  be,  the  backward  motion  of  the 
rod  is  the  same  as  in  common  throwing,  and 
instead  of  causing  the  point  to  describe  the 
straight  line  M  E  H  (tig.  14  and  16),  in  its  pro- 
gress forwards,  it  must  be  depressed  outwards 
almost  horizontally  ;  and  as  the  line  unfolds  itself 
towards  the  spot  aimed  at,  it  must  be  watched 
well,  and  if  it  seem  likely  to  catch  the  branches, 
the  rod,  by  being  gently  drawn  back  about  a  foot 
still  nearer  the  surface  of  the  water,  will  probably 
guide  the  fly  to  its  destination,  and  at  all  events 
avoid  the  danger.  I  may  tell  you,  that,  provided 
you  have  plenty  of  clear  space  behind,  you  may 
reach  under  bushes  by  throwing  horizontally,  as 
though  you  wanted  to  "  touch  up"  the  off  fore- 
leg of  the  off  leader  in  the  four-in-hand  ;  and  it  is 
then  the  best  plan,  especially  where  the  bush  lies 
on  your  own  side  of  the  stream  and  at  your  left. 
I  observe  that  Col  Hawker  recommends  the  use 
of  the  left  hand  when  the  wind  blows  very  strong 
directly  across  from  the  right ;  but  1  do  not  con- 
ceive it  to  be  of  the  least  advantage,  because,  by 
throwing  backwards  over  the  right  and  forwards 
over  the  left  shoulder,  as  in  fig.  16  (ante)  the 
same  effect  is  produced,  as  I  have  just  told  you. 
However,  it  would  be  no  inconvenience  to  prac- 
tise with  the  left  hand,  if  it  were  merely  as  a 
temporary  relief  to  the  right.  And  it  is  abso- 


THROWING  UNDER  BUSHES.  133 

lutely  essential,  when  you  attempt  some  of  the 
difficult  throws  I  have  just  mentioned ;  thus,  for 
instance,  if  you  require  the  horizontal  throw  be- 
tween bushes  (as  in  fig.  22),  to  be  made  from 
left  to  right,  your  right  hand  being  inapt  at 
throwing  backwards,  or  back-handed,  your  left 
must  be  called  into  service.  So,  if  you  desire 
to  throw  under  bushes  which  lie  at  the  right 
on  the  same  side  as  that  on  which  you  are  fish- 
ing, you  may  be  sometimes  better  able  to  effect 
the  object  by  using  the  left  in  lieu  of  the  right 
hand  ;  and  especially  when  the  throw  under 
the  bush  is  to  be  horizontally  performed.  There 
is  a  hint  which  may  be  serviceable  to  you 
upon  this  branch  of  the  art,  not  to  be  omitted. 
It  is  of  a  plan  very  troublesome,  it  must  be 
admitted,  as  it  entails  the  necessity  of  "  gathering 
up"  your  fly  at  every  throw  :  yet  if  you  do  not  mind 
that,  you  may  find  it  of  universal  use  in  difficult 
wooded  stations,  provided  a  short  line  will  content 
you,  and  your  rod  be  capable  of  being  wielded 
by  one  hand.  The  plan  is,  preparatory  to  each 
throw,  to  hold  the  hook  between  the  forefinger 
and  thumb  of  the  left  hand ;  then,  by  waving  the 
rod  about  backwards  or  forwards,  from  right  to 
left,  or  however  will  best  suit  the  object  (a  thing 
I  leave  to  your  practice  and  discretion),  to  get 
the  line  well  on  the  swing,  and  the  moment  you 
feel  you  can  thereby  communicate  a  sufficient 


134  THROWING  UNDER  BUSHES. 

impetus  to  the  fly,  release  it  from  your  fingers, 
and  cast  forwards  to  the  spot  intended.  Very 
much,  with  industry,  is  to  be  achieved  by  this 
mano2uvre.  Understanding,  then,  these  principles, 
practice  and  industry  in  the  art,  must  do  the 
remainder.  I  can  say  no  more  upon  this  subject, 
save  that  you  should  never  forget  to  calculate 
upon  the  effect  the  wind  may  have,  in  trying 
these  experiments  among  trees,  and  if  it  be  ad- 
verse, the  attempt  had  better  be  abandoned.  I 
shall  conclude  my  observations  on  throwing  the 
fly  among  trees,  with  the  advice,  always  to  be 
bold,  bearing  in  mind,  that 

"  Preferment  seldom  graceth  bashfulness." 

But  "  the  lights  of  the  chamber  burn  low." 

"  The  silent  hours  steal  on, 
And  flaky  darkness  breaks  within  the  East." 

As  we  must  be  up  with  the  lark — and  as  I  have 
troubled  you  already  enough  with  this  dry  subject, 
— and  have  still  too  much  to  teach,  to  crowd  it  into 
this  night's  colloquy  ;  let  us  now  say  good  night, 
and  go  to  dream  of  the  morrow's  hopes  and  fears, 

"  Pack  night,  peep  day  ;  good  day,  of  night  now  borrow, 
Short  night,  to-night ;  and  length  thyself  to-morrow." 

Remember  six. 


135 


THE  AUTHOR,  TAKING  TYRO  TO  HIS  FIRST  ESSAY,  DETAILETH  TO  HIM,  BY  THE 
WAV,  HIS  RECIPE  FOR  PRESERVING  TROLLING  LINES.  AND  OTHERWISE 
ENTERTAINETH  HIM. 


SCENE.— At  first,  the  Path  leading  to  the  River.— After- 
wards—The  Rector's  Pool,  Llanrwst.  TIME. — Early 
Morning. 

Personages. — THEOPHILUS  and  HERBERT. 

Theoph. — I  AM  furnished  for  the  fight. 

Herb. — And  so  am  I — Eod  together — reel  on 
— line  through  rings,  and  gut-line  affixed — Im- 
patiently I  wait  for  you. 

Theoph. — Let  me  examine  your  "  artillery,"  as 
Frank  says.  All  right : — I  see  you  have  prac- 
tised splicing  your  top  and  joint  together  according 
to  my  directions.  Bravo,  closely,  and  neatly 
done  !  but  you  must  tie  your  other  joints  together 
by  the  hitchers,  else  one  part  may  chance  to 
reach  the  sea  before  the  other  !  Here  are  pieces 
of  silk  braid,  as  fine  as  netting  silk,  which  I  keep 


138    RECIPE  FOR  PRESERVING  TROLLING  LINES. 

flannel,  pressing  it  sufficiently  to  take  off  the 
superficial  coat,  which  enables  that  which  is  in 
the  interior  to  dry  well,  and  in  time  to  get  stiff. 
The  line  must  then  be  hung  up  in  the  air, 
wind,  or  sun,  out  of  the  reach  of  moisture,  for 
about  a  fortnight,  till  pretty  well  dry.  It  must 
then  be  re-dipped,  to  give  an  outer  coat,  for 
which  less  soaking  is  necessary :  after  this,  wipe 
it  again  but  lightly ;  wind  it  on  a  chair-back  or 
towel-horse  before  a  hot  fire,  and  there  let  it 
remain  for  two  or  three  hours,  which  will  cause 
the  mixture  on  it  to  "  flow"  (as  japanners  term 
it),  and  give  an  even  gloss  over  the  whole.  It 
must  then  be  left  to  dry  as  before  ;  the  length 
of  time,  as  it  depends  on  the  weather  and  place, 
observation  must  determine  upon.  By  this  means 
it  becomes  impervious  to  wet,  and  sufficiently 
stiff  never  to  clog  or  entangle, — the  oil  producing 
the  former  quality,  and  the  gold  size  (which  is 
insoluble  in  water),  the  latter ;  while  the  com- 
mixture prevents  the  size  becoming  too  hard  and 
stiff.  A  trolling-line  should  be  thus  dressed 
every  season  at  least. 

Herb. — How  exhilirating  is  this  scene,  so 
varied,  so  ever-varying  with  each  hour.  Big 
Galtyvoel,  which,  as  I  came  here  yesterday, 
blushed  with  the  roseate  gaze  of  the  declining 
western  sun,  now  seems  wrapt  in  shady  sleep  ; 
while  on  our  right,  the  towering  wood-crowned 


THE  RECTOR'S  POOL,  LLANRWST.  139 

Gwydyr  cliff,  then  looking  awfully  majestic  in  its 
gloom,  is  smiling  and  gay  as  a  blushing  bride. 

Theoph. — We  shall  fish  at  its  base  for  at  least 
a  mile  up  the  river.  The  vapours  of  night  still 
hang  like  gauzy  veils  about  it.  "  Bright  shines 
the  sun,"  just  now,  of  a  truth ;  yet  there'll  be 
rain  before  long  to  a  certainty.  Look  to  those 
towering  mountainous  clouds  to  windward,  and 
that  thin  black  horizontal  streak  across  them, 
threatening  a  storm,—  rain  to  a  certainty  ! 

"  Hurrah  for  the  sou'-west  wind 
To  the  angler  it  ne'er  comes  unkind, 

Though  it  pours  and  it  blows, 
Still  on  fishing  he  goes, 

Hurrah  !  for  the  sou'-west  wind  !" 

Already  the  morning  begins  to  assume 

"  The  uncertain  glory  of  an  April  day, 

Which  now  shows  all  the  beauty  of  the  sun, 
And  by  and  bye  a  cloud  takes  all  away." 

Leap  the  gate  on  the  right  into  the  field,  and 
before  us  is  the  Rector's  Pool.  Here  let  us  take 
breath  and  admire  the  picturesque  rectory,  backed 
by  the  town,  and  the  far-famed  Llanrwst  Bridge, 
built  by  Inigo  Jones.  Tis  said,  by  the  way,  to 
be  his  masterpiece  !  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
a  stout  thrust  of  the  body  against  one  side  of  the 
parapet,  causes  the  whole  structure  so  to  shake, 
that  its  vibration  is  readily  felt  by  a  person  leaning 
against  the  opposite  parapet;  hence  it  is  some- 
times denominated  the  "  shaking  bridge." 


140  THE  RECTOR'S  POOL. 

Herb. — And  is  its  contiguity  to  the  rector's 
house  the  only  reason  for  the  name  you  assign  to 
this  pool;  or  are  we  indebted  to  the  rector  for 
permission  to  fish  here  without  danger  of  the 
lock-up  ? 

Theoph. — Your  first  bolt  was  nearer  the  mark  ; 
and  I  know  no  other  reason  for  its  name,  save, 
that  it  is  as  bountiful  and  generous,  in  fit  and 
proper  seasons,  as  the  worthy  rector  himself.  We 
are  free  to  fish  it,  the  property  around  belonging  to 
my  Lord  Willoughby  d'Eresby.  It  is  a  good  pool 
for  fish,  when  there  is  plenty  of  wind  "  the  blue 
wave  to  curl ;"  and  this  you  may  bear  in  mind, 
with  respect  to  all  pools,  that  you  may  spare 
yourself  the  labour  of  throwing  on  them,  unless 
there  be  a  good  ripple,  or  else  a  good  fresh  water. 

Herb. — Let  me  understand  your  definition  of 
a  pool. 

Theoph. — I  make  this  distinction  of  waters  in 
reference  to  salmon-fishing.  A  pool  is  a  long, 
deep,  and  broad  part  of  the  waters,  with  very 
little  rapidity  of  motion, — comparatively  still :  a 
stream  is  moderately  swift,  yet  deep  ;  a  rapid  is 
still  more  swift  or  rushing,  and  sometimes  not 
above  five  or  six  feet  deep ;  and  a  shallow  may 
speak  for  itself,  since  it  is  of  no  use  to  us  as 
salmon-fishers.  The  breeze  is  with  us  this  morn- 
ing ;  so  I  shall  just  try  here  before  I  do  anything 
with  you,  as  you  would  only  frighten  the  fish  on 


THE  RECTO R'«  POOL.  141 

your  first  essay.  So  lay  your  gut-line  in  the 
water  to  soak  meanwhile.  It  is  this  little  brook 
on  our  left,  and  the  rector's  garden-wall  on  the 

'  O 

right,  which  constitute  the  boundaries  of  the 
pool.  There  is  capital  fishing  below,  from  the 
garden;  but  leave  that  for  the  worthy  rector's 
private  use,  for  the  present.  It  is  ground  strictly 
private,  and  not  to  be  entered  upon  but  by  express 
leave  or  invitation.  Besides,  I  owe  him  especial 
courtesy  in  this  respect,  for  having  run  away  with 
a  goodly  fish  which  he  might  almost  have  reckoned 
his  own.  'Twas  a  memorable  event,  happening 

in  the  year ,  the  day  before  I  packed  off  to 

London,  at  the  close  of  my  season.  I  had  been 
out  just  above  here,  to  the  Quay  Stream,  "  to 
cast  along  and  lingering  look  behind,"  or  rather 
"  to  cast  a  long  and  lingering  line  before."  There 
I  rose  and  struck  a  glorious  fellow ;  but  it  was 
with  a  broken  hook  !  and  all  I  saw  of  my  supposed 
last  fish  of  that  year,  was  thirty-six  inches  length 
of  bright  solid  flesh  arching  a  leap  of  some  six 
yards  diameter  as,  in  his  joy,  he  escaped  me.  In 
despair  I  wound  up  my  reel-line,  and  deposited 
gut  and  fly  in  my  pocket,  as  I  thought  for  the 
season.  In  my  way  home  I  called  on  my  worthy 
friend  the  rector,  to  say  "  good-bye,"  and  a  good- 
bye it  proved,  for,  after  much  persuasion,  he 
induced  me  to  throw  down  yon  pool  from  his 
garden-wall,  where  he  had  raised  a  fish  twice  the 


142  THE  RECTOR'S  POOL. 

day  before.  I  thought  it  was  of  no  use,  for  the 
wind  was  lulled,  the  sun  was  bright,  and  the  leaves 
were  thick  in  the  river  as  autumnal  gales  could 
make  them.  The  river,  however,  was  high  and 
full.  Still  he  pressed  ;  and,  at  last  out  came  gut- 
line.  Again,  the  salmon's  knell,  my  whizzing- 
reel,  gladdened  my  ears,  and  straight  fell  my 
aerial  fly  upon  the  pool :  once,  twice,  I  threw  in 
vain ;  but 

"  Though  twice  in  vain, 
Thrice  did  gain." 

A  heavy  swell  was  seen — my  rod  flew  back — my 
line  was  stretched  !  yes,  I  had  a  monstrous  sal- 
mon! at  least  a  monster  here.  Having  hooked 
him  under  such  disadvantages,  with  so  much  luck, 
and  so  unexpectedly,  I  determined  to  lose  nothing 
which  good  fortune  had  given  me,  and  to  maintain 
my  advantage,  if  cool  skill  and  patience  could 
avail  me.  To  describe  his  manoeuvres,  his  rush- 
ings,  tuggings,  sulkings,  shakes,  and  leaps ;  my 
slackings,  stonings,  lowerings,  easings,  with  all 
my  final  deadly  strain,  would  occupy  us  the  time 
the  battle  lasted,  full  forty-five  minutes ;  so  let 
them  pass.  As  you  perceive,  the  height  of  the 
wall  and  the  tree  at  the  end  of  it  would  neither 
permit  me  to  reach  him  with  the  gaff,  nor  pass 
my  line  and  rod  and  self  down  to  the  watering- 
place  below.  So  seeing  my  friend  Llewellyn 
crossing  the  bridge  for  his  evening's  cast,  I  hailed 


THE  RECTOR'S  POOL.  143 

him  to  my  assistance.  He  came  and  stood  in  the 
watering-place  below ;  and  I  above.  He,  deceived 
in  his  low  position  as  to  the  weight  and  size  of  the. 
fish,  kept  teazing  me,  "  Press  him  in,  sir ;  press 
him;  he's  not  above  eight  or  nine  pounds;  you'll 
never  land  him ;"  and  I  retorting,  "  I  see  the  fish, 
I  hold  the  rod;"  and  'twas  well  I  did,  he  con- 
fessed. 'Twas  Llanrwst  fair,  and  folks  were  in 
plenty  about  the  town,  and  a  hundred  or  more 
were  now  witnessing  the  sport,  many  for  the  first 
time  in  their  lives.  At  last,  after  trying  his  pa- 
tience and  exercising  my  own,  round  to  Llewellyn 
I  brought  my  fish.  True  to  its  work  went  the 
tempered  insidious  gaff,  and  out  on  shore,  for  the 
first  time  since  its  birth,  shone  the  silvery  scales  of 
the  glorious  prize ;  out  came  the  weighing-ma- 
chine ;  down  went  the  pointer  to  eighteen  pounds ! 
"  Eh  !  what  a  saumon ! — hurrah  !"  sang  the  crowd. 
"Thanks,"  thought  I;  and  off  I  marched  in 
triumph  at  having  caught  so  goodly  a  fish,  and 
at  having  gratified  so  many  in  the  act. 


144 


THt  AUTHOR    CONTINUETH    HIS  INSTRUCTIONS  BY  THE   RIVER  SIDE — THE  HEAR- 
ING OF  FISHES — THE  AUTHOR  THROWETH  HIS  LINE  AND  CATCHETH   A  SALMON 

ANTIQUARIUS    COMMUNICATETH    TO   THE    AUTHOR  THE  NATURAL  HISTORY 

OF  THE    PARR — THE   AUTHOR   DISCOURSETH    ON    SALMON-FISHING,  AND  THE 
HABITS  OF  THE  SALMON HOOKETH   A  FISH,  AND  LOSETH  HIM. 


SCENE. — The  Rector's  Pool  Llanrwst; — as  before. 

Theoph. — THAT  you  may  not  lose  the  slightest 
hint  which  circumstances  afford,  I  should  mention 
that  a  fish  certainly  does  look  much  less  in  water, 
than  out,  when  viewed  in  an  oblique  direction. 
While  fishing  on  a  level  of  the  water,  I  have,  on 
two  or  three  occasions,  supposed  fish  of  131bs. 
to  15lbs.  not  to  weigh  more  than  61bs.  to  Tibs. ; 
and  I  can  thus  easily  account  for  Llewellyn's 
being  so  easily  deceived.  At  the  same  time  I 
advise  you,  when  recounting  losses  of  fish,  rather 
to  under  than  over-rate  their  proportions  !  The 
honour  of  our  craft  demands  this  !  For  there  are 
indeed  too  many  who  view  with  horror  the  out- 
coming  of  that  tale-teller,  the  Weighing  Machine  ! 
At  the  same  time,  bear  in  mind  that  if  I  had  lost 


HEARING  OF  FISHES.  145 

that  fish,  it  would  have  been  only  "8  or  91bs  ," 
though  catching  him  added  lOlbs.  to  his  weight !  ! 
Therefore  don't  be  illiberal  to  your  fellow  sports- 
man. Now  hide  yourself  from  the  water  behind 
these  alders,*  while  I  fish  it.  I  imagine  you  need 
hardly  be  told,  that  the  less  the  angler  himself, 
even,  is  visible,  the  greater  his  chance  :  and  what 
is  of  almost  equal  importance,  the  less  noise  or 
movement,  especially  heavy  treading,  we  make 
about  the  ground,  the  more  are  the  odds  against 
us  reduced. 

Herb.- -What,  then,  do  you  think  that  fishes 
have  ears  ? 

Theoph. — My  own  observation  assuredly  leads 
me  to  conclude  that  they  have,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, the  sense  of  hearing,  or  something  equiva- 
lent to  it ;  although  some  anatomists  class  them 
almost  at  "  Zero,"  in  the  scale  of  animal  perfection 
in  that  respect.  I  was  lately  induced  to  ask  the 
opinion  of  my  late  esteemed  friend,  Sir  Anthony 
Carlisle,  on  this  subject,  and  I  will  now  give  you  his 
observations  in  his  own  words,  which,  coming  from 
so  eminent  an  anatomist,  must  be  most  valuable. 

Hearing  of  Fishes. 
11  The  organs  of  hearing  in  fishes,"  said  he, 

*  These  bushes  have  been  much  cut  since  this  dialogue  occurred,  and 
the  fishing  in  this  pool  has  been  rendered  easier,  and  the  taking  fish  more 
precarious  in  consequence,  until  time  shall  have  restored  them  to  their 
pristine  grandeur ! 


146  HEARING  OF  FISHES. 

"  have  been  known  to  anatomists  for  more  than 
two  hundred  years.  They  are  especially  con- 
structed for  receiving  sounds  in  water,  and  for 
repeating  those  limited  vibrations  which  pass 
through  water ;  while  the  organs  of  hearing  in 
animals,  which  live  in  air,  are  adapted  to  that 
medium ;  and  those  of  amphibious  creatures,  are 
fitted  for  both  elements.  Insects  appear  to  feel 
the  vibratory  motions  termed  sounds,  with  the 
instruments  called  antenna3  or  horns.  Sounds  are 
only  modifications  of  vibratory  motions,  but  these 
are  liable  to  unlimited  variations,  as  exemplified 
by  music. 

"  The  organs  of  hearing  are  in  all  creatures 
ordained  to  afford  them  information  respecting 
the  movements  of  distant  objects,  but  those  per- 
ceptions (as  well  as  the  sense  of  seeing)  are  with- 
held from  stationary  beings,  such  as  trees,  be- 
cause the  evidences  of  hearing  and  seeing  are 
only  serviceable  to  moving  or  roving  creatures. 

"  The  mechanical  structure  of  the  organs  of 
hearing  in  fishes  is  more  simple  than  in  aerial 
animals.  The  sounds  which  especially  affect  the 
welfare  of  fishes,  are  those  which  occur  in  their 
own  element,  such  as  the  rushings  or  concussions 
of  waters,  the  attrition  of  stones  or  sand,  or  the 
movement  of  aquatic  creatures,  whether  their 
natural  enemies,  or  their  prey.  For  these  essen- 
tial purposes,  the  ears  of  fishes  are  repeaters  of 


HEARING  OF  FISHES.  147 

aquatic  vibrations,  and  a  peculiar  enamel-like 
detached  bone  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
nervous  expansion  of  their  hearing  organ,  and 
appointed  to  repeat  those  rattling  noises  which 
prove  equal  warnings  in  the  dark,  as  when  it 
is  daylight.  These  auditory  bones  are  readily, 
found  in  the  middle  cavity  of  a  cod's  or  whiting's 
skull :  they  are  tooth-like  in  texture,  with  a 
pearly  whiteness,  and  so  brittle  as  to  break  on 
attempting  to  bend  them.  The  construction  of 
these  ossicles  is  perfectly  adapted  for  their  in- 
tended uses,  viz.  that  of  responding  to  the  vibra- 
tions of  similar  substances. 

"  It  is  a  vulgar  error  to  suppose  that  sounds 
are  necessarily  dependant  on  air,  since  they 
are  known  to  be  better  conducted  through  the 
medium  of  metallic  bodies,  or  even  water :  and 
the  human  ears  may  be  rendered  aquatic  instru- 
ments by  plunging  the  head  under  water  in  a 
warm  bath,  when  any  conversation,  or  the  airs 
from  musical  instruments,  may  be  heard  distinctly, 
although  the  outward  ears  had  been  filled  with 
water,  and  the  nostrils  closed  for  the  occasion. 
"  ANTHONY  CARLISLE." 

In  the  preface  to  Julius  Wolff's  Treatise  on  the 
use  of  auscultation  and  percussion,  &c.  &c.,  Sir 
Anthony  has  also  in  the  following  language  fur- 
ther instructed  us.  "  This  beautiful  adaptation  of 

L  2 


148  HEARING  OF  FISHES. 

the  exact  portion  of  sonorous  intelligence  be- 
stowed on  fishes  by  the  construction  of  their 
organs  of  hearing,  is,  amongst  endless  other  exam- 
ples, a  proof  of  the  exact  but  yet  sufficient  pro- 
vidence or  protection  afforded  to  inhabitants  of 
the  waters.  There  is  an  especial  sac  of  calcareous 
pulp  given  to  skates  and  some  other  cartilaginous 
fishes,  in  the  place  of  dense  ossicle  ; — apparently 
intended  to  respond  to  the  movements  of  sand  and 
muddy  strata,  on  which  they  are  doomed  to  exist. 
And  it  is  remarkable  that  the  sturgeon  has  its 
auditory  ossicle,  consisting  partly  of  hard  sub- 
stances, and  partly  of  calcareous  pulp.  In  the 
whale  tribe,  aerial  thunder  issues  from  their  lungs, 
and  the  booming  of  their  voices  is  well  adapted 
to  convey  intelligence  of  distances  to  each  other, 
when  parted  by  ice-islands ;  while  their  organs 
of  hearing,  adapted  by  filling  the  tympanum  with 
water,  become  hydrophonic  organs,  and  tell  the 
distant  collision  of  stones,  of  rocks,  and  icebergs." 

Herb. — If  fishes  hear — if  these  philosophical 
investigations  of  so  eminent  an  anatomist  are  to 
be  regarded,  what  becomes  of  Mr.  Ronalds'  ex- 
periment ? 

Theoph.—ln  a  work  called  "The  Catalogue, 
&c.  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  vol.  3,  pt. 
],  p.  135,  et  seq.  (which  also  contains  Sir  A. 
C.'s  ideas,  together  with  drawings  of  several 
kinds  of  these  ossicles),  is  to  be  found  a  paper 


HEARING  OF  FISHES.  149 

upon  the  same  subject  by  John  Hunter,  in  which, 
after  saying,  "  as  it  is  evident  that  fishes  possess 
the  organ  of  hearing,  it  becomes  unnecessary  to 
make  or  relate  any  experiment  made  with  living 
fishes  which  only  tends  to  prove  the  fact,"  he 
mentions  the  same  experiment  as  that  of  Mr. 
Ronalds,  tried  by  himself  with  an  equal  degree  of 
caution  in  all  the  minutiae,  and  the  result  was 
quite  the  reverse.  The  fish  were  much  frightened 
by  the  report  of  his  gun  !  Ronalds'  trout  might 
have  heard,  though  it  remained  stationary,  and 
although  I  may  remark  that  in  the  one  case  the 
fish  was  in  running  water,  and  probably  not  near 
the  bed  of  the  river,  and  in  the  other  in  a  still 
pond  and  near  the  mud,  I  will  not  further  attempt 
to  reconcile  the  conflicting  parties,  or  say  whose 
opinion  is  entitled  to  more  respect !  leaving  you 
to  judge  for  yourself. 

Herb. — But  do  you  think  the  mere  human 
voice  in  conversation  can  reach  fishes  ? 

Theoph. — Tisvery  hard  to  say,  and  a  very  dif- 
ficult subject  for  experiment;  for  if  a  fish  moves 
he  may  have  seen,  and  if  he  stays  he  may  still 
have  heard.  I  have  often  seen  a  huge  stone 
thrown  at,  almost  on,  a  fish,  without  his  noticing 
it,  and  witnessed  other  occasions  on  which  a  pin's 
bead  would  startle  him.  It  has  been  implied  by 
anatomists  that  their  hearing  is  limited  to  a  few 
tones,  and  that  they  have  no  interest  in  aerial  affairs 


150  HEARING  OF  FISHES. 

beyond  visible  impression,  and  thence,  because 
fishes  are  destitute  of  voice,  they  could  not  hear 
the  human  voice.  However  the  conclusion  may  be 
at  all  events  I  dispute  the  "  because"  from  which 
it  is  deduced.  For  many  have  the  power,  fre- 
quently exercised,  of  uttering  oral  sound,  call  it 
voice,  or  by  any  other  name.  Carp  and  other 
fish  we  often  hear  "  chewing  the  cud,"  as  it  were, 
on  a  fine  evening.  Lobsters  and  crabs,  when 
immersed  alive  in  boiling  water,  utter  shrill  and 
piercing  cries ;  and  the  gurnet  expires  in  the 
boat  amidst  most  melancholy  and  plaintive 
groans.  Remember  also  that  the  human  voice  is 
only  heard  by  us  by  means  of  the  vibrations  it 
causes  in  the  air.  But  there  is  this  curious 
anomaly  brought  against  the  doctrine  of  fishes 
hearing,  that  Thames  anglers  in  a  punt  are  more 
boisterous  and  noisy  while  enjoying  good  sport, 
than  while  they  sit  dispirited  and  quiet  through 
bad.  This,  however,  only  proves  that  the  fish  are 
not  frightened  or  deterred  from  eating,  not  that 
they  are  "  hard  of  hearing."  I  am  convinced 
by  my  own  observation,  of  one  thing,  namely, 
that  fish  can  hear,  or  feel,  almost  every  footstep 
which  falls  near  them ;  and,  therefore,  I  would 
have  fishermen  tread  as  lightly  as  possible  about 
the  banks  of  a  river ;  and,  above  all  things,  never 
jump,  where  they  expect  to  find  fish.  One 
opportunity,  among  fifty  others,  of  making  obser- 


HEARING  OF  FISHES.  151 

vations  inducing  this  caution,  I  may  as  well  men- 
tion to  you.     One  fine  day  passing  by  a  noted 
hole  in  this  river,  called    "  the  well,"  or  "  steep 
bank  pool,"  where  the  bank  is  precipitous,  and 
then  had  an  altitude  of  about  eleven  feet  above 
the  surface   of  the  river,  while  the  water  in  the 
hole  might  be  about  the  same  depth,  I  laid  myself 
flat  down  on  my  stomach  at  right  angles  with  the 
stream,  my  eyes  only  being  extended  over  the 
edge  of  the  bank,  in  order  to  watch  the  salmon. 
There  were  in  the  hole  six  or  eight,  varying  from 
eight  to  twenty  pounds.     They  floated  and  swam 
quietly  about,  sometimes  far  out,  and   sometimes 
close  under  the  bank  where  I  lay.     After  a  while, 
when  any  came   near  it,  and  in  order  to  see  the 
effect  it  would  produce,  Ikicked  with  the  toe  of 
my  heavy  shoe  upon  the  ground ;  and   simulta- 
neously those  fish  suddenly  darted  off,  evidently 
alarmed  or  disturbed.     After  a  while  they  would 
return,   and  I   repeated  the  experiment  with  a 
similar  result,  three  or  four  times.     Now,  this 
can  hardly  be  supposed  to  have  arisen  from   a 
sense  of  hearing,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
words,  little  or  no  sound  being  emitted  by  a  blow 
of  such  a  nature  upon  a  soft  clayey  soil  as  it  was. 
It  was  concussion,  or  vibration,  and  nothing  else, 
beyond    doubt :    and    therefore,   when  beside   a 
river,    my  advice    is,    glide  along  as  quietly  as 
possible ;  and  also,  that  you  may  the   less  attract 


152  COURAGE  OF  FISHES. 

their  visual  observation,  let  all  the  motions  of 
your  body,  as  much  as  possible  be  of  the  same 
"  ghostly"  order.* 

Herb. — Your  own  experiment,  backed  as  it  is 
by  the  authorities  you  mention,  convinces  me 
upon  this  subject.  Henceforth,  depend  on  it,  I  will 
be  quiet  as  a  cat  watching  a  mouse.  But  tell 
me  :  I  suppose  you  esteem  the  salmon  a  shy  fish. 
Is  it  more  so  than  the  trout  ? 

Theoph. — Why,  really,  I  cannot  say  ;  there  is 
no  great  difference  between  them  and  other  large 
fish,  in  that  particular.  A  pike  is  a  bold  fish  if 
he  happen  not  to  see  you  ;  but  let  the  shadow  of 
your  little  finger  fall  within  his  angle  of  vision, 
which  is  much  more  extensive  than  ours,  and 
he's  off  like  a  shot.  So,  if  a  salmon  happens  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  you,  he  lies  like  a  stone  in  the 
deepest  hole.  If,  therefore,  any  one  be  with  you 
as  companion,  or  assistant,  while  fly-fishing,  bid 
him  take  it  as  no  offence,  if  you  desire  him  to 
keep  out  of  sight:  for  unthinking  persons  are  too 
apt  to  conclude  that  because  they  cannot  see  the 
fish,  there  is  no  danger  of  the  fish  seeing  them. 
But  it  is  a  truism  in  optics,  long  since  well-known 
and  very  prettily  exemplified  by  Mr.  Ronalds,  in 


*  See  further  on  the  hearing  of  fishes,  "  Nollet  on  the  Hearing  of 
Fishes."  Mem.  Fr.  Acad.  vol.  1  (1743),  p.  199.  "  Anderson  on  the 
same  subject,"  ib.  (1748)  p.  149.  "  Hunter  on  the  same,"  Phil.  Tran. 
(1782)  p.  39. 


OPTICS  OF  FISIJES.  153 

the  "  Fly-Fisher's  Entomology,"  that  by  the 
refraction  of  the  rays  of  light  passing  through 
the  water,  a  fish  lying  under  a  bank,  which  inter- 
venes and  almost  prevents  you  seeing  the  surface 
even  of  the  water  immediately  over  him,  can  per- 
ceive you  most  distinctly.  This  is  too  well  known 
to  require  me  to  explain  "  the  why  and  where- 
fore ;"  so  if  you  are  afraid  of  exposing  your 
ignorance  by  asking  me  more  concerning  it,  look 
at  Mr.  Ronalds'  work,  and  there  you  will  learn  all 
you  need ;  or  else,  any  popular  work  on  optics, 
will  tell  you. 

Herb. — Now,  my  friend,  let  one  of  us  begin 
fishing ;  for  I  long  to  see  a  salmon  ashore. 

Theoph. — Patience,  patience  !  Don't  you  see 
the  "  sun  shines  high  and  bright."  It  would  be 
most  imprudent  to  make  even  one  cast  just  now  : 
especially  as  there  are  clouds  coming  up,  which 
will,  every  now  and  then,  screen  his  rays.  As  a 
general  rule,  no  "  surface  fish "  will  rise  at  a  fly 
during  sunshine.  Some  suppose  (and  perhaps 
very  properly)  that  this  is  because  they  see  the 
angler,  or  his  rod  and  line,  too  plainly,  or  are,  by 
the  superior  light,  able  to  detect  that  the  bait 
offered  is  merely  artificial.  But  I  am  not  quite 
satisfied  that  this  is  the  true  or  sole  reason,  though 
scarcely  quite  prepared  to  offer  a  better;  since 
Ihese  phenomena  are  still  occupying  my  deepest 
attention.  The  rays  of  the  sun,  or  the  absence 


154  WEATHER  FOR  FISHING. 

of  them,  seem  to  be  more  sensibly  felt  passing 
through  water  than  air;  and  I  am  thinking, 
the  inclination  to  motion  in  fishes,  is  immediately 
affected  by  their  presence.  Every  fly-fisher  has 
remarked  how  very  rarely,  by  comparison,  trout 
rise,  either  in  sport  or  at  flies,  while  the  sun 
shines  bright  and  scorching:  and  it  is  said  to 
have  been  observed  by  good  swimmers,  that  if 
their  companion  merely  move  the  shadow  of  a 
hat  over  their  bodies,  while  they  are  under  water 
during  the  feat  of  diving,  so  as  to  intercept  the 
sun's  rays,  a  most  sudden  and  sensible  chill  on 
their  bodies  ensues.  The  heat  of  the  sun's  rays  I 
believe  to  be  inimical  to  fishes'  activity,  and  this 
will  at  once  account  for  their  predilection  for  sha- 
dowed banks  and  screening  stones  during  bright 
sunshine.  I  recollect  taking,  many  years  back, 
one  or  two  dozen  fine  roach  and  dace,  on  a  hot 
bright  day,  by  thrusting  a  flat-ended  landing-net 
between  the  much-worn  boarding  which  main- 
tained the  banks  of  the  Thames  near  Kingston. 
I  first  observed  them  to  be  regularly  packed,  side 
by  side,  like  horses  at  a  fair,  their  heads  in  the 
shade,  and  tails  protruding  into  light.  How  fond 
perch  are  of  getting  under  barges,  and  trout, 
under  the  boarding  of  weirs  or  mill-tails,  evidently 
avoiding  the  light  and  heat.  We  had  best,  there- 
fore, only  fish  while 


HAUNTS  OF  FISHES.  155 

"  Haply  o'er  the  shaded  sun 
Passes  a  cloud ;" 

and  avail  ourselves  of  sunshine  for  gossip  and 
instruction,  or  for  eating  our  "  snack,"  or  repairing 
damages. 

Herb. — Well,  then,  here  is  a  fine  shady  syca- 
more, where  the  ground  seems  tolerably  dry ;  let 
us  sit  down  till  the  cloud  comes ;  and,  tell  me,  is 
it  with  salmon  as  with  trout,  that  they  take  up 
a  certain  station  in  the  river,  and  there  remain 
during  the  season  as  in  their  castle? 

Theoph. — Most  assuredly  not.  A  trout,  as  you 
observe,  always  affects  a  given  haunt.  During 
summer  he  will  lie  by  a  particular  weed  or  stone, 
and  is  always  to  be  found  there ;  or,  during 
winter,  he  lies  in  a  particular  hole :  and  if  driven 
away,  is  almost  sure  to  return  after  a  while :  you 
may  as  well  try  to  induce  a  minister  to  vacate 
office,  as  attempt  to  rout  him  out.  In  February, 
1839,  I  was  trolling  with  a  large  gudgeon  and 
gorge -hook  for  pike,  in  the  waters  of  an  excellent 
friend  of  mine,  near  Uxbridge,  and  having  a 
"  run,"  gave  full  fifteen  minutes'  law  for  digestion; 
then  I  struck ;  and,  after  a  vigorous  tussle,  found 
I  had  a  goodly  trout,  of  about  four  or  five  pounds. 
It  being  out  of  season,  I  determined  to  release 
him :  which,  as  he  had  not  gorged  the  hook,  I 
could  safely  do.  The  keeper  carried  him  down- 
stream to  below  a  considerable  fall,  (about  a 


156  HAUNTS  OF  FISHES. 

quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  spot  I  took  him 
at),  and  turned  him  in  it,  having  been  first  con- 
spicuously marked  by  a  cut  in  his  back  fin.  About 
three  weeks  after,  another  Philistine  came  across 
him ;  and  this  identical  fish  was  caught  by  a  gen- 
tleman trolling  with  a  similar  bait,  and  in  the  very 
same  hole  where  I  had  before  hooked  him !  That 
fish  was  fore-doomed  to  die  of  gluttony, — of  over- 
gorging!  One  would  have  imagined  that  the  place 
whereto  it  was  carried,  would  have  proved  more 
congenial;  for  there  there  was  a  good  depth  and  flow 
of  water,  and  plenty  of  weed  and  shallow  ;  and  it 
seemed  the  very  place  for  a  trout  to  covet :  but  he 
preferred  his  old  haunt,  and  died  in  maintaining 
his  position! 

Herb. — How  is  it,  then,  with  salmon — are  they 
promiscuous  rovers  ? 

Theoph. — Not  exactly.  It  is  assumed  that  they 
come  up  rivers  merely  for  the  purpose  of  spawn- 
ing ;  but  as  they  do  not  spawn  till  the  months  of 
November  and  December,  it  is  as  yet  inexplicable 
why  they  came  up  so  early  as  months  previous, — 
in  the  spring  for  instance:  for,  as  I  shall  take 
occasion  to  show  you  another  time,  they  are  sup- 
posed not  to  leave  a  river  they  have  once  fairly 
entered,  until  after  the  operation  of  spawning  is 
over;  that  is,  in  the  early  part  of  the  following 
year. 

Herb. — I  think  you  hinted  yesterday,  that  sal- 


HABITS  OF  SALMON.  157 

mon  did  not  feed  in  rivers;  if  so,  can  it  be  possible 
they  remain  in  such  a  state  of  abstinence  for  so 
many  months  ? 

Theoph. — We  must  consider  that  some  other 
time ;  else  we  shall  digress  too  far  from  the  sub- 
ject we  were  upon.  I  was  saying,  they  come  up 
from  the  sea  for  the  purpose  of  spawning ;  and  the 
early  comers  seem  to  act  upon  the  old  maxim, 
that  "  the  early  bird  secures  the  corn  ;"  for  they 
take  plenty  of  time  to  look  about  for  the  best 
unoccupied  spawning-ground.  They  come  up 
from  the  sea  during  a  flood  or  fresh  ;  and  if  they 
determine  to  advance  beyond  the  tide-way,  *  they 
rest  themselves  in  the  first  still  pool  they  meet 
with  above  it.  Below  this,  it  is  supposed,  they 
never  return  during  the  season;  but  lie  there  till 
another  flood.  They  will  then  advance  to  a  pool 
higher  up  the  river  (perhaps  no  higher  than  that 
immediately  above  it),  while  fresh  fish  from  the 
sea  will  mount  guard  in  their  stead  in  the  first 
hole.  Thus  they  advance  by  degrees  with  every 
flood,  till  they  get  as  high  as  the  nature  of  the 
river  will  permit.  But  those  fish  which  come  up 
to  spawn  late,  will  content  themselves  with  spawn- 
ing ground  nearer  to  the  tide-way.  This  s  their 
supposed  general  habit,  liable  to  exceptions  of 
course.  However,  while  the  river  remains  low,  they 


•  As  to  this  habit  see  post. 


158  HABITS  OF  SALMON. 

do  not  move  from  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  the  pool  the  last  flood  has  left  them  in,  either 
by  night  or  day.  And  thus  they  are  stationary  to 
that,  and  only  that,  extent;  for  the  moment  a 
fresh  of  water  comes  down  from  the  mountains, 
we  find  them  leaving  the  pool  for  the  shallows 
above,  and  can  trace  their  journeys  upwards. 
Therefore  before  the  river  thickens,  and  as 
soon  as  it  begins  to  clear  after  a  flood,  the  best 
places  to  fish  for  them,  are  the  fords  and  shallows 
above  these  deep  pools.  It  is  singular,  however, 
that  whenever  you  once  hook  a  salmon,  at  a  given 
spot,  you  may  almost  with  certainty  expect  to 
find  another  supplying  his  place  when  he  is  dead 
or  gone  !  So  that  there  must  be  something  in  each 
spot  they  choose  peculiarly  adapted  to  them. 
Speaking,  however,  of  the  salmon  not  descending 
a  river  they  have  once  entered,  and  looking  at  it 
in  a  very  limited  sense,  there  is  one  most  import- 
ant thing  always  at  every  throw,  to  be  borne  in 
mind;  namely,  that  no  fish  seems  to  relish  going 
down-stream,  in  pursuit  of  prey  ;  a  salmon,  espe- 
cially, will  seldom  if  ever  rise  at  the  fly,  if  it 
be  allowed  to  be  carried  too  straight  down-stream, 
and  it  requires  the  greatest  attention  so  to  manage 
the  rod  as  to  cause  the  fly  to  swim  obliquely,  or 
almost  at  a  right  angle  across  the  river;  and, 
perhaps,  there  is  nothing  in  salmon-fishing  which 
demands  greater  care  and  thought,  and  more  close 


HABITS  OF  SALMON. 


159 


attention  to  what  one  is  about,  than  this  little 
matter,  namely,  the  guidance  of  the  fly.  Success 
in  trout-fishing  very  much  depends  upon  it,  and 
still  more  in  salmon-fishing.  But  look  at  that 
cloud ;  it  will  surely  "  darken  the  sun  !"  So,  pro- 
mising to  teach  you  more  upon  that  subject  at 
another  fitting  opportunity,  let  me,  while  the 
cloud  is  coming,  explain  this  pool  to  you,  and  the 
mode  of  fishing  it,  and  then  get  to  work,  or  I  shall 
not  see  a  fish  before  breakfast.  I  may  as  well 
inform  you,  that,  in  like  manner,  I  intend  to 
describe  every  good  spot  on  this  river,  not  so 
much  with  the  view  of  teaching  you  how  to 
fish  the  Conway  in  particular,  as  that  you 
may  grapple  with  other  rivers,  elsewhere,  in 
which  you  find  the  like  characteristics.  Here 

Fig.  23. 

O^     ^3.'\^r*     -*"          r      „  ^/Tr^'V^  —  \     V 

j  c  ^  f  \  v  '/-  --(^^' ;  -?\  cA 

-i-=^~"r~rrt7T"^~'N  \~r~^» y*++  ^J^is^^s  '*'"         i   \  > 

Zg^^SSSSS^    Y 

^-^^  —  —  -  V 


we    stand    on   the  convex    bend    of   the    river, 
which,  as  you  see,  flows  from  left  to  right.     Our 


160  THE  RECTOR'S  POOL. 

chances  on  this  pool  lie  from  this  rivulet  A  down 
to  the  Rector's  garden  wall  B,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards.  The  stream  sets  in  to  this 
side  A  B  all  the  way, — in  fact,  to  the  bridge 
G,  causing  a  considerable  depth  under  us,  and 
an  increasing  shallowness  till  it  leaves  much 
shingle  dry  on  the  other  side  c  F  when  the 
river  is  low.  But  about  forty  or  fifty  yards 
down,  near  the  opposite  side,  there  is  a  gentle 
eddy  D,  and,  consequently,  deeper  water.  In 
high  water  it  eddies  much  also  all  the  way 
down  under  this  bank,  causing  many  deep  holes 
of  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  its  lowest  state,  especially 
about  half-way  down  the  field,  and  about  thirty 
yards  above  the  garden  wall,  which  spots  are 
indicated  by  the  indentations  in  the  bank.  Op- 
posite this  rivulet  A  it  is  rather  shallow :  in 
fact,  it  is  the  head  of  the  pool ;  but  below  the 
opposite  eddy  D  the  mid  channel  retains  much 
of  a  uniform  depth  of  about  seven  or  eight  feet  in 
driest  weather  all  the  way  till  below  the  Rector's 
garden  E.  It  is  towards  this  side,  as  being  the 
deepest,  that  the  salmon  lie ;  close  to  and  almost 
under  it  in  low  water ;  and  during  better  seasons, 
in  the  opposite  eddy  D,  and  below  it,  in  the 
mid  channel  at  about  twenty  yards  off  this  bank. 
The  plan  of  fishing  this  sort  of  stream  will  vary 
very  much,  according  to  the  height  of  water. 
Opposite  to  this  rivulet  is  an  excellent  spot,  when 


POOL  FISHING.  161 

the  water  is  rising  and  before  it  thickens,  and  for 
a  short  time  after  it  becomes  clear  aoain,  while 

O  ' 

still  high,  for  the  reason  that  the  salmon  which  had 
been  resting  below,  are  then  making  an  advance 
towards  quitting  the  pool  altogether  for  a  higher 
station  in  the  river.     In  such  a  state  I  should 
commence  throwing   from   the  field  above    x  L, 
as    high   up  as   the   bushes   will  allow,   straight 
across  the  stream,   with  about  eighteen  yards  of 
line,  and  should  play  the  fly  continually  towards 
my   left  side  : — why,    I    will   explain    hereafter. 
After   repeating  this   once   or  twice   (as    indeed 
every  throw  should  be),  I   should  cast  with  ano- 
ther yard  or  two,  in  a  direction   slanting  more 
down-stream  ;  working  the  fly  first  towards  the 
right,   till  it   came  to  within  four  or  five  yards  of 
this  bank,  and  then,  by  gently  carrying  the  point 
of  my   rod  back    again  before   me,    over   to  the 
left,  give  the  fly  a  curve  in  the  water,  and  draw 
it   up-stream  in  eight  or  ten  strokes.      Thus  I 
should  fish  the  whole  stream,  taking  the  nearest 
range  at  the  first  time  of  going  over  it.     Then  I 
should  give  out  another  yard  or  so,  recommenc- 
ing where  I  started,  and  work  down  the  stream 
in  the  same  fashion  as  I  have  last  described,  till 
my  fly  falls  near  the  head  of  the  opposite  eddy  D. 
The  line  must  then  be  lengthened  to  the  utmost, 
and    thrown    at    about    an    angle    of    forty-five 
degrees,  letting  the  fly  continue  at  its  work  till  it 

M 


162  POOL  FISHING. 

reaches  this  side.     In  this  fashion  I  should  con- 
tinue all   the  way  down  to  the   wall   B.      The 
general  place  for  them  to  rise,  is  near  this  bank, 
as  the  fly  is  making  its  curve ;  for  although  they 
sometimes  lie  far  off,  they  will  generally,  unless 
very  eager,  follow  and  seize  it  at  that  moment.     I 
shall  have  but  one  or  two  pools  to  show  you  on 
this  river,  where  there  is  less  rapidity  of  motion ; 
and  you  will  content  yourself  for  the  present,  in 
noting  that  the  most  vigorous  and  lively  play  of 
the  fly  which  1  shall  permit  you  to  adopt  (all 
which  I  must  explain  to  you  fully  another  time), 
must  be  resorted  to  on  this  kind  of  water.    In  low 
water,  though  the  same  direction  of  throwing  is 
required,  yet,  as  the  fish  do  not  lie  so  far  out, 
sixteen  or  eighteen  yards  of  line  is  the  utmost 
you  need  cast  for  them,  unless  you  can  command 
much  more,  and  throw  at  a  more  acute  angle 
with  the  bank  ;    which,  as  it  keeps  you  further 
from  their  sight,  and  also  places  your  fly  in  a 
better  position  on  the  water,   will   give  you  a 
greater  chance  in  proportion.     Neither  is  it  now 
requisite  to  trouble  the  water  much  opposite  this 
rivulet  A,  as  it  is  too  shallow  for  fish  to  lie  in  : 
and  during  low  water,  the  most  likely  spots  are 
about  the  two  holes   I  mentioned,  as  half-way 
down,  and  towards  the  lower  end  of  the  field. 
They  are  also  taken  during  a  high  water  close 
under  the  Rector's  wall,  for  that  again  is  the  head 


POOL  FISHING.  163 

of  deep  water  under  the  wall,  and  shallower  than 
below.  On  the  other  side,  which  only  affords 
chance  for  salmon  when  the  river  is  full,  and  is 
generally  best  for  morts,  unless  a  very  long  line 
can  be  thrown,  the  first  thing  is  to  look  well 
about  you  for  the  trees  behind  ! !  You  may,  in 
full  season,  that  is,  during  a  fresh,  fish  it  from  as 
high  up  as  the  trees  will  allow  you  c,  where  the 
water  is  of  a  tolerable  depth,  down  to  opposite 
the  extremity  of  the  garden  E,  and  you  must 
throw  all  the  time  as  long  a  line  as  you  can  com- 
mand, or  wade  so  as  to  reach  near  this,  the  then 
opposite,  bank.  The  line  must  slope  also,  the 
more  the  better,  in  proportion  to  your  skill  in 
throwing  a  long  one,  so  as  to  near  the  bank. 
But,  except  in  the  eddy  D,  and  close  up  at  the 
top  c,  it  were  useless  to  bring  the  fly  near  to 
your  own  side,  as  the  water  must  always  be 
too  shallow ;  if  it  approaches  at  any  time 
(except  as  I  have  mentioned)  to  within  fifteen 
yards,  that  is  quite  near  enough.  Opposite  the 
Rector's  garden  wall  is  a  most  excellent  part  of 
the  pool  ;  but  it  is  by  far  best  fished  from  off  the 
wall  itself — for  it  is  requisite  from  the  opposite 
side  F,  to  throw  a  line  so  long,  that  the  trees 
which  hang  close  to  the  water,  are  sure  to  trouble 
you,  unless  you  can  wade ;  as  to  the  safety  of 
which  I  am  not  quite  certain,  as  I  have  never  yet 
awhile  "  charted"  the  depths  and  holes.  I  may 

M  2 


164  THEOPHILUS  HOOKS  A  FISH. 

as  well  tell  you,  that  in  low  water,  all  along  the 
opposite  side  is  a  capital  place  for  trout  and  par, 
even  to  the  very  centre  arch  of  the  bridge,  and 
the  upper  end  is  rather  preferred  for  morts  than 
salmon.  During  small  freshes  I  have  taken  and 
hooked  several  fish  from  the  opposite  side,  out  of 
the  lower  hole  towards  the  lower  end  of  the  field, 
but  then  the  wind  was  favourable,  so  as  to  allow 
one  of  my  "  extra  superfine  throws,"  almost  reach- 
ing across  the  river.  How  fortunate,  the  cloud 
is  up,  just  in  time  :  good  bye  for  a  while  to  bright 
Phoebus.  Now  for  a  throw.  It  goes  well  out ; 
for  I  kept  the  gut  bottom  in  my  mouth  on  our 
way  here,  and  it  has  since  lain  in  the  water,  and 
is  now  well  soaked.  Note  that  in  your  log.  No 
luck — they  are  asleep,  I  fear.  I  must  "  try  back." 

Herb. — Try  again  ;  do  not  give  in,  or  you  will 
teach  me  to  despair. 

Theoph. — I  do  not  intend  ;  for  I  think  that  at 
my  last  cast  I  saw  the  motion  of  a  fish.  Be 
patient ;  for  I  must  stay  a  few  minutes  before  I 
show  him  my  fly  again.  They  very  seldom  rise 
directly  over  the  spot  they  lie  in,  but  follow  the 
fly,  awhile,  first.  After  a  few  minutes,  they 
mostly  return,  and  take  up  their  old  quarters  and 
are  ready  for  a  second  attempt.  Now, — look  out, 
— I  have  him  !  Stand  still  and  let  me  pass  you 
to  the  sand-bank  A,  where  I  must  "conquer  or 
die."  Watch  his  course,  and  should  I  call,  take 


HIS  MANOEUVRES.  165 

a  clod  or  two  of  earth  to  throw  between  him  and 
the  bank  ;  anything  to  drive  him  away  ;*  for  all 
along  there  are  bad  roots  and  stumps,  especially 
about  fifteen  yards  from  where  I  stand.  Soho  ! 
He  has  shown  himself — not  above  eight  or  nine 
pounds  ;  yet  he  plays  well.  How  he  cuts  about ! 
Now  up  the  river  !  You  see  he  must,  and  will  go 
for  the  present !  There's  twenty  yards  of  line 
run  out  "  at  a  dash  !"  but  I'll  bring  him  round 
again. 

Herb. — Heavens  !  what  a  terrific  plunge  !  I 
thought  he  must  have  gone  then  altogether.  He 
seemed  determined  to  break  all,  or  pull  you  in. 
I  had  no  notion  what  a  salmon  could  do.  He 
seems  to  tug  like  an  elephant,  so  steady  and 
determined.  Bravo  !  this  is  beginning  well,  and 
I  am  all  alive  again.  I  have  the  gaff  all  ready  : 
shall  I  come  down  to  you  ? 

Thtoph. — Mind  you,  he  is  not  mine  yet — "  first 
catch  your  hare."  There's  plenty  of  game  in 
him,  for  these  five  minutes, — as  I  never  strain  a 
fish  except  he  approaches  a  dangerous  ground. 
Now  for  a  leap ! 

Htrb. — Up  he  goes  !  all's  safe.  How  beauti- 
fully exact  to  his  motion  you  seemed  to  yield  the 
rod's  point,  and  eased  your  line. 

Thtoph. — As  my  pupil,  take  example.     Come 

*  As  to  fighting,  and  turning  heavy  fish,  in  a  more   scientific   fashion 
see  post. 


166  THEOPHILUS  LANDS  HIS  PRIZE. 

along,  my  beauty  !  my  reel  works  well,  thank 

goodness;  for  now  I  am  down  here  I  am  forced 

to    remain    stationary,    and    cannot  be    dancing 

attendance  on  you  in  all  your  "  tacks  and  stays." 

He  goes  down  again  and  grows  weak  !     So,  come 

hither  and  see  fair  play ;  for  I  have  him  "  well  in 

hand,"  and  he  is  too  much  exhausted  to  fight  his 

way  into  the  bushes.     Yet  see  !  he  makes  to  the 

bank,  as  they  always  will  at  their  last  moments. 

Now  then — look  sharp — "  down  with  the  dust" 

— heave  in  a  clod ;  but  be  sure  it  falls  between 

him  and  the  bank,  else  it  will  startle   him   the 

wrong  way,  and  frighten  him  under  the  stumps, 

to  a  certainty.     What  another  leap  ?     That  was 

a  danger  well  got  over.    A  leap  at  such  a  moment, 

when  I  was  "  butting*  him  furiously  !"     Another 

turn  or  two  and  he's 

jEfer&.^-Shall  I  stick  the  gaff  into  him? 

Theoph. — To  be  professional,  say  "  gaff  him." 
No,  this  shelving  sand-bank  will  save  you  that 
pleasure — and  I  will  show  you  a  dangerous  trick. 
Now  he  is — MINE.  Hurrah  ! 

Herb. — What  a  splendid  fish !  but  how  you 
tremble,  Well  done ! 

Theoph. — Tremble!  Do  you  fight  a  salmon, 
even  of  this  size,  and  you  will  find  yourself 
"another."  Talk  of  excitement,  catching  a 

*  As  to  "  butting"  a  fish,  see  post. 


HOW  TO  LAND  A  FISH.  167 


salmon  is  the  a-wh  of  it  !  During  its  operation, 
one's  nerves,  aye  and  muscles  too,  are  continually 
upon  the  greatest  stretch  ;  and  only  imagine  this 
state  kept  up  for  an  hour  or  more,  which  is  some- 
times the  case  with  large  fish.  Nay,  I  have  even 
known  three  hours  and  a-half  spent  upon  a  twenty 
pound  fish,  by  a  first-rate  fisherman.  As  it  is, 
this  has  kept  me  at  work,  not  less  than  twelve 
or  fifteen  minutes*  He  is  tolerably  bright  for  the 
low  state  of  the  river.  But  let  me  carry  him  on 
to  the  grass  ;  and  do  you  stun  him  to  death  with 
the*  but  end  of  the  gaff  over  the  head,  while  I 
hold  him,  and  then  measure  his  length  and  girth. 

Herb.  —  From  the  tip  of  his  nose  to  the  centre 
of  his  tail,  twenty-nine  inches  and  a  half;  girth, 
fourteen  inches, 

Theoph.  —  It  would  have  been  better  at  twenty- 
eight  and  a  half  length,  and  fifteen  girth.  Now, 
out  with  the  weighing-machine  —  eight  pounds 
and  a  half  standard  weight,  as  I  said. 

Herb.  —  Tell  me  how  did  you  manage  to  lay 
hold  of  him  so  cleverly  ?  Why  not  have  gaffed 
him  at  once  ? 

Theoph.  —  In  such  a  position  as  that  in  which  I 
stood,  where  one  can  get  close  to  him,  if  you 
have  coolness  sufficient,  and  have  fairly  killed 
the  fish,  you  may  quietly  grasp  him  with  the  right 
hand  just  above  the  spread  of  his  tail,  and  you 
have  him  as  firm  as  though  he  were  already  in  a 


168  STRENGTH  OF  FISH. 

pickle-tub.  Try  it.  But  I  do  not  think  this  can 
be  done  with  all  fish,  as  their  shapes  are  different. 
Nor  can  you  well  manage  a  salmon  smaller  than 
five  or  six  pounds  in  such  a  way.  Gaffing  dis- 
colours the  flesh  when  dressed,  and  destroys  the 
beauty  of  a  fish  before-hand,  into  the  bargain,  and 
may  thus  be  avoided  if  you  intend  the  dead  prize 
to  travel  far.  At  the  same  time,  gaffing  is  by 
far  the  more  certain  and  safer  plan  ;  for,  at  least, 
the  other  mode  is  a  dangerous  experiment,  and  I 
have  known  many  good  fish  lost  in  the  attempt. 
But,  my  good  pupil,  how  you  stand  staring  and 
gloating  over  the  fallen  victim  !  Will  you  never 
have  done  ? 

Herb. — I  was  thinking  how  bravely  he  fought 
for  his  life.  Tell  me,  is  any  other  fish  so  strong? 

Theoph. — The  only  two  that  in  the  least  degree 
approach  to  it  are  the  carp  and  the  barbel — cer- 
tainly powerful  fish ;  but  with  any  other,  in  com- 
parison with  salmon,  the  difference  really  is  no 
less  than  between  hooking  a  straw,  and  drawing 
up  from  the  bottom  of  the  river  a  large  post.  No 
one  who  has  not  felt  or  seen  a  salmon  in  hand 
can  form  the  least  conception  of  its  comparative 
power.  Hook  (even  with  snap-tackle  and  a  spin- 
ning-rod) a  jack  of  eight  or  nine  pounds,  at  first 
he  gives  a  shake  or  two,  but  still  you  may  go  on, 
wind,  wind,  till  he  is  on  shore;  but  hook  a  six 
pound  salmon,  and  for  ten  or  twenty  minutes,  at 


THE  CAPTAIN'S  YARN.  169 

least,  it  is  doubtful  who  will  be  master !  It  is  this 
renders  salmon-fishing  so  gloriously  superior- 
spoiling  us  for  all  minor  work,  reducing  other 
fishing  to  mere  child's-play,  and  leaving  it  to  be 
tolerated  only  because  better  is  not  within  reach. 
But  talking  of  the  strength  of  fish  and  hard  fight- 
ing— wait, — I  do  believe  I  have  it  in  my  pocket ; 
yes,  here  it  is— a  copy  of  the  Captain's  own  letter. 
I'll  read  it  to  you : — 

"An  Account  of  the  Capture  of  a  Sawjish  by  Cap- 
tain Wilson  of  the  Halifax  Packet  West  India- 
mttn,  off  Trinidad,  on  the  I5t/i  of  April,  1839. 

"  Being  in  the  Gulf  of  Peru,  in  the  ship's  cutter, 
I  fell  in  with  a  Spanish  canoe,  manned  by  two 
men,  then  in  great  distress,  who  requested  me 
to  save  their  lives  and  canoe.  Going  along-side 
for  that  purpose,  I  discovered  that  they  had  got  a 
large  saw-fish  entangled  in  their  turtle-net,  which 
was  towing  them  out  to  sea,  and  (but  for  my 
assistance)  they  must  either  have  lost  their  canoe 
or  their  net — perhaps  both — which  were  their  only 
means  of  subsistance.  Having  at  the  time,  only 
two  boys  with  me  in  the  boat,  I  desired  the 
Spaniards  to  cut  the  fish  away,  but  which  they 
declined.  I  then  took  the  bight  of  the  net  from 
them,  and  by  the  joint  endeavours  of  themselves 
and  my  boat's  crew,  we  succeeded  in  hauling  up 
the  net,  and  to  our  astonishment,  after  great 


170  THE  CAPTAIN'S  YARN. 

exertions  we  raised  the  saw  and  head  of  the  fish 
about  eight  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea.  It 
was  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  it  came  up  with 
its  belly  towards  the  boat,  or  it  would  certainly 
have  cut  the  boat  in  two,  I  had  abandoned  all 
idea  of  taking  the  fish  until  by  great  good  luck  it 
made  towards  the  land,  when  I  made  another 
attempt;  and  having  about  fifty  fathom  of  two- 
and-a-half-inch  rope  in  the  boat,  we  succeeded  in 
making  a  running  bowline  knot  round  the  saw  of 
the  fish;  and  this  we  fortunately  made  fast  on 
shore  at  Point-a-Pierre.  When  the  fish  found 
itself  secured,  it  plunged  so  violently  that  I  could 
not  prevail  on  any  one  to  go  near  it.  The  appear- 
ance it  presented  was  truly  awful.  I  immediately 
went  alongside  the  Lima  packet,  Captain  Sin- 
gleton, and  got  the  assistance  of  all  his  ship's  crew, 
mine  being  away  for  sugar.  By  the  time  they 
arrived  it  was  a  little  less  violent.  We  hauled 
upon  the  net  again,  in  which  it  was  still  entangled, 
and  got  another  fifty  fathoms  of  line  made  fast  to 
the  saw,  and  attempted  to  haul  it  on  towards  the 
shore ;  but  although  mustering  thirty  hands,  we 
could  not  move  it  an  inch.  By  this  time  the 
negroes  belonging  to  Mr.  Danglade's  estate  came 
flocking  to  our  assistance,  making,  together  with 
the  Spaniards,  about  one  hundred  in  number. 
We  then  hauled  on  both  ropes  for  nearly  the 
whole  day,  before  the  fish  became  exhausted. 


THE  CAPTAIN'S  YARN.  1 7 1 

On  landing  it  on  the  beach  we  found,  to  our  great 
surprise,  that  it  was  considerably  larger  than  the 
cutter,  which  measured  seventeen  feet.  On  en- 
deavouring to  raise  the  fish,  it  became  most 
desperate,  sweeping  with  its  saw  from  side  to 
side,  so  that  we  were  compelled  to  get  strong  guy 
ropes  to  prevent  it  from  cutting  us  to  pieces. 
After  that,  one  of  the  Spaniards  got  on  his  back, 
and,  with  great  risk,  cut  through  the  joint  of  the 
tail,  when  animation  was  completely  suspended. 
It  was  then  measured,  and  found  to  be  twenty- 
two  feet  long,  and  eight  feet  broad,  and  weighed 
nearly  five  tons  !  The  liver  filled  a  beef  tierce, 
and  on  opening  the  body  we  found  several  eggs, 
the  size  of  18lb.  carronade  shot,  which  the 
negroes  craved  as  a  great  luxury.  The  only  part 
which  I  retained  was  the  head,  which  I  cut  off 
below  the  lower  jaw.  It  is  now  in  a  fine  state  of 
preservation,  and  the  largest,  I  should  say,  in  the 
world."— 26th  Dec.,  1839. 

And  so  should  I.  I  was  favoured  by  a  sight 
of  its  head  and  saw,  in  Mr.  Eaton's  shop,  Crooked 
Lane,  who  gave  me  this  paper.  The  saw  was  five 
feet  long,  and  eleven  inches  broad  in  the  widest 
part  of  the  bone  merely,  without  reckoning  the 
teeth.  It  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Josiah  Rumbell, 
and  presented  by  him  to  the  Wisbeach  Museum, 
and  a  very  fine  specimen  it  is. 

Herb. — What  a  monster  !    but  give  me  a  sal- 


172  THE  CON  WAY. 

mon.  I  know  that  you  consider  this  to  be,  generally 
speaking,  a  tolerable  fishing  river ; — what  do  they 
say  of  its  present  supply  ? 

T/ieoph. — There  are,  without  doubt,  many  sal- 
mon now  in  it,  though  the  first  good  freshet  will 
greatly  increase  their  numbers.  It  at  all  times 
abounds  with  small  common  trout,  and  white 
trout  or  morts,  as  they  are  called ;  sea-trout 
rather  later  in  the  season ;  plenty  of  par  and  eels ; 
and  many  fine  and  delicious-flavoured  flounders 
are  to  be  taken  in  the  upper  parts  of  it.  The 
worst  of  this,  as  a  salmon  river,  is,  as  with  many 
others,  the  uncertainty  of  its  supply  of  water  ;  a 
little  rain  soon  fills  it,  but  as  soon  again  it  becomes 
low,  although  it  may  be  said  to  have  five  principal 
sources, — the  Llugwy  from  Carnedd  David  and 
Llyn  Capel  Curig,  the  Lledar,  from  Moel  Shabod, 
the  Machno  from  Penmachno,  its  proper  source 
from  Llyn  Conway,  and  the  nameless  streams 
skirting  the  mail-coach  road  from  the  mountainous 
plains  between  Cernioge  Inn  and  Pentre  Veolas, 
besides  many  inferior  contributors  during  wet 
weather.  One  great  recommendation  to  it  at  the 
present  time  is,  that,  (with  the  exception  of  two 
pools  a  long  way  up  above  Bettws,  not  other- 
wise "  fishable,"  owing  to  the  quantity  of  timber 
about  them,  namely,  the  "  Beaver"  and  "  Tyn  y 
Cai"  pools,  and  where  they  do  no  more  than 
drag  occasionally)  no  nets  have  desecrated  its 


THE  CONVTM.  173 

fastnesses  above  Llanrwst  Bridge,  for  years  past. 
From  the  Bridge  to  Trefriew  below,  is  let  for 
netting  as  well  as  angling.  But  in  some  of  the 
best  angling  spots  in  that  part  the  nets  cannot 
venture.  The  ground  being  too  much  broken  and 
protected  by  sunken  piles  :  nor  do  the  renters  of 
it,  who  merely  drag  with  a  corracle-net,  appear 
very  well  to  understand  their  business,  and,  there- 
fore, they  do  not  very  much  lessen  the  supply. 
There  is  a  stake  net  at  Conway,  its  mouth,  in 
addition  to  two  or  three  intermediate  traps.  True, 
none  of  these  engines  work  during  the  fence 
months,  from  the  1st  of  October  to  the  1st  of 
March ;  yet,  if  a  few  more  fish  than  can  do  so 
at  present,  were  allowed  at  all  times  to  run  up 
this  and  every  river  for  the  next  year  or  two,  for 
each  fish  the  wholesale  fishers  lose  during  that 
period,  they  would  gain  a  hundred  fold  in  the 
third  season.  You  are  aware  that  salmon  bred 
in  a  river,  as  a  general  rule,  are  certain  to  return 
to  it  at  the  proper  seasons  to  deposit  their  spawn, 
and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  greater  pains 
are  not  taken  for  awhile,  by  all  parties,  to  pre- 
serve and  improve  the  run  and  breed  of  sal- 
mon ;  they  are  now  daily  decreasing  here,  and 
everywhere,  and  if  once  wholly  deterred,  good- 
bye to  them  for  ever — at  least,  it  would  be  years 
before  they  could  be  recovered. 

Herb. — Is  it  so  certain  then  that  fry  bred  in  a 


174      *  MIGRATION  OF  SALMON. 

river  always  return  to  it,  and  that  none  others 
ever  venture  to  do  so  ? 

Theoph. — Perhaps  not  always ;  for  though 
many  have  been  marked  and  most  have  returned 
to  the  same  river  ;  yet  some  very  few  out  of  their 
numbers  have  been  taken  in  strange  waters.  Mr. 
Yarrell  mentions  that  fish  marked  in  the  Tweed 
are  taken  in  the  Forth,  and  that  a  successful 
season  in  the  one  is  generally  attended  by  a  bad 
one  in  the  other.  Here  then  is  evidence  of  sal- 
mon being  found  straying  to  a  river,  perhaps  at 
least  one  hundred  miles  from  its  original  birth- 
place. Whither  salmon  go,  while  out  of  the 
fresh  water,  has  never  yet  been  determined ;  it 
is  as  yet  a  mystery.  The  probabilities  are,  that 
they  do  not  rove  very  far  from  the  mouth  of  their 
original  river,  though  it  was  asserted  by  one  wit- 
ness examined  before  the  House  of  Commons, 
that  they  migrate  to  the  North  Seas  :  and  the 
fact  of  their  never  being  taken  at  sea  near  our 
salmon  rivers,  seems  to  favour  this  supposition. 
The  preponderance,  however,  of  evidence  taken 
before  the  House  of  Commons  since  1824,  shows 
that  fry  always  return  to  rivers  in  which  they 
were  spawned,  those  only  which  lose  their 
reckoning  resorting  to  strange  rivers,  selecting  the 
nearest  they  can  hit  upon  to  suit  their  taste. 

Herb. — But  as  to  the  growth  of  salmon,  tell 
me  what  you  think  ?  because  I  remember  having 


GROWTH  OF  SALMON.  175 

read  that  fry  marked  in  April  or  May,  will  return 
in  July  from  the  sea,  and  would  then  weigh  two 
or  three  pounds  and  upwards.  If  that  be  so, 
provided  a  few  stock  fish  were  left,  it  could 
hardly  require  so  great  a  length  of  time  to 
"re-animate"  an  over-draughted  or  over-poached 
river. 

Theoph. — Yes,  indeed  ;  for,  supposing  them  to 
increase  in  weight  in  the  same  or  even  a  greater 
proportion  every  year,  still  it  would  require  three 
or  four  years  at  least  to  produce  a  quantity, 
which  is  what  we  most  require — all  accidents 
considered,  of  which  anon.  As  to  size,  there 
exists  little  doubt  that  fry  which  go  down  to  the 
sea  in  May,  little  longer  than  your  finger,  will 
return,  in  July  and  the  following  months,  young 
salmon  or  grilse  of  from  four  to  seven  or  eight 
pounds,  increasing  in  size  with  each  successive 
month, — it  being  generally  estimated  that  from 
June  till  September  or  October,  they  grow  at 
about  the  rate  of  half  a  pound  per  week  while  at 
sea;  and  therefore,  perhaps,  if  we  could  only  be 
assured  that  no  netting  or  poaching  would  take 
place  in  a  river,  and  IF  ALL  the  fry  survived 
their  many  dangers  and  returned  to  us  here  in 
the  summer  and  autumn,  the  produce  of  one  pair 
of  salmon  would  be  enough.  The  number  of  ova 
in  a  salmon  are  reckoned  on  the  average  at  18,000 
or  20,000;  and  12,000  are  thought  to  be  the 


176  GROWTH  OF  SALMON. 

average  of  fry  vivified  ;  so  that  from  a  single  pair 
of  salmon,  spawning  in  December,  in  the  follow- 
ing August  we  should  have,  say  4000  pairs,  male 
and  female,  of  from  six  to  nine  pounds,  and  4000 
non-breeders :  then  suppose  each  of  these  pairs 
produced  their  12,000  fry;  in  the  following  Au- 
gust, the  second  year,  we  should  have  the  original 
12,000  large  fish  of  ten  to  twenty  pounds,  and 
their  young,  48,000,000,  from  six  to  nine  pounds, 
making  in  all,  48,012,000  fish  !  !  What  a  sad  pity 
it  is  there  is  an  "  if"  in  the  case  ! — "  If  they 
escaped  their  manifold  dangers" — Heavens,  what 
sport  ! 

Herb. — Perhaps  you  will,  at  some  other  time, 
tell  me  what  those  dangers  are.  Meanwhile,  let 
me  ask,  whether  you  have  read  Yarrell's  recent 
Observations  on  the  Growth  of  Salmon*  ? 

Theoph. — Rather  say  Mr.  Shaw's;  for  it  is 
more  a  criticism  by  Yarrell  on  what  others  have 
written,  and  said,  than  any  thing  else.  I  have  read 
them,  but  am  not  yet  prepared  to  give  my  assent  to 
a  doctrine  which  is  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  every 
salmon-fisher  I  know,  and  of  every  witness  exam- 
ined of  late  years  before  the  committees  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  upon  the  salmon  fisheries' 
question.  These  latter  were  for  the  most  part 
practical  men,  who  had  been  engaged  in  whole- 

*   Published  by  Van  Voorst,  1839. 


GROWTH  OF  SALMON.  177 

sale  salmon-fishing  all  their  lives,  many,  evidently, 
from  their  examination,  acute  observers ;  and 
they  are,  I  think,  unanimous  in  declaring  their 
opinions  to  be,  that  the  growth  of  salmon  is  as 
rapid  as  you  just  now  intimated.  No  one  will  doubt 
but  that  it  is  almost  an  insurmountable,  difficulty 
to  determine  which  is  right,  they,  or  Mr.  Shaw, 
from  the  utter  impossibility  of  making,  and  there- 
fore of  arguing  from,  actual  experiment  :  and  we 
know  so  little  of  the  habits  of  fish,  especially 
migratory  fish,  that  it  is  as  difficult  to  reason  by 
analogy.  With  regard  to  Mr.  Shaw's  experi- 
ment, we  may  reasonably  doubt  its  sufficiency, 
because  the  animal  was  not  in  its  natural  state 
when  confined  in  his  small  pools  or  ponds.  As 
Mr.  Yarrell  observes,  Mr.  Shaw  had  three  ponds, 

1st 18  feet  by  22 

2nd    .....      18  feet  by  25 
3rd 30  feet  by  50. 

And  Mr.  Shaw  himself  admits  that  those  fry  in 
the  third,  the  largest,  were  one  inch,  which  is 
equal  to  one-fifth,  larger  than  the  others  at  six 
months  old  :  and  what  is  thirty  feet  by  fifty, 
and  "  two  feet  deep,"  "  supplied  by  a  small 
stream,"  and  of  "higher  temperature,"  com- 
pared with  the  length,  breadth,  depth,  and 
lower  temperature  of  a  noble  salmon  river, 
bounding,  and  rolling,  in  freshness  and  majestic 

N 


178  GROWTH  OF  SALMON. 

freedom  !  Besides  which,  the  more  rapid  growth 
of  the  salmon  is  admitted  to  take  place  in  the  salt 
water,  which  Mr.  Shaw's  fry  could  never  taste. 
How  he  gets  at  the  fact  that  the  fry  "  do  not  go 
down  to  the  sea  till  they  are  more  than  a  twelve- 
month old  at  the  least,"  I  cannot  understand  : 
(his  could  not  !)  for  thus  much  we  know,  that 
during  April  and  May,  the  fry  may  be  seen  in 
the  river  by  myriads ;  that  their  journey  down- 
wards has  been  traced,  as  it  were,  from  day  to 
day  at  that  period ;  that  bushels  are  destroyed 
in  mill-races  on  their  way  towards  the  sea,  and 
dozens  upon  dozens  every  day,  for  a  month  or 
six  weeks,  by  angling ;  and  that  before  June  they 
totally  disappear,  and  nothing  more  is  seen  of 
them  or  the  like  till  the  following  year.  Even 
assuming,  for  argument  sake,  the  par  we  meet 
with  in  the  autumn,  to  be  young  salmon,  we  never 
see  shoals  of  these  or  any  fish,  small  or  large, 
after  June  ;  yet  if  the  fry  remain  for  a  year  in  the 
river,  still  congregating,  as  we  know  them  to  do 
in  the  early  months,  in  such  countless  numbers, 
surely  something  would  be  seen  of  them  at  a  later 
period.  But  though  many  have  looked  for  them, 
nothing  is  found  in  the  river,  during  the  autumn, 
except  a  few  of  what  we  call  "  par,"  and  which 
we  never  take  much  above  or  under  five  or  six 
inches  in  length. 

Herb. — But  Mr.  Shaw  says,  that  these  par  are 


GROWTH  OF  SALMON.  179 

the  young  fry  of  the  salmon  of  the  last  autumn's 
produce. 

Tlieoph. — What  I  say  is,  that  the  very  paucity 
of  these,  found  in  the  autumn,  compared  with 
the  immense  shoals  of  small  fish  of  the  same  size 
seen  to  go  down  to  the  sea  in  the  spring,  proves 
them  not  to  be  the  younger  fry  of  the  salmon ; 
and,  moreover,  we  have  repeatedly  taken  in 
autumn  these  which  we  call  par,  with  the  milt 
ready  for  exudation,  and  with  roe,  in  the  females, 
in  a  less  forward  state.  There  is  this  fact  also, 
which  is  observed  by  anglers,  that  in  the  autumn, 
though  we  take  a  fish  we  call  in  Wales  "  Morts," 
(somewhat  resembling  the  salmon,  but  with  a 
forked  tail ; — weighing  from  three  quarters  to  a 
pound  and  a  half,  and  about  thirteen  inches  in 
length,  and  which  I  take  to  be  a  distinct  fish  from 
the  salmo  salar)  ;  we  scarcely  ever  take  a  fish 
between  that  weight  and  four  or  five  pounds.  The 
average  of  salmon  taken  at  this  time,  and  in  this 
river,  where  they  run  as  large  as  thirty  pounds, 
may  be  rather  placed  at  ten  or  twelve  pounds 
than  under.  But  if  the  growth  were  so  slow  as 
Mr.  Shaw  indicates,  the  probabilities  are,  that 
the  rivers  would  abound  with,  and  we  should 
take,  a  greater  number  of  the  smaller  dimensions  ; 
especially  considering  that  the  smaller  river-fish 
of  other  species  are  much  more  readily  tempted  by 
our  various  baits  than  the  larger  ones.  Then 

N  2 


180  GROWTH  OF  SALMON. 

again,  the  subject  is  open  to  this  observation,  that 
all  terrestrial  animals,  except  mankind,  attain 
nearly  to  their  full  growth,  within  a  year  or  two 
after  their  birth  ;  and  why  should  not  fish  ?  True  it 
is,  that  fish  live  to  an  enormous  age,  if  the  stories  told 
of  them  are  to  be  credited  ;  and  salmon  have  been 
known  of  upwards  of  eighty  pounds  weight ;  but 
I  see  nothing  more  marvellous  nor  incredible,  in  a 
fish  attaining  to  twenty  pounds  weight  in  two  or 
three  years,  than  in  a  dog  weighing  as  much,  and 
being  as  large  at  eighteen  months  old,  as  it  is  at 
nine  years.  I  do  not  fear,  therefore,  to  express 
my  opinion,  that  Mr.  Shaw  is  wrong.  I  believe, 
firstly,  that  par  are  par,  and  not  salmon  fry ; 
secondly,  that  it  does  not  take  more  than  ten 
months  to  produce  a  salmon  of  six  or  eight  pounds 
weight ;  and  thirdly,  that  the  fry  go  down  to  the 
sea  in  the  first  May  flood  after  their  being  called 
into  existence. 

Herb. — In  the  waters  of  a  gentleman  I  am  ac- 
quainted with,  I  knew  of  a  trout  which  was  thrice 
captured  within  a  year  :  about  the  end  of  De- 
cember it  was  .unintentionally  hooked  and  taken 
out,  and  weighed  four  pounds  and  a  half,  marked, 
and  turned  back  again.  Early  in  the  following 
March  it  was  again  taken,  weighing  five  pounds 
arid  a  half,  and  turned  back.  In  June  following, 
strange  to  say,  it  was  a  third  time  captured,  and 
found  to  have  increased  to  seven  pounds. 


GROWTH  OF  SALMON.  181 

Theoph. — That  is  very  likely;  but  you  must 
allow  something  for  the  bad  condition  it  was  pro- 
bably in  on  the  two  former  occasions ;  having, 
we  might  suppose,   recently  spawned  upon  the 
first.      A  salmon   which,   full   of  spawn,    would 
cause  a  twelve-pound  weight  to  kick  the  beam, 
would,  as  soon  as  the  operation  was  over,  lose  at 
least  five  pounds,  not  merely  from  the  emission 
of  its  spawn,  but  from  the  general  decline  in  its 
condition  ;  and  if  you  were  to  mark  such  a  fish 
when  only  thus  weighing  seven  pounds,  and  catch 
him  in  the   following  year,  you  would   be  sur- 
prised to  find  he  had  increased  to  near  twenty 
pounds.     They  are  perfect  gourmands  while  at 
sea  ;  and  this  it  is  which  nourishes  and  increases 
them  so  astonishingly.     But  you  were  asking  me 
about  this  river.     Success  here  entirely  depends 
on  the  state  of  the  season.     In  fine  dry  weather, 
one  may  toil  through  many  days,  not  to  say  weeks, 
without  a  rise.     But  let  a  fresh  come,  and  you 
will  have  a  pretty  good  "  take'  for  a  day  or  two. 
In  two  instances,  six  or  seven,  varying  from  four  to 
fourteen  pounds,  were  taken  by  one  angler  in  a 
day,  last  season  ;  though  this  is  most  rare  sport. 
I    have,    myself,    taken   two,   thirteen    and    ten 
pounds,  and  lost,  after  playing  them  some  time, 
one  of  about  fifteen,  and   another  of  ten  pounds, 
and  pricked   three   or  four,  and  had  a  few  rises 
besides  :  all  which  might  have  been  realised.    Two 
fish  of  any  weight,  say  from  seven  to  twelve  pounds, 


182  THE  RIVER  CONWAY. 

in  a  day,  and  that  occasionally,  say  once  or  twice 
a  week,  is,  however,  looked  on  as  great  success. 
My  notion,  however,  is,  that  this  river  might  be 
much  improved  as  an  angling  river,  with  a  little 
more  care  and  watching.  It  abounds  in  all  the 
locales  in  which  salmon  delight — plenty  of  deep 
quiet  pools  intermingled  with  numerous  gentle 
streams,  plenty  of  rocky  rapids  and  deeps,  plenty 
of  small  falls  above,  plenty  of  gravelly  shallows,  as 
spawning  ground,  and  not  a  single  noxious  mill- 
stream  or  manufactory  near  it.  And,  from  this 
constant  variety  in  its  character,  it  constitutes, 
perhaps,  one  of  the  best  schools  for  beginners  in 
the  noble  art  of  salmon  fishing.  But  here  comes 
a  good  old  soldier,  who  escaped  the  carnage  of 
the  American  war.  (Enter  the  Keeper.)  Well, 
Keeper,  what  news  this  morning?  Any  thing 
done  below  ? 

Keeper. — Eh !  Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  to  see 
you  have  caught  a  "  grand  saumon."  Mr. 
Llewellyn  has  taken  only  two  morts.  Your 
friend  Antiquarius  bid  me  convey  this  letter  to  you. 

Theoph. — What  is  this  ?  Most  a  propos. — 
(Reads.}— "Bettws  y  Coed.  My  dear  Theoph- 
ilus, — According  to  promise  I  send  you  the 
enclosed,  my  observations  about  par.  Your's 
ever,  Antiquarius."  Something  most  excellent, 
I  warrant  you.  He  has  studied  the  subject,  as 
well  as  the  time  of  their  delivery,  it  would  seem  ! 
Let  us  read  them.  (Reads.} 


K  11  ii  in;  PAH. 

fural  11  Par* 

The  followiog  observations  on   the  par  are  the 

it    of  practical    experience  durin<_:   twelve    or 

!,  thoiiL  riiiM- 

•me  points  from  the  gc  'pinion, 

coincide   with   th-  i   few   ii 

•  ted  much  time 
and  att  <:t. 

Al'  tory  of  r   may 

.    worth    the    tnuiMe    of  n 
yet  this    is  no;  ntly 

of    if  as  a    1  -  d  question    in 

B*ttu 

time     to    time,     been    ni  the 

•s  of  thir-  Curious  little 

that,  on 

t  has  been  *\M  an.i 

upon   the   si  1    to 

i-^ma 
for  the    solutio; 

properties  of  c  ;id  cha- 

said   to  do 

olours,  to  e  >  er. 

rlh     ]  ,  fingerling,  graveling,   last- 

spring,  shechler  krider,  or  smelt, — 

for  by  all   these  names,  and  many  <>  t    is 

local  dom  exceeding 

D  length,  though  usually  found  much 


184  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR. 

smaller;  it  is  the  ordinary  inhabitant  of  every 
salmon  river ;  and,  in  general  appearance,  closely 
resembles  the  common  burn  trout,  particularly 
such  as  have  the  finger  marks.  These  are  dusky, 
transverse,  stripes  or  patches  on  the  sides,  very 
similar  to  the  well-known  marks  found  on  the 
perch.  They  are  generally  from  six  to  ten  in 
number,  according.to  the  length  of  the  fish  ;  and 
between  each  of  these  dusky  patches,  on  the 
lateral  line,  is  a  bright  red  spot,  below  which,  the 
par  is  rarely,  if  ever,  marked.  The  belly  is  per- 
fectly white.  Another  distinguishing  mark  of 
the  par,  is  an  olive  brown  spot  on  the  gill  cover, 
and  this  it  is  never  without.  Its  general  habits 
resemble  those  of  the  trout,  being  extremely 
voracious,  and  frequenting  the  most  rapid  streams, 
particularly  those  thin  sharps  or  streams,  anciently 
known  by  the  name  of  racks ;  hence  its  territorial 
epithet  of  rack-rider. 

Many  speculative  opinions,  and  numerous 
theories  have  been  advanced,  touching  the  nature 
and  species  of  this  mysterious  little  fish.  Three, 
in  particular,  would  seem  most  deserving  of  con- 
sideration ;  First,  that  it  is  the  young  of  the  sal- 
mon ;  or,  at  least,  of  one  of  the  salmon  tribe; 
Secondly,  that  it  is  a  mule,  or  hybrid — the 
mutual  offspring  of  both  the  trout  and  the  sal- 
mon ;  and,  Thirdly,  that  it  is  a  distinct  species. 

A  very   slight   examination  into  the  habits  of 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR.  185 

the  par,  as  compared  with  the  well-known  habits 
of  the  salmon  fry,  will  destroy  the  first  of  these 
theories ;  and  the  second  certainly  cannot  be 
maintained  by  a  single  known  fact,  sufficiently 
strong  to  support  it. 

In  tracing  the  habits  of  the  salmon  fry,  than 
which  nothing  can  possibly  be  more  constant  and 
decided,  it  will  be  found,  that  they  are  emanci- 
pated from  the  egg  or  roe  of  the  parent  fish, 
about  the  latter  end- of  March,  or  the  beginning 
of  April,  a  few  days  earlier  or  later  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  river,  and  peculiarity  of  the 
season  ;  but  prior  to  that  period,  not  a  single  fish 
will  be  found  in  the  river  ;  although  a  few  days 
afterwards,  they  may  be  taken  by  hundreds  in 
every  stream  of  a  good  salmon  river ;  there  they 
will  continue,  for  six  weeks  or  two  months,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  the  successive  spring  floods 
will  have  so  completely  taken  every  fish  to  the 
sea,  that  not  a  single  one  of  the  many  thousands 
that  were  bred  in  the  river,  will  be  discovered. 
During  this  period,  their  growth  is  very  rapid; 
indeed  so  much  so,  that  during  the  last  few  days 
of  their  stay,  they  have  been  frequently  taken  in 
the  tide-way  (the  tide  being  out),  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  weight  ;  although,  a  week  or  two  before, 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  obtained  one 
weighing  an  ounce.  In  appearance,  they  so 
closely  resemble  the  parent  fish,  in  its  highest 


186  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR. 

state  of  perfection,  as  to  be,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  a  salmon,  or  a  salmon  trout — as  the  case 
may  be — in  miniature.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
par  has  no  greater  resemblance  to  any  one  of  the 
salmon  tribe,  than  the  common  trout.  It  will  be 
found  in  the  river,  in  the  cold  months  of  Decem- 
ber and  January — long  prior  to  the  appearance 
of  the  salmon-fry — and  although  it  will  associate 
with  the  fry  in  the  same  streams,  it  will  not,  like 
them  (at  least  at  that  period),  migrate,  but  will 
remain  in  the  river  after  the  fry  have  gone  down 
to  the  sea ;  it  will  there  continue  in  abundance, 
throughout  the  whole  summer :  and  many  will 
be  found  when  the  cold  weather  returns.  On 
what  grounds,  therefore,  can  it  be  contended,  that 
fish  so  essentially  different,  both  in  habits  and 
appearance,  can  possibly  be  one  and  the  same? 

On  examining  the  par,  about  the  early  part  of 
October,  at  which  period  it  would  seem  to  have 
attained  its  full  size  (sometimes  two  ounces),  a 
very  curious  question  arises,  which,  while  it 
affords  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  that  it  is 
not  the  young  of  the  salmon,  leaves  the  question 
of  its  real  habits  in  considerable  doubt.  At  this 
period,  almost  every  fish  that  is  taken  (that  is, 
with  the  rod  and  line),  will  be  found  to  be  males, 
the  milt  of  which  is  usually  so  large  as  to  com- 
prise nearly  one-fourth  of  the  weight  of  the 
whole  fish ;  and  in  so  forward  a  state,  as  to  be 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR.  187 

shed  on  the  slightest  pressure ;  while  in  the  few 
females  that  are  taken—and  these  are  not  one  to 
ten  of  the  males — the  roe  is  so  backward  as  to 
be  detected  only  on  close,  almost  microscopic 
examination.  To  this  apparent  anomaly  may  be 
attributed  almost  all  the  existing*  uncertainty  as 
to  the  nature  and  habits  of  this  little  fish. 

It  is  a  well-established  fact,  that  many  fish  will 
not  take  food  in  an  advanced  state  of  parturition ; 
of  this,  the  salmon  itself  is  a  very  strong-  instance. 
In  the  fresh  water  (to  which  it  resorts  during 
that  period),  although  abounding  with  small  fish, 
the  salmon  is  ever  found  with  an  empty  stomach ; 
whereas,  the  stomachs  of  such  as  are  taken  in  the 
estuaries  and  tide-ways,  are  frequently  full  of 
whitings,  haddocks,  sand-eels,  and  other  fish ; 
showing,  as  might  be  expected,  from  the  rapidity 
of  its  growth,  the  construction  of  its  jaws,  throat, 
teeth,  &c.,  that  it  is  really  a  fish  of  most  voracious 
habits.  Again,  there  are  other  fish,  the  male  only 
of  which,  during  the  period  of  parturition,  will 
feed,  and  this  is  particularly  the  case  with  the 
grayling.  On  the  approach  of  the  spawning 
season,  the  female  wholly  ceases  to  rise  at  the  fly, 
or  take  a  bait,  although  the  male,  during  that 
period,  will  greedily  do  both.  If  these  habits  be 
peculiar  to  the  par  also,  the  great  preponderance 
of  males  taken,  as  well  as  the  apparent  discrepancy 
between  the  state  of  the  male  and  female  at  that 


188  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR. 

season,  is  very  satisfactorily  accounted  for.  But 
whether  this  discrepancy  is,  or  is  not  correctly  attri- 
buted to  the  cause  just  mentioned,  does  not  at  all 
affect  the  conclusion  necessarily  resulting  from  the 
facts  before  stated,  which  is  as  clear  as  any  position 
drawn  from  positive  demonstration  can  possibly 
be,  that  a  creature  (whether  male  or  female  it 
matters  not),  immediately  about  to  propagate  its 
species,  is  not  a  creature  in  a  state  of  infancy,  but 
in  a  state  of  maturity,  and  that,  consequently,  the 
par  is  not  the  YOUNG  of  any  fish,  and  cannot, 
therefore,  be  the  young  of  the  salmon. 

Those  who  profess  to  consider  the  par  a  mule 
fish,  assert,  firstly,  that  trout  are  frequently  seen 
on  the  same  scour  together  with,  and  as  if  spawning 
with  the  salmon,  and  that  the  par  is  the  produce 
of  this  union  ;  that  they  are  either  all  males,  or  at 
least,  are  never  found  with  a  clearly  developed  roe  ; 
for,  like  all  hybrids,  the  par  has  no  perfect  organs  of 
generation ;  Secondly,  that  as  the  par  is  always 
found  in  salmon  rivers,  and  no  other,  and  is  never 
found  even  in  such  parts  of  those  rivers,  up  which, 
owing  to  falls,  weirs,  and  other  obstructions,  sal- 
mon cannot  ascend,  it  must,  therefore,  neces- 
sarily, directly  or  indirectly,  be  connected  with 
that  fish. 

The  mere  circumstance  of  salmon  and  trout 
frequenting  together,  in  the  spawning  season, 
such  part  of  a  river  as  is  best  adapted  for  their 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR.  189 

purpose,  affords  so  little  ground  for  the  conclu- 
sion drawn  from  it,  that  it  is  not  worthy  a 
moment's  consideration:  and  recollecting;  that  the 

'  O 

trout  will  greedily  feed  upon  the  salmon  spawn, 
the  idea  of  their  being  together  for  the  purpose  of 
gestation,  can  only  have  arisen  from  mere  wanton- 
ness of  speculation. 

By  considering  the  nature  and  character  of 
hybrids,  and  the  general  laws  and  principles  which 
govern  their  production,  and  carefully  comparing 
these  with  the  known  habits,  character,  and  ap- 
pearance of  the  par — the  utter  improbability  of 
its  being  a  mule  fish  will  at  once  be  shown.  It 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  amongst  creatures  in  a 
state  of  freedom,  no  one  instance  of  a  departure 
from  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  which  assign 
to  each  an  affinity  for  its  kind,  has  ever  yet  been 
detected;  and  it  is  only  by  constraint  that  this 
inconsistency  can  be  effected ;  and  when  pro- 
duced, the  offspring  are  ever  accompanied  by  a 
capricious  and  doubtful  resemblance  to  either 
parent,  and,  above  all,  by  a  total  want  of  har- 
mony and  definite  character  amongst  themselves. 
Now,  as  an  example  of  any  deduction  from  these  prin- 
ciples, the  par  is  in  every  respect  utterly  opposed 
to  them.  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable 
that  trout  and  salmon  left  to  the  free  influence  of 
their  own  separate  instincts,  unrestrained  in  habits, 
and  unconfined  in  space,  should  depart  from  the 


190  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAR. 

ordinary  laws  of  nature,  obeyed  by  every  other 
creature ;  and  still  more  so,  that  the  offspring  of 
such  a  union  should  be,  as  the  par  undoubtedly 
is,  both  in  respect  of  its  various  spots  and  marks, 
as  also  in  form  and  general  appearance,  one  of  the 
most  perfect  examples  of  constancy  that  nature 
can  produce.  Besides  these  objections,  it  should 
be  recollected  that  there  are  many  species  of  trout, 
as  also  several  species  of  salmon,  and  assuming  for 
argument,  the  possibility  of  such  a  union,  it  would 
necessarily  produce  some  variation  in  the  offspring; 
but  none  such  is  found  in  the  par,  it  being  always 
alike.  Although  its  assigned  parents — the  trout 
in  particular — continually  exhibit  every  variety  of 
form,  marks,  spots,  size,  colour,  and  appearance 
that  imagination  can  conceive.  It  is  said  that  this 
union  between  trout  and  salmon  is  the  work  of 
necessity,  and  takes  place  only  when  the  male  or 
female  salmon  has  been  destroyed ;  but  if  no 
instance  of  the  production  of  hybrids  can  be 
shown  amongst  carp,  tench,  roach,  dace,  and  other 
fresh  water  fish,  closely  and  artificially  confined, 
as  they  continually  are,  in  small  ponds,  ditches,  £c., 
it  is  clear  that  the  necessity  for  a  cross  amongst 
fishes  in  general  does  not  exist ;  and  if  so,  it  is 
absurd  to  plead  the  necessity  for  such  inconsistency 
amongst  trout  and  salmon  in  particular,  wholly 
unconfined  as  their  theatre  of  existence  must 
necessarily  be,  save  by  the  ocean  itself. 


NATURAL  mtroRY  OF  THE  PAR.  191 

That  par  are  never  found  in  rivers,  but  such  as 
are  immediately  connected  with  the  sea  (all  of 
which  more  or  less  afford  salmon),  and  never  in 
such  parts  of  those  rivers  up  which  salmon  cannot 
ascend,  is  strictly  true,  and  any  instance  to  the 
contrary,  will,  upon  enquiry,  turn  out  to  be  the 
work  of  art  or  accident,  not  affecting  the  general 
rule.  But  this  does  not  establish  the  fact  of  any 
connection  between  the  two  fish.  . 

The  power  of  closely  observing  fish  in  its  ele- 
ment is  necessarily  very  limited  ;  much,  therefore, 
of  their  history  must  always  depend  on  conclu- 
sions and  analogy.  Now,  assuming  the  par  to  be 
a  migratory  fish — and  there  is  reason  to  believe  it 
is  so — all  incongruity  in  this  part  of  their  history 
is  at  once  removed.  Like  all  other  migratory  fish, 
their  travels  must  have  a  limit ;  and  a  fall  of  water 
that  cannot  be  ascended  by  a  salmon  cannot  pos- 
sible be  attained  by  these  little  fish  :  hence  they 
are  never  found  except  in  rivers  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  sea,  and  never  found  above  falls, 
weirs,  &C;,  up  which  salmon  cannot  ascend.  The 
only  question  seems  to  be  at  what  period  do  the 
par  migrate,  as  they  are  certainly  found  in  the 
rivers  during  the  whole  year,  although  as  certainly 
not  in  equal  quantities.  Now,  it  is  perfectly  well 
known  that  all  fish  immediately  after  spawning 
become  in  a  very  unhealthy  state,  their  bodies  at 
that  period  being  infested  with  numerous  water  lice, 


192  NATURAL  HISTORY^F  THE  PAR. 

animalculi,  &c.,  for  the  removal  of  which,  and  a 
restoration  of  the  fish  to  health,  a  change  of  place 
is  absolutely  requisite,  and  that  with  migratory 
fish,  deleterious  animalculi,  &c.,  acquired  in  the 
river,  are  lost  immediately  after  their  entrance 
into  the  salt  water.  There  can  be  very  little 
doubt,  therefore,  but  that  the  par  migrate  at  this  par- 
ticular season,  and  assuming  their  migrations  to  be 
for  a  short  duration  only,  commensurate  with  the 
restoration  of  their  health  and  strength,  as  they 
cannot  all  be  in  a  situation  to  leave  the  river  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  many  will  have  returned 
before  others  will  have  gone  down  to  the  sea.  and 

O  ' 

thus  more  or  less  they  will  always  be  found  in  the 
river.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  from  a  consi- 
deration of  the  facts  already  stated,  and  which  for 
the  most  part  have  their  foundation  in  practical 
experience,  it  seems  extremely  difficult  to  look 
upon  the  par  in  any  other  character  than  as  a  dis- 
tinct species  of  fish." 

Theoph. — Well  said,  most  excellent  Antiqua- 
rius ;  and  in  every  respect  I  entirely  agree  with 
you.  Herbert,  I  never  read  a  more  convincing 
argument. 

Herb.  -  -  M:ght  I  add  one  observation  to 
strengthen  it,  I  would  say  a  word  about  the  par 
always  being  found  in  rivers  where  salmon  are, 
and  never  in  parts  of  rivers  where  salmon  cannot 
get.  From  their  hanging  on  scours  and  swift 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE   PAR.  193 

parts  of  streams,  we  may  infer  them  to  be  a  strong 
little  fish.  But  how  do  they  get  up  high  falls 
which  salmon  are  obliged  to  leap  ?  I  take  it  that 
salmon  only  leap  the  falls  because  there  is  not  a 
sufficient  body  of  water  to  admit  of  their  swim- 
ming up  ;  though,  if  the  same  force  of  water  came 
in  greater  body,  they  could  swim  through  it  with 
ease.  The  par  cannot  leap  ;  but  from  their  smaller 
bulk  and  still  sufficient  strength,  can  swim  up 
them.  Besides,  I  assume  that  there  are  few  falls 
where  salmon  can  leap,  which  are  not  much 
reduced  in  height  by  a  heavy  flood  or  fresh  of 
water.  But  tell  me,  do  you  ever  fish  below  Tre- 
friew  ?  I  was  wondering,  as  I  walked  by  the  river 
side  yesterday,  whether  salmon  ever  took  the 
fly  in  the  tide-ways,  in  the  sea,  or  in  brackish 
water. 

Theop/i. — I  believe  that  they  never  do  in  such 
sluggish  tide- ways  as  this,  for  one  very  good  reason 
— that  we  seldom  try.  There  is  but  one  likely 
place :  that  is  at  Tal-y-cafn,  about  half-way  down 
towards  Conway.  A  few  isolated  attempts  have 
been  made  there  by  us  upper  anglers,  but  without 
success — it  is  too  far  to  go  often  upon  a  chance. 
Fish  are  occasionally  seen  to  rise  there,  it  being 
a  shallowish,  rocky,  rapid  bit  of  stream.  In  some 
situations,  however,  they  will  take  the  fly  in  the 
sea,  in  brackish  water,  and  in  tide-ways.  I  once 
submitted  a  question  on  this  point  to  some  friends. 


194  SALMON-FISHING  IN  SALT  WATER. 

From  Sir  Hyde  Parker  I  learnt  that  "  there  are 
two  rocks  in  the  sea,  not  far  from  Dunrobin  Castle, 
Sutherlandshire,  where  salmon  take  the  fly  in  the 
strongest  salt  water.  A  strong  race  runs  by  these 
rocks,  and  the  salmon  take  here  two  hours  before 
low  water.  A  friend  of  Sir  Hyde  has  been  very 
successful."  My  friend  Medicus,  living  here, 
tells  me  that  he  knows  that  at  the  head  of  Loch 
Swin,  in  Argyleshire  (close  by  the  Sound  of  Jura), 
which  is  a  pure  salt  water  loch  or  bay,  salmon  will 
take  the  fly  in  a  breeze  during  the  last  half-hour  of 
ebb  and  the  first  half-hour  of  flood  tide.  He  has  seen 
them  rise  there  in  very  great  abundance — thirty  or 
forty  in  five  minutes,  for  one  or  two  hours  together. 
To  use  his  own  expression  "a  Highlander  used  to  hit 
them  off  in  fine  style,"  once,  while  Medicus  was 
there,  taking  fourteen  small  salmon  in  an  hour. 
He  says  the  fish  come  to  this  station  every  season, 
and  there  remain  for  four  or  six  weeks,  finally 
going  elsewhere  :  there  is  only  one  small  fresh- 
water stream  running  into  this  loch,  too  preci- 
pitous to  allow  salmon  to  get  up  it.  But  then 
again,  from  the  Hon.  Richard  Hely  Hutchinson 
I  receive  the  following  opinion  : — - 

"  I  am  persuaded  salmon  never  take  the  fly  in 
salt  water ;  I  have  heard  of  men  who  had  heard 
from  others  that  they  did,  but  I  never  could  yet 
find  any  one  who  had  either  killed  salmon  them- 
selves, or  known  any  man  who,  to  his  certain 


« 


SALMON-FISHING  IN  BRACKISH  WATER.       195 

knowledge,  had  killed  them  in  salt  water.  I 
have  fished  a  great  deal  in  tide-ways  with  the  fly, 
and  had  admirable  sport :  mackerel,  whiting, 
pollock,  and  sand-eels,  may  be  taken  in  great 
quantities.  The  fly  is  a  white  feather,  projecting 
considerably  over  the  hook,  and  it  resembles  the 
herring  fry,  of  which  both  mackerel  and  pollock 
are  very  fond." 

As  to  salmon  fishing  in  brackish  water,  he 
says — 

1 '  Salmon  take  the  fly  in  brackish  water.  I  was 
quite  ignorant  of  this  fact  until  last  year  (1839). 
The  Costello  river  in  Connemara,  twenty-one 
miles  west  of  Galway  town,  belongs  to  a  club,  of 
which  I  am  a  member ;  perhaps  there  is  no  river 
in  Ireland,  or  any  other  country,  in  which  there 
are  more  salmon.  The  tide  runs  up  about  half- 
a-mile,  for  the  most  part  over  a  bed  of  rocks  and 
turf  soil.  The  oldest  fishermen  on  the  river  never 
had  known  any  man  to  kill  a  salmon  below  the 
bridge  until  last  season,  when  one  of  our  members, 
Mr.  Martin  of  Ross,  hooked  what  he  conceived 
to  be  a  white  trout,  just  as  the  tide  was  running 
up  ;  the  keeper,  in  attendance  on  him,  swore  it 
could  not  be  a  salmon,  as  they  never  took  in 
brackish  water,  but  a  salmon  it  proved  to  be ;  and 
I,  having  joined  my  brother  angler,  killed  my 
share  of  eight  fine  fresh  fish;  they  had  all  the 
sea  louse  on  them,  and  were  enormously  strong. 

o  2 


196       SALMON-FISHING  IN  BRACKISH  WATER. 

There  are  two  of  these  streams  below  the  bridge, 
and  the  tide  must  rise  seven  or  eight  feet  before 
the  salt  water  can  enter  them.  The  salmon  will 
take  the  fly,  provided  there  be  not  much  sun, 
until  half  flood." 

Another  friend  of  mine,  an  old  fisher,  once 
indeed  hooked  a  salmon,  in  the  sea  itself,  outside 
the  river  gates,  at  Tremadoc,  while  many  were 
rising  about  the  spot,  waiting  no  doubt  for  the 
flood  tide  to  open  them  an  entrance  to  the  river ; 
but  having  only  held  it  for  a  minute  or  so, 
he  was  unable  to  determine  whether  he  had  not 
(as  was  probable)  merely  hooked  it  foul ;  on  two 
or  three  occasions,  I  have  known  fine  base  or 
base  mullet  (a  fish  somewhat  like  the  chub,  with 
the  brilliancy  of  a  salmon),  varying  from  two  to 
ten  pounds,  caught  with  a  huge  red  salmon  fly, 
in  the  sea,  off  the  foot  of  Great  Orme's  Head, 
just  after  the  tide  had  begun  to  ebb*.  I  tried 
once  for  them,  but  failed  ;  though  while  thus 
occupied,  I  saw  three  or  four  fine  salmon  leaping 
high  out  of  the  water,  about  two  hundred  yards 
off.  I  am  told,  also,  that  these  base  have  been 
taken  half-way  between  this  place  and  the  sea,  but 
I  will  not  vouch  for  that  fact.  Perhaps,  however, 
more  might  be  done  with  perseverance  both  in 
tide-ways  and  in  the  sea.  Some  of  the  best 

*  If  I  ever  tried  this  place  again  it  would  be  during  the  last  hour  of 
ebb  tide. 


SA  LMON-FISHING  IN  BRACKISH  WATER.        197 

salmon-fishing  is  in  the  tide-ways ;  in  rivers 
where  the  tide  only  reaches  a  distance  of  two 
or  three  miles  from  the  estuary,  having  a  rapid 
descent,  and  passing  over  a  clear  and  rocky  bed. 
In  muddy  tide-ways  I  should  say,  salmon,  except 
at  certain  spots,  and  then  only  when  the  stream 
has  clarified  the  river,  would  never  take  the  fly, 
for  one  especial  reason,  namely,  that  they  would 
not  rest  in  the  turbid  parts,  which  must  of  course 
abound  in  a  twelve  miles  course  like  this,  and  as 
we  imagine,  they  never  take  the  fly,  when  on  the 
move.  Mind  you,  the  flowing-tide  may  dam  up 
the  current  a  long  way  up  a  river,  as  it  does  here  ; 
without,  except  for  the  time,  hindering  fishing ; 
and  I  consider  it  only  in  those  parts  rendered 
foul  by  the  flowing  tide,  where  fishing  would  be 
useless. 

Herb. — Then  if  a  tide  river,  from  any  cause, 
constantly  ebbs  and  flows  clear,  as,  for  instance, 
over  a  rocky  bed,  I  suppose  angling  may  be  suc- 
cessfully carried  on  after  the  salt  water  is  ex- 
pelled by  the  current  of  fresh. 

Theoph. — We  practical  anglers  say,  fish  never 
rise  at  a  fly  while  on  the  move.  Then,  again, 
there  is  plenty  of  evidence  to  show  that  sal- 
mon move  up  with  a  flowing  tide,  and  either 
get  at  once  fairly  into  fresh  water,  or  return 
towards  the  sea  with  the  ebb,  and  therefore  do  not 
rest  in  the  tide-wav.  These  two  data  would  be 


198        SALMON-FISHING  IN  BRACKISH  WATER. 

at  variance  with  the  notion  of  taking  salmon  in 
the  tide-way;  because  if  they  are  never  stationary 
there,  according  to  the  second  opinion,  being  on 
the  move,  they  will  not  take  a  fly  according  to  the 
first.  But  then  comes  a  third  data,  for  instance, 
that  in  the  "  Angler  in  Ireland,"  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  in  rivers  of  similar  character  to 
that  of  which  he  writes,  fish  will  rise  in  the  tide- 
way. Speaking  of  the  Moy  at  Ballina,  he,  at 
vol.  i.  p.  151,  describes  it  thus,  "  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  above  the  old  bridge,  is  a  ledge  of 
rock,  where  are  situated  the  weirs  or  salmon 
boxes ;  they  entirely  occupy  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  stream,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  gap, 
to  let  the  spent  fish  go  down,  Eew  salmon  can 
pass  above  them,  except  in  very  high  floods, 
until  their  removal  in  close  time.  Rod  fishing 
extends  from  these  weirs  for  about  a  mile  down 
the  river,  but  as  the  tide  reaches  quite  up  to  them, 
there  are  three  hours  every  day  when  all  chance 
of  sport  is  suspended  by  the  entrance  of  salt 
water,"  &c. 

Herb. — I  see  what  you  mean.  In  such  a  river, 
the  fish,  waiting  in  hopes  of  being  able  to  ascend 
higher,  are  per  force  stationary,  and  may  there- 
fore take  the  fly. 

Theoph. — Just  so :  except,  however,  in  a  river 
where  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  is  so  short, 
we  may  consider  it  as  a  general  rule  that  when 


SALMON-FISHING  IN   BRACKISH  WATER.        199 

not  actually  at  sea,  salmon  are  either  in  brackish 
water  close  to  the  river's  mouth,  or  running  up 
and  down  with  the  flow  and  ebb,  or  else  pushing 
up  above  the  influence  of  the  tide  : — and,  there- 
fore, never  stationed  in  the  mid  space,  between 
the  stream  and  the  mouth  of  the  river;  their 
object  being  to  ascend  above  the  tide,  if  the 
water  be  adapted  to  their  taste,  or  else  to  retire 
seaward  till  it  suits  them. 

Herb. — Is  it  an  ascertained  fact  that  salmon 
really  float  backwards  and  forwards  with  the  tide, 
as  it  ebbs  and  flows  ?  I  had  always  thought  that 
they  came  right  on  straight  up  the  river,  as  soon 
as  they  once  left  the  "  deep,  deep  sea." 

Theopk. — By  no  means  so,  as  a  general  rule, 
except  it  be  such  fish  as,  with  spawn  in  an 
advanced  state,  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
late  in  the  season.  These,  indeed,  if  a  river  be 
at  all  adapted  to  their  taste,  push  up  it  at  once 
without  the  hesitation  which  the  clear  bright  fish 
exhibit ;  but  the  latter  hover  to  and  fro,  very 
considerably,  for  days* — often  for  weeks,  almost 
months,!  before  they  finally  ascend  for  the  pur- 
pose of  spawning.  Some  persons  conceive  that 
many  fish,  if  the  river  continue  low,  or  is  not 
otherwise  suited  to  them,  will  leave  its  mouth 

*  See  Appendix  to  Second  Report  on  Salmon   Fisheries  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  3d  June,  1825,  pp.  13,  38,  71,  104,  109,  116,  &c.     Id.  June, 
1824,  pp.  35,  74,  &c. 
t  Id.  June,  1825,  p.  116. 


200  STAKE  NETS. 

altogether  and  return  to  the  sea,  and  there  fruit- 
lessly (for  it  is  said  it  will  not  vivify  in  the  sea), 
deposit  their  spawn,  or,  at  all  events,  proceed  to 
some  other  river.  Be  that  as  it  may,  that  they 
swim,  as  it  were  up  and  down  with  the  tide,  as  far 
as  it  reaches  upwards,  long  before  they  proceed 
towards  spawning  ground,  is  sufficiently  proved 
by  the  circumstance,  that  in  the  great  fisheries, 
hundreds  are  caught  by  the  ebb  stake  net  in  the 
estuary  of  a  river,  when  the  tide  is  ebbing,  that 
is,  while  swimming,  with  their  heads  seaward. 

Herb. — These  nets  are,  I  believe,  those  which 
have  been  so  much  quarrelled  with  by  the 
river  proprietors ;  but  I  never  exactly  under- 
stood them. 

Theoph. — Bright  clean  salmon,  at  all  events  (for 
it  is  asserted,  by  the  advocates  for  stake  nets,  that 
salmon  advanced  in  spawn,  proceed  in  deeper 
water  returning  to  fresh  water),  grope  their  way 
along  the  sea-shore  in  order  to  find  it;  vacillating 
for  the  most  part  with  the  tide  between  high  and 
low  water  mark.  And  these  nets  are  either 
made  to  take  fish  when  swimming  towards  the 
river,  which  are  called  flux  mflow  stake-nets,  or 
when  going  away  from  it,  called  ebb  nets,  from 
the  difference  in  the  manner  of  placing  them.* 

*  In  Yarrell'a  British  Fi&Les,  vol.  2,  p.  23,  there  is  a  drawing  of  one  of 
these  nets,  to  which  I  must  refer  the  reader.  Looking  at  it,  down  the  left 
side  of  the  page  is  the  high  water-mark,  and  on  the  right  the  low  water, 
and  the  fish  are  taken  swimming  as  it  were  from  the  top  of  the  page 
downwards,  so  that  the  lop  may  either  represent  the  river  or  the  open  sea. 


STAKE  NETS.  201 

They  are  regular  mousetraps,  most   destructive, 
and    with    great  reason  complained    of   by    the 
river,  or  upper  proprietors.     Some  doubts   cer- 
tainly exist  whether  all  the  fish  which  they  take 
would  ever  reach  the  upper  properties,  because 
it  is  contended  that  not  one  half  which  come  to 
the  mouth   of  the  river  ever  go   up   it.     One  of 
the    chief   reasons  for    this   opinion    being,    the 
admitted  fact  that  in  thus  swimming  to  and  fro  at 
the  mouth,  they  continually  become  prey  for  the 
hungry  shoals  of  porpesse,  grampus,  and  seals, 
which  more  or  less  always  hang  about  the  estuary. 
But  it  is  also  undeniable,  that  hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds  of  salmon,  which  these  estuary  stake-nets 
catch,     would   sooner    or  later   venture   up  the 
river,  and  there  spawn,  or  be  captured   by  the 
upper  proprietors.     My  belief  is,  that  these  stake- 
nets  are  one  principal  cause  of  the  great  falling 
off  of  all  the  salmon  rivers  in  the  United  King- 
dom.    They,  in  fact,  destroy  the  seed  of  futurity 
to   too  great  an   extent.     Too  many  salmon  are 
taken. 

Herb. — But  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the 
spawning  fish,  from  swimming  upwards  in  deep 
water,  do  not  fall  into  these  traps. 

T/icoph. — That  may  be  very  true ;  but  you 
forget,  and  so  do  the  advocates  for  stake-nets, 
that  every  fish  would  spawn  some  time  or  other. 
Denying  that  they  cause  this  injury,  these  gentle- 


202  DESTRUCTION  OF  SALMON. 

men  throw  the  blame  on  cobble-net  fishing,  asserting 
that  the  heavy  bottom-line,  which  is  often  neces- 
sarily drawn  over  the  shallows  at  the  head  and 
tail  of  a  pool  in  a  river,  tear  up  the  gravel,   and 
so  destroy  the  spawn.     They  may  be  so  far  right ; 
but  instead   of    throwing  off   the   blame    on  to 
others  shoulders,  they  only  prove  the  cobble-net  to 
be  an  additional  injury.     Of  a  truth,  salmon  are 
most  cruelly  persecuted  individuals,  the  friend  of 
none — the  prey  of  all.  All,  excepting  a  few  gentle- 
men anglers,  cry  "  havock,  and  let  slip  the  dogs 
of  war"  on  them,  and  it  is  only  the  wonderful  and 
prolific  care  of  nature,  which  spares  us  the  few 
fish  that  are  left.     Their  known  natural  enemies 
are  the  porpesse,  grampus,  and  seals,  and  each  of 
which,  it   is  supposed  will,    if   they  can   get  a 
"  battuf  among  them,  destroy  six  or  eight  per 
diem.     Then  they  are  food  for  otters,  cormorants, 
and  sea  eagles,  when  large ;  herons,  bitterns,  eels, 
trout  of  all  kinds,  and  the  elder  salmon*  them- 
selves, while  young ;  and  trout,  eels,  and  various 
birds,  in  addition  to  that  little  devil,  the  water- 
ousel,  devour  the  ova.     Then  come  the  artificial 
injuries  inanimate,  such  as  mill  races,  heads,  and 
leads,  and  eel  baskets,  in  all  of  which  the  fry  is 
destroyed  by  sackfuls  on   their  journey  to  sea ! 
and  the   foulness  of  water  caused  by  manufac- 

*  Evidence  before  the  House  of  Commons,  June,  1825,  pp.  20,  39. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  SALMON.  203 

tories,  drives  them  from  a  river  if  it  do  not 
destroy  them  ;  their  great  human  enemies  are 
poachers,  who  make  profit  of  the  roe  for  bait ; 
and  the  hundreds  of  spring  anglers,  who  may  each 
take  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  dozen  per  day, 
during  April  and  May  ;  thus  we  see  how  different 
a  thing  it  is  to  estimate  48,012,200  fish  on  paper 
and  in  fact  ! — alas !  where  shall  we  catch  a  sal- 
mon twenty  years  hence  if  things  go  on  long,  as  at 
present? 

Herb. — Why,  in  America : — near  Quebec  (as  I 
understood),  I  heard  of  a  gentleman*  taking  forty- 
three  salmon  in  two  days,  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
pounds  each  !  In  this  country  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  a  worse  state  of  affairs,  important  as 
salmon  fisheries  undoubtedly  are  to  the  well-being 
of  the  country,  both  as  regards  the  supply  of 
food  they  yield,  and  the  employment  they  give 
the  poor. 

Tlieoph. — But  the  fearful  list  is  not  yet  com- 
plete ;  there  is  also  one  natural  cause  over  which 
we  have  no  controul.  Salmon  sometimes  run  up 
the  smallest  rivulets  to  spawn  in  the  winter;  so 
much  so,  that  a  friend  of  mine,  only  last  year, 
detected  a  little  boy  with  three  salmon,  of  eight, 
five,  and  four  pounds,  which  he  had  taken  in  one 
spot,  with  his  hands,  out  of  a  little  running  ditch, 

*  J.  Strang,  Esq.  in  the  summer  of  1839. 


204  DESTRUCTION  OF  SALMON. 

not  too  feet  wide,  and,  in  summer  time,  not  three 
inches  deep.  If  then,  the  winter  be  very  wet, 
the  quantity  of  water  invites  the  fish  into  places 
left,  perhaps,  quite  dry  in  the  early  spring ;  and 
should  a  dry  spring  ensue,  not  only  is  the  mother 
fish  killed  by  inability  to  get  back  to  the  main 
river,  but  the  spawn  is  never  vivified,  being  ren- 
dered totally  abortive  from  the  want  of  aerated 
water  to  nourish  it.  A  dry  spawning  season  is 
much  more  propitious  than  a  very  wet  one, 
because  the  parent  fish  do  not  ascend  too  high, 
but  if  the  winter  and  spring  be  wet,  so  much  the 
better  for  them — the  poachers  are  "  at  fault." 

This  reminds  me,  that  there  is  one  evil  equal  to, 
if  not  greater  than  all  others,  to  which  the  dimi- 
nution of  salmon  must  be  attributed,  and  which, 
if  not  taken  up  by  the  legislature,  must  lead  to 
the  total  extirmination  of  the  race ;  and  that  is, 
the  want  of  preservation  and  protection  in  the 
sources  of  rivers,  where  fish  almost  universally 
spawn.  It  is  impossible  to  remedy  this  evil  unless 
you  do  one  of  two  things,  either  give  each  upper 
proprietor  a  sufficient  interest  from  the  quantity 
of  fish  you  enable  him  to  take  during  the  fishing- 
season  (which  at  present  very  few  have),  to 
induce  him  to  watch,  and  keep  off,  poachers,  and 
preserve  the  spawners,  personally,  and  at  his  own 
expense,  or  else  to  provide  a  fund  for  that  purpose, 
raised  by  a  proportional  assessment,  according  to 


PRESERVATION  OF  SALMON.  205 

the  annual  local  value  of  each  fishery  on  the  river, 
or  at  its  mouth,  from  among  all   the  proprietors 
collectively.      It  is   proved   by  the   evidence  to 
which  I  have  so  often  alluded,  that  the  larger  and 
finer  fish  are  more  shy  of  entering  a  river  early, 
but  that  more   of  this  quality  are  taken  at  such 
time  at  its  mouth  only.     I  would  therefore  make 
a  law,  that  the  meshes  and  opening  of  the  nets  and 
engines  should  be  proportionately  wider  as  they 
approach  towards  the   sea;  and   also,    not  only 
would  I  provide  fence  months, — not  only  enforce 
the  law  against  fishing  in  any  way  on  a  Sunday,  and 
the  observance   of  what  is  termed  the  Saturday 
slap,  viz.  an   opening  of  all  nets,  so  as  to  allow 
fish  free  access  upwards,  from  Saturday  evening 
till   Monday   morning — but   I  would   also  enact 
that  a  Wednesday  slap  should  be  strictly  observed. 
I  would  try  this  as  an  experiment ;  for  it  would, 
at  all  events,  give  the  upper  proprietors  a  better 
chance,  and,  if  it  failed  or  succeeded,  would  be 
alike  injurious  or  beneficial   to   all.     If  it  were 
tried  for  a  year  or  two,  all  the   harm  it  could  do 
would  be  to  lessen  the  supply  coming  to  market 
during  that  period,  while   it   must  increase   the 
quantity  in  after  years.     Angling  out  of  season 
has    been    spoken    of    as    injurious ;    especially 
because   it  affords  the  lower  class  (poachers  to 
wit)  a  pretence  for  hovering  about  the   rivers  by 
day,  thereby   to  detect  where  they  can   find  the 


206  PRESERVATION  OF  SALMON. 

fish,  and  bag  them  by  night.  This  is  moonshine 
with  a  vengeance  !  If  a  river  be  properly  watched 
by  day,  as  it  should  be,  such  characters, — always 
well-known  in  a  neighbourhood, — are  easily  sent  to 
the  " right-about."  But  as  to  angling  by  the  better 
class  (mere  angling  for  sport)what  is  the  extent  of 
its  mischief?  Not  one  out  of  twenty  fish,  over 
which  our  flies  pass,  is  inclined  to  rise  to  them. 
And  suppose  there  are  six  miles  of  river,  and 
you  give  to  each  angler  half  a  mile,  and  he  takes 
six  fish  per  week,  which  is  a  large  average  of 
sport  for  any  river  in  the  United  Kingdom,  here 
are  seventy-two  fish  taken  altogether  by  twelve 
men  in  the  week.  Now,  in  the  same  quantity  of 
river,  compare  this  with  netting.  Take  the  Foyle, 
we  will  say,  in  Ireland  ;  we  find  that  is  fished  for 
six  months,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  days, 
Sundays  excluded,  and,  according  to  their 
returns,  the  proprietors  took  55,906  salmon 
during  A.D.  1835,  averaging  358  per  day,  or 
2,148  per  week!  What  is  seventy-two  com- 
pared to  2,148  ?  Anglers,  perhaps,  are  the  only 
body  of  men  who  are  interested  now-a-days  in 
protecting  the  upper  parts  of  rivers  !  This  river 
in  particular,  I  know  to  be  solely  protected  by 
them :  the  upper  part  being  open  to  anglers 
subscribing  for  their  amusement,  and  a  keeper 
provided  solely  to  preserve  for  their  sport.  Each 
real  angler  therefore  in  the  neighbourhood  feels  a 


PRESERVATION   OF  SALMON.  207 

zealous  regard  to  protect  every  fish  he  or  his 
friends  cannot  take  by  fair  means,  and  is  willing, 
personally,  and  with  his  own  hands,  to  enforce 
preservation  strictly.  I  remember  on  one  occa- 
sion (A.D.  1838),  hearing  late  in  the  evening, 
that  permission  was  (as  we  argued,  contrary  to 
the  understanding  with  subscribers)  given  to 
certain  parties  to  draw  or  net  a  great  extent  of 
this  river  during  that  night.  What  was  the 
result  ?  I  and  one  or  two  more  anglers  sallied 
forth  in  the  dark  at  once  (for  there  was  no 
time  to  remonstrate)  and  with  our  own  hands 
pelted  every  pool,  as  far  as  we  could,  so  as  to 
drive  the  fish  to  the  banks  and  to  those  streams 
where  the  nets  dared  not  venture  in  the  dark,  for 
fear  of  entanglement.  We  succeeded  ;  for  in 
none  of  those  places  did  the  netters  take  a  single 
fish.  And  next  morning,  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  all  parties,  excepting  the  netters,  we  found 
that  the  permission  had  been  wholly  misunder- 
stood : — for  every  "  inch"  given  them,  the  netters 
had  intended  to  take  "  two  ells  !  ! "  and  a  stop 
was  put  to  any  further  proceedings.  If,  on  that 
occasion,  blows  had  been  requisite,  we  would 
have  preserved  the  river,  as  the  lawyers  say,  vi 
et  armis — notwithstanding  what  may  be  said  to 
the  contrary*.  I  know,  perhaps,  a  dozen  other 

*  See  Evidence  before  House  of  Commons,  1836.     Question  1564,  and 
Index  tit.  "  Angling." 


208 


PRESERVATION  OF  SALMON. 


instances,  in  which  gentlemen  anglers  have  per- 
sonally interfered  to  preserve  the  same  river  by 
night,  as  well  as  by  day.  None  who  know  the 
angler's  disposition  can  doubt  it.  But  even 
anglers,  if  better  chances  were  afforded  to  the 
river  proprietors  who  use  the  net  (those  above 
the  tide-way),  would  have  so  much  better  sport 
from  the  same  cause,  that  they  would  feel  less 
desirous  of  trespassing  into  the  fence  months. 
As  it  now  is,  in  many  rivers,  they  have  little  or 
no  chance  until  netting  ceases  ;  because,  no  fish 
can  come  up  to  be  caught.  Some  provision 
might  be  made  to  limit  the  number  that  anglers 
should  appropriate  to  themselves  ;  they  might 
fish  and  return  all  above  a  certain  number  in  the 
day  to  the  river.  But  I  say,  PRESERVE  THE 
SPAWNING  FISH  AND  FRY  ;  for,  without  it,  every- 
thing else  is  useless.  And  let  me  suggest,  that 
not  only  should  the  lower  as  well  as  the  upper 
proprietors  contribute  to  the  expense  of  preserv- 
ing, but  the  whole  neighbourhood  of  a  salmon 
river,  or  the  county,  or  counties  through  which 
it  flows,  or  which  it  divides,  ought  likewise  to  do 
so ;  in  as  much  as  these  feel  the  benefit  in  having 
fish  more  plentiful  and  cheaper ;  in  their  moral 
improvement  (which  should  never  be  lost  sight  of 
in  legislation) ;  and,  by  the  prevention  of  crime, 
ultimately  lessening  the  expenses  of  punishment. 
I  entirely  agree,  as  to  the  destruction  of  fry  by 


PRESERVATION  OF  SALMON.  209 

angling.  There  the  fish  is  born,  and  every  one 
of  the  twenty  dozen  which  a  little  boy  may  take 
in  a  day  with  a  bent  pin  and  thread,  might,  in  all 
probability,  in  three  or  four  months,  be  a  sufficient 
meal  for  a  dozen  people.  This  I  would  stop,  by 
prohibiting  angling  for  small  fish,  or  with  small 
hooks,  during  the  month  of  April  and  part  of 
May  ;  for,  as  one  witness  very  properly  remarked 
to  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
11  it  is  purchasing  a  very  little  personal  amuse- 
ment at  an  enormous  cost  to  the  community." 


210 


X* 


SCENE. — The  River  above  the  Quay  stream. 

Herb. — COME  now,  fire  away, — where  first  am  I 
to  expect  to  find  fish  ? 

Theoph. — Pray  be  patient,  and  understand  that 
as  a  general  rule,  you  may  expect  fish,  small  or 
large,  in  every  part  of  a  trout  or  grayling  stream, 
with  this  exception,  that  they  do  not  lie  over  a 
muddy  bottom,  nor  in  holes  frequented  by  chub  or 
pike ;  for  the  reasons  that  they  love  gravel  better 
than  mud  or  clay ;  and  that  pike  are  quarrel- 
some companions  !  From  one  to  three  feet  deep 
of  rapid  water,  among  clusters  of  weeds,  is  their 
great  delight ;  and  though  large  trout  frequent 
deeper  and  stiller  positions  by  day,  and  may  rise 
at  the  fly  occasionally,  it  is  not  under  such  cir- 
cumstances that  they  are  actively  on  the  feed. 
Where  a  rapid  stream,  such  as  I  have  just  alluded 
to,  terminates  in  a  deep  hole,  it  is  at  the  head 


HAUNTS  OF  TROUT.  211 

of  the  hole  rather  than  at  the  tail  that  large  trout 
lie.     So  at  a  high  fall  of  water,  as  over  a  weir, 
it  is  rather  under,  than  in  the  fall,  or  else  close 
under  the    adjacent  sides    or  banks,    that   they 
"  hold  their  court."     Grayling,  on  the  contrary, 
are  ever  found,  in  both  these  instances,  at  the 
tail  end  rather  than  at  the  head  of  the  hole,  unless 
they  be  on  the  shallows  above.     At  a  large  weir, 
little  is  to  be  expected  in  trout-tishing  with  a  fly ; 
because  you  must  fish  much  deeper  than  the  rush 
of  water  will  allow,  and  there,  spinning  or  bait- 
fishing  comes  in  with  good  effect.     But  if  there 
be  a  gentle  glide  of  water,  having  a  sloping  fall, 
and  causing  no  very  great  depth  of  hole,  then,  in 
the  rapid  ripple  it  creates,   is  the  place  of  all 
others  I   should  prefer  for  trout.     Where   deep 
water  shoals  up  into  shallow  at  the  tail  end  of  a 
weir,  there  lurk  the  grayling  ;  and,  if  at  the  ter- 
mination of  the  deep  hole,  which  the  fall  of  water 
causes,  there  are  beds  of  weeds, — which  gene- 
rally happens, — then  the  trout,  and  good   ones 
too,  will  be  there  also.    At  night-fall  large  trout, 
becoming  more  bold,   sport  themselves  as  much 
on  shallows  as  smaller  ones  have  done  during  the 
day-time  ;  because  there  it  is  that  they  find  food 
of  all  kind  more  readily.     Minnows  are  there  in 
abundance ;    and,  if   the  fish  seek  flies   of  any 
kind,  they  can  lie  nearer  the  surface,  down  which 
the  winged  prey  floats,  and  they  have  the  quiet, 

p  2 


212  CHUB-HOLES. 

created  by  the  weeds,  to  resort  to,  when  they 
wish  to  avoid  that  necessity  for  exertion,  which 
their  being  constantly  at  the  surface  would  im- 
pose upon  them.  It  is  strange  how  fond  fish 
sometimes  are  of  avoiding  the  light,  as  though 
their  deeds  were  evil  !  Under  dark  arches  and 
culverts  large  trout  are  almost  sure  to  be  met 
with.  But  the  bait  must  not  be  the  artificial  fly 
— rather  a  worm  or  a  minnow — that  is,  if  you 
choose  to  turn  poacher  occasionally,  and  with  this 
propensity,  you  are  always  sure  to  find  trout 
ready,  either  for  worm  or  minnow,  under  the 
roots  of  bushes,  where  deepish  water  rushes  past 
them,  and  hollows  away  the  bank.  The  shade  of 
trees  is  always  very  inviting  to  fish. 

Herb. — You  spoke  of  a  chub-hole.  How  do 
you  distinguish  it  ? 

Theoph. — Don't  ask  too  much,  or  you'll  beat 
me.  Chub  love  to  lie  in  deep  sluggish  water; 
consequently,  where  there  is  mud  or  clay,  rather 
than  gravel  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and  in 
deep  water,  where  the  banks  are  much  under- 
worn  by  the  stream  setting  in  directly  on  to  them, 
consequently  in  acute  bends  of  the  river :  a  hol- 
lowed bank  is  their  chief  delight ;  and  it  is  not 
rapidity  of  stream  which  drives  them  thence.  I 
know  the  head  of  one  of  the  aits  on  the  Thames, 
a  little  below  Hampton  (I  think  it  the  one  which 
extends  down  to  Hampton  lock),  where  the  stream 


BAIT  FOR  SALMON.  213 

is  so  rapid,  that  it  is  every  year  fast  wearing  it 
away  ;  and  this  spot  is  most  excellent  for  large 
chub,  and  I  could  enumerate  very  many  like  it. 
The  side  of  a  much  worn  bank,  though  it  runs 
quite  straight,  is,  if  the  water  be  swift  and  deep, 
sure  to  produce  chub.  A  regular  chub-hole  is 
very  often  a  good  pike-hole.  I  know  a  few 
where,  in  their  respective  seasons,  I  can  always 
make  sure  of  these  fish. 

Herb. — But  to  return  to  our  nobler  prey,  the 
salmon,  do  not  they  take  worms,  and  even  a 
spinning  bait  in  rivers?  I  learn  that  those  are 
the  great  means  resorted  to  in  Norway. 

77ieoph. — I  grant  you,  that  as  regards  their 
taking  worms,  it  is  a  puzzler.  So  I  believe  that  they 
have  been  seen  to  take  natural  flies  on  this  river, 
and  have  been  taken  by  dibbing  with  the  natural 
fly.  But  a  spinning  bait  offers  the  extra  tempta- 
tion of  something  glittering,  and  having  a  motion 
communicated  by  our  hands  and  by  no  means 
natural  to  a  living  fish  ;  and  I  never  heard  of 
their  taking  a  live  bait,  as  jack,  and  perch, 
will  do.  Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  I  fear  we 
must  place  this  also  among  the  many  subjects 
connected  with  the  natural  history  offish,  as  to 
which  we  are,  I  regret  to  say,  entirely  in  the 
dark  at  present.  Still,  however,  from  all  we  have 
to  base  any  opinion  upon,  I  feel  quite  justified  in 
saying  that  salmon  do  not,  and  cannot  take  our  flies 


214  FLIES. 

from  any  resemblance  they  bear  in  shape  or 
colour  to  living  or  natural  prey,  and  I  am,  there- 
fore, not  prepared  to  say  that  we  have  any  reason 
to  employ  particular  feathers  or  other  material  in 
a  fly  on  account  of  their  colours.  I  cannot,  at 
present,  admit  it  as  proved,  that  colour  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  "  takingness"  of  a  fly.  I  do 
not  really  think  that  a  salmon  looking  upwards 
from  his  depth  below,  can  distinguish  more  than 
that  an  opaque  object  is  passing  by  him,  and 
provided  he  is  inclined  to  stir,  my  idea  is,  he  will 
do  so,  whether  the  suit  be  red,  or  blue,  or  green, 
or  yellow. 

Herb. — Do  not  you  then  prefer  one  kind  and 
colour  of  fly  before  others  ?  What  is  your  secret 
charm  ? 

Theoph. — Aye,  "  there's  the  rub."  I  have  found 
three  or  four  flies  pre-eminently  successful,  and, 
in  consequence,  I  persevere  more  with  them  than 
with  others.  With  trout  you  must  be  exact 
(more  or  less),  as  to  colour ;  but,  in  making  sal- 
mon-flies everything,  in  my  opinion,  depends  on 
the  mode  in  which  the  materials  are  worked  up; 
the  appearance  of  life  which,  from  the  mode  in 
which  the  wings  in  particular  are  put  on,  is  given 
in  the  motion  we  communicate  by  the  play  of  the 
rod.  That,  I  think,  is  the  whole  secret  of  salmon 
fly-making.  But,  at  the  same  time,  I  am  not  so 
over-confident  of  its  correctness,  that  I  would 


FLIES.  215 

cease  to  give  preference  to  one  coloured  fly  over 
another,  and,  therefore,  I  will  willingly  describe 
a  few  flies  which  I  consider  killers  for  such  wea- 
ther and  water  as  the  present,  namely,  bright  sun, 
with  flying,  screening,  clouds,  rippling  breeze, 
and  low  and  bright  water.  But  let  me  first  inti- 
mate to  you  that  on  pools  much  deeper  than  we 
have  fished  this  morning,  and  on  rapids,  you  dress 
them  on  larger  hooks ;  and,  on  streams,  on 
smaller  hooks.  Well,  then,  the  first  fly  I  had  on, 
and  which  killed  a  fish,  was  about  fifteen-six- 
teenths of  an  inch  long,  from  shank-end  to 
bend.  This  fly  I  made  from  Ronalds's  beautiful 
work,  the  "Fly-Fisher's  Entomology,"  as  the 
stone-fly  for  trout.  Its  tail  is  composed  of  two 
fibres  of  a  long  grouse  hackle.  The  body  is  a 
mixture  of  bright  yellow  mohair,  and  a  con- 
siderably predominating  portion  of  the  fur  from 
a  hare's  ear ;  but  there  is  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  the  mohair  at  the  tail,  which  gives  it 
a  yellow  appeance  in  that  part.  Over  this, 
representing  the  joints  in  the  fly's  body,  is  wound, 
spirally,  palish  yellow  floss  silk.  The  hackle  for 
the  legs,  is  dyed  a  dark  olive,  and  the  wings  are 
made  of  about  fifty  fibres  from  a  light  mottled 
feather,  off  the  hen  pheasant's  wing.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  fly  happened  to  have  for  its  head,  pro- 
jecting forwards,  two  whisks  of  sable  fur.  But 


216  FLIES. 

1  do  not  consider  that  they  had  any  effect  towards 
the  fascination  of  our  friend  Salmo.  I  may  as  well 
tell  you  now,  once  for  always,  as  1  shall  have  fre- 
quent occasion  to  mention  "  the  wing-feathers"  of 
a  bird,  that  unless  I  specify  any  others,  you  are 
to  understand  that,  taking  off,  and  exclusive  of 
five  or  six  of  the  longest,  which  are  termed  pinion 
feathers,  and  in  fact  form  the  point  of  the  wing, 
I  refer  to  the  eight  or  nine  next  largest  in  size  ;  arid 
of  them  we  use  the  fibres  on  the  concave  side  of 
the  stem,  corresponding  to  those  which,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  you  would  strip  off  from  a  goose 
quill  preparatory  to  making  a  pen.  They  are 
much  finer  and  rather  longer  than  those  on  the 
other  or  convex  side,  and  are,  therefore,  preferred. 
Here  is  a  fly  of  a  similar  pattern  to  that  which 
so  raised  your  ecstacies,  and  with  which  you  might 
have  done  execution  before  breakfast.  It  is  of  a 
more  elaborate  description  than  the  preceding  one, 
a  regular  salmon-fly ;  and,  by-the-bye,  it  is  a 
great  favourite  here,  so  remember  it  well.  The 
hook  was,  perhaps,  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  less 
than  the  preceding,  namely,  fourteen-sixteenths 
long.  Below  the  tail  is  thin  silver  thread  or  wire, 
then  comes  a  golden  pheasant's  top-knot  for  tail ; 
above  that,  three  or  four  turns  of  black  ostrich 
hurl.  The  body,  of  crimson  mohair  left  rough, 
is  ribbed  over  with  silver  thread.  It  is  sometimes 


FLIES.  217 

made  of  crimson  floss  silk,  with  a  claret  hackle 
over  it.  The  wings  are  of  equal  parts,  but  not 
many  fibres,  of  the  dark  brown  speckled  feather 
off  a  mallard's  back,  and  the  light  brown  speckled 
feather  of  the  shovel  duck,  from  the  side  of  the 
body,  under  and  below  the  wing;  and  mixed  with 
these,  and  left  rather  longer,  are  six  fibres  from  the 
bright  yellowish  green  parroqueet's  wing.  Then 
over  the  wings  comes  a  dark  mottled  feather  from 
about  the  shoulder  of  the  grouse's  wing,  which 
we  call  a  grouse  hackle,  because  generally  worked 
up  (and  as  you  see  this  is)  as  cock's  hackles  are, 
namely,  by  being  wound  or  hackled  round  the 
shank  of  the  hook.  Three  or  four  turns  of  a 
black  ostrich  hurl  for  the  head,  completes  the  fly. 
The  third  affords  a  good  lesson  of  the  advan- 
tages of  industry  and  foresight ;  which,  if 
neglected  in  this  instance,  would  have  caused 
me  to  reverse  the  reason  for  my  regrets,  and  to 
have  petitioned  the  Emperor  of  the  Salmon  in 
this  river  for  the  restoration  of  the  fly,  without  a 
care  about  the  punishment  of  the  fish  that  took 
it ;  1  would  then  willingly  have  compounded  the 
felony,  in  defiance  of  -the  laws  and  statutes  of  this 
realm  in  that  case  made  and  provided,  as  those 
skilful  fishers  of  men,  lawyers,  would  have  it. 
But  having  completed  half  the  circle  of  digres- 
sion, let  me  tell  you  that  it  is  a  good  fly,  a 
favourite  fly,  and  a  successful  fly,  made  after  the 


218 


FLIES. 


pattern  of  one  rather  prized  by  "  the  greatest 
sculptor  in  Europe,"  who  took  salmon  with  it 
below  this  town,  in  just  such  water  as  there  is 
at  present,  when  no  one  else  could  stir  a  fin. 
But  you  saw  its  powers,  though  my  unskil- 
fulness  counteracted  them.  Very  fortunately, 
just  before  starting  off  to  meet  you  yester- 
day afternoon,  I  made  this,  its  fac-simile,  in 
order  not  to  lose  so  valuable  a  pattern.  Now 
having  completed  the  "  aforesaid"  circle,  let  me 
tell  you,  that  after  the  four  turns  of  silver  thread 
under  and  below  it,  the  tail  is  composed  of  three 
fibres  of  the  yellow  spreading  back  feather  of  the 
golden  pheasant ;  the  body  is  of  light  red-brown 
mohair,  left  rough,  with  silver  thread  wound  up 
it;  and  over  this,  all  the  way,  comes  a  Marlow 
buzz  hackle  ;  that  is,  a  red-hackle,  with  a  black 
stripe  up  the  stem,  and  the  fibres  tipped  with 
black.  The  wings  are,  first  a  mixture  of  plain 
dark  speckled  guinea  fowl's  back  feather,  with  an 
equal  quantity  of  the  same  feather  dyed  maroon ; 
over  these,  and  extending  rather  beyond  them, 
comes  about  the  same  proportion  of  dark  speckled 
mallard,  such  as  I  have  just  mentioned  ;  for  horns 
projecting  still  further,  and  towards  the  tail,  are 
four  fibres  of  the  dark  (not  brown)  speckled  mal- 
lard's feather  from  the  side  of  the  body  under 
the  wing,  dyed  a  bright  yellow  ;  and  three  turns 
of  a  maroon  dyed  ostrich  hurl  make  the  head. 


FLIES.  219 

But  I  must  not  forget  its  great  advantage  on  the 
pool  we  have  been  fishing,  namely,  its  size.  This 
hook,  you  see,  and  the  one  I  lost  was  the  same, 
is  about  thirteen-sixteenths  long  :  though  I  should 
mention  that  the  pattern  belonging  to  Sir  Francis 
was  not  more  than  twelve-sixteenths  long,  and 
that  the  body  was  of  a  similar  coloured  floss  silk. 
But  what  are  you  laughing  at  ? 

Herb. — Only  at  seeing  you  so  particular  to  a 
hair's  breadth. 

Theoph. — It's  well  to  laugh,  but  I  have  no  other 
way  of  conveying  my  notion  of  the  sizes  of  hooks 
to  you.  Every  maker  has  his  sizes  numbered  or 
lettered  according  to  his  fancy  ;  but  as  all  makers 
differ  from  each  other  in  their  numbers,  or  par- 
ticular distinguishing  characters,  none  of  which 
convey  any  definite  idea  of  size,  except  from 
occular  demonstration,  and  as  I  do  not  learn  that 
the  statute  books  contain  any  act  of  parliament 
which  assimilates  and  equalizes  their  measures, 
how  else,  in  the  name  of  goodness,  can  I  make 
you  comprehend  what  is  a  small  hook,  and  what 
a  large  one?  I  do  not  approve  of  recipes 
ordering  "  a  little"  of  this,  a  "dash"  of  that,  and 
so  forth;  you  will,  however,  only  find  a  differ- 
ence of  one  inch  seven-sixteenths  between  the 
largest  salmon,  and  the  smallest  trout  hook;  and 
if  a  quarter  of  an  inch  can  be  said  to  make  such 
a  difference  in  a  man's  nose,  surely  a  sixteenth  is 


220 


THE  AUTHOR  S  SCALE  OF  HOOKS. 


to  be  regarded  in  a  hook  which  is  to  be  applied 
to  a  fish's  eye  and  mouth.  But  in  order  that  1 
may  not  puzzle  you  so  often  by  "  sixteenths,"  and 
henceforth  to  subdue  that  derisive  cachinating 
curl  of  your  lips,  you  may  at  once  note  down  the 
following  scale  which  I  adopt  for  hooks,  measuring 
from  the  shank  end  to  the  extremity  of  the  bend. 

Theophilus  South's  Scale  of  Hooks. 


Inch.     16tbs. 


1     Measures  .  . 
2      

1     15 
1     10 

3     

1       7 

4     

1       5 

5     

1       4 

6     

0     15 

7     , 

0     12 

Inch.  16ths. 
8     Measures..      0     11 


10 

,     0       9 

11        .  .  .    . 

08 

12      

...      0       7 

13       

0       6 

0       5 

In  order  to    compare  my  scale   with   others, 
note  down  also  the  following  : — 

Phillips'. 


Seir* 

O'Shaughnes, 

SALMON. 

SALMON. 

No. 

in.  16th 

No.                   i 

1 

measures       2  12 

1     measures 

2 

2  10 

2 

3 

25 

3 

4 

2      *% 

4     

5 

1  15 

6 

1  14 

g 

7 

,.       1    10 

GRILSE. 

1     7 

GRILSE. 
1        

1     5 

2      ,. 

1     4 

4 

0  15 

1      

in.  l6ths.Mo. 
2  4 
1  15 
1  13 
1  8 
1  7 
1  5 


1  3 
1  0 
0  15 
0  14 


SALMON. 

in.  16ths. 


6  ... 

2 

4 

7 

,  i 

14 

8   ..  . 

1 

1? 

9      .  . 

1 

7 

BB  . 

GRILSE. 
1 

c> 

B  . 

1 

0 

rr 

0 

14 

c  . 

.     0 

12 

THE  AUTHOR'S  SCALE  OF  HOOKS.  221 


2 

0    o 

2 

.  .  .  .       0 

ff       

0 

R 

3 

o 

3 

o 

g 

f 

o 

7 

4     ... 

.    .      06 

4 

0 

fe      

0 

6 

5       .    . 

0 

5 

o 

6 

0 

5; 

6     

0    £ 

6       ... 

.  .  .          0 

7     ..  .. 

o 

7     

....       0 

8         mi 

dsre       0     5 

8 

0 

9         midge        0     5 

Let  me  observe,  that  as  you  grow  older  in  this 
art,  you  will  find  that  much  of  your  success 
depends  on  the  size  of  the  fly  you  make  use  of. 
This  you  must,  whether  in  search  of  trout  or 
salmon,  vary  according  to  the  weather,  the 
general  height  of  the  river,  and  the  nature  and 
depth  of  the  particular  spots  where  you  throw. 
For  instance,  for  salmon  in  shallow  clear  water, 
(say  about  six  foot,  and  under  eight),  and  in  sun- 
shiny weather  (by  which,  I  mean,  when  the  sky 
is  clear,  and  the  sun  only  occasionally  bursting 
from  behind  passing  clouds) — and  the  stream 
moderately  swift,  I  should  use  a  very  small  fly, 
for  instance,  my  No,  8,  and  according  to  the 
increase  in  rapidity  of  the  same  depth,  I  should 
enlarge  the  fly  to  the  No.  6  size.  If  again,  the 
weather  were  dull,  and  the  sky  completely  clouded, 
I  should  fish  the  same  water  with  hooks  a  size 
larger,  namely,  from  No.  7,  to  No.  5.  But  if  the 
same  depth  were  coloured  after  rain,  and  the  sky 
bright,  I  should  advance  still  another  size, 


222  SIZE  OF  FLIES. 

beginning  by  No.  6,  and  ending  with  No.  4.— 
and  in  dull  weather,  use  No.  5,  to  No.  3.  Ad- 
hering to  the  same  principles  of  calculation,  in 
water  of  eight  feet  deep,  and  under  ten,  I  should 
begin  with  No.  6,  and  finish  with  No.  3,  and  so 
according  to  the  increase  of  depth,  I  should  put 
on  flies  larger  in  the  same  degree,  advancing  one 
number  for  every  two  feet  of  water.  But  the 
largest  I  should  ever  think  it  necessary  to  use  on 
this  river,  is  No.  1,  whatever  may  be  the  state 
of  the  water. 

Herb. — I  have  been  given  to  understand  that 
on  some  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  rivers  they  are 
in  the  habit  of  always  using  flies  much  larger,  and 
as  far  as  I  can  carry  the  sizes  I  have  usually  seen 
for  those  rivers  in  my  memory,  there  appears  to  be 
none  under  the  largest  of  those  you  advise  to  be 
used  here.  Why  should  this  great  difference  exist  ? 

Theoph. — I  think  you  judge  of  the  fact  more 
from  those  which  fishing-tackle  shops  exhibit, 
than  from  examining  the  collection  of  an  expert 
salmon  fisher  who  ties  his  own.  In  Ireland,  and 
in  Scotland,  wise  men,  occasionally,  and  in  the 
former  place  for  the  most  part,  use  flies  quite  as 
small  as  those  I  recommend.  You  will  observe, 
that  in  some  places  nothing  under  five  pounds, 
and  in  others  under  seven  pounds,  is  denominated 
a  salmon.  But  the  rivers  there  are,  many  of 
them,  of  a  greater  depth  and  of  a  bolder  cha- 


SIZE  OF  FLIES.  223 

racter,  and  the  fish  in  proportion  average  larger  ; 
and  there,  perhaps,  anglers  would  never  think  of 
using  any  hook  less  than  my  number  2  or  3, 
while  here,  and  on  other  rivers  less  bold,  four  or 
five  pounds  is  called  a  salmon,  and  the  general 
average  weight  of  those  taken  does  not  exceed 
ten  or  twelve  pounds,  though  a  few  are  caught  in 
each  season  of  five  and  twenty  pounds  and  up- 
wards. But  you  may  be  sure  that  the  few  who 
pay  attention  to  the  matter  study  the  size  of  the 
hook  they  shall  put  on,  and  are  much  more  suc- 
cessful than  those  who  have  but  one  size,  and 
that  a  large  one.  Many,  perhaps,  are  accus- 
tomed to  fish  only  in  one  place  ;  they  occasionally 
meet  with  success  in  deeps  with  their  monster 
fly,  and  then,  without  thinking  about  the  matter, 
extol  nothing  but  large  ones,  and  have  no  faith 
in  waters  from  five  or  six  foot  depth,  which  they 
call  shallows.  Perhaps,  however,  I  do  wrong  in 
giving  you  an  impression  that  it  is  only  the  un- 
thinking who  declare  in  favour  of  large  hooks. 
One  or  two  first-rate,  and  really  scientific  fishers 
of  my  acquaintance,  let  me  tell  you,  are  partially 
of  that  school.  I  say  "  partially,"  because  though 
generally  preferring  large  to  small,  they  qualify 
their  partiality  by  this  saying,  namely,  "Large 
hooks  catch  large  fish;"  which,  to  a  certain 
extent,  is  indisputably  true,  because  large  fish, 
especially  trout,  generally  lie  in  deep  water, 


224  SIZE  OF  FLIES. 

where,  as  I  told  you,  you  should  invariably  adopt 
a  larger  hook.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  rather 
be  under  than  over  the  mark,  and  certainly  think 
that  smaller  hooks  are  much  more  generally  suc- 
cessful, even  for  moderately  big  fish,  than  large 
ones,  while  it  is  very  certain  that  the  latter  do 
not  take  small  fish.  And  I  can  also  assure 
you  that  in  a  day's  fishing,  in  company  with 
an  expert  hand,  who  has  differed  from  me  upon 
this  point,  with  my  small  flies  I  have  taken  three 
large  fish  to  his  one,  or,  which  is  a  stronger 
proof,  in  one  instance,  two  large,  and  three  or  four 
small  ones  to  his  nothing ;  and  that,  although  his 
skill  was  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  mine.  And  it 
is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  low  bright  water,  to 
take  salmon  from  six  to  nine  pounds  with  trout 
flies,  upon  hooks  as  small  as  my  No,  10.  At  the 
same  time  I  may  tell  you  that  I  know  of  no 
person  taking  to  himself  credit  for  any  science 
upon  the  subject,  who  asserts  that  large  flies  are 
of  any  avail,  either  for  trout  or  salmon,  on  shallow 
streams. 

Herb. — I  have  often  heard,  that  it  is  an  uni- 
versally acknowledged  rule  that  a  larger  fly 
should  be  used  very  early  in  the  morning,  or 
late  in  the  evening.  If  you  accede  to  this,  may 
I  ask  for  what  reasons  ? 

Theoph. — I  will  tell  you.  When  a  fish  rises, 
he  is  more  or  less  on  the  feed,  as  we  suppose,  and 


SIZE  OF  FLIES.  225 

perhaps  at  the  moment  when  your  fly  engages 
his  observation,  he  is  already  half-glutted  with 
other  food.  But  supposing  him  to  be  commenc- 
ing his  meal,  then,  if  we  can  judge  by  our  own 
appetites,  let  me  ask  you,  if  when  you  sat  down 
to  dinner,  three  mutton  cutlets  en  masse  were 
upon  your  plate  at  once,  would  you  not  be  less 
likely  to  get  through  them  than  if  they  came 
before  you  one  by  one  ?  And  might  not  a  fish 
for  the  same  reason  prefer  many  small  morsels  to 
one  large  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  they  are  not  so 
gross  in  their  habits  of  feeding  as  many  animals. 
They  do  not,  like  a  boa-constrictor,  "  swallow  an 
ox,"  and  then  lie  gorged  and  torpid  for  a  length 
of  time.  But  if  you  examine  a  trout's  stomach 
(except  in  the  May-fly  season)  you  will  find  him 
full  of  innumerable  small  flies,  with  scarce  one 
large  one,  though  the  larger  sorts  are  in  abun- 
dance upon  the  water.  I  myself  have  taken 
trout  with  myriads  of  what  we  fishermen  denomi- 
nate the  black  gnat  in  their  stomachs  and  throats, 
though  the  air  has  swarmed  with  larger  flies,  such 
as  the  alder,  and  March  brown,  and  cinnamon, 
on  a  dozen  of  which,  with  infinite  less  labour,  he 
might  have  contrived  to  make  as  hearty  a  meal. 
This  cannot  proceed  from  the  mere  superiority 
of  taste  and  flavour  which  one  fty  may  possess 
over  another,  even  admitting  that  fish  have  the 
sense  of  taste,  which  has  been  doubted  by  Mr. 

Q 


226  SIZE  OF  FLIES. 

Ronalds,  especially  as  we  know  that  those  three 
large  flies,  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  are  especial 
favourites  of  the  trout,  and  it  must  be,  that  they 
prefer  small  morsels  to  large,  although  collecting 
the  former  must  entail  so  much  greater  pains 
and  trouble. 

Herb. — This  is  clearly  proved  in  bottom 
fishing.  A  moderately  small  piece  of  paste  being 
more  successful  than  a  larger  one,  and  a  smaller 
worm  of  the  same  sort  producing  the  same 
result. 

Theoph. — You  are  quite  correct,  according  to 
my  experience.  Again,  if  we  may  compare  them 
with  man,  do  we  prefer  large  mouthfuls  to  those 
of  moderate  dimensions  ?  Certainly  not ;  not 
only  because  education  teaches  us  that  it  is  a 
vulgar  habit,  but  for  the  reason,  that  there  is  more 
trouble  in  their  mastication,  as  well  as  in  swal- 
lowing them.  And  it  must  be  remembered  that 
we  masticate,  while  the  fish  swallows  whole 
that  which  he  puts  into  his  mouth.  I  therefore 
think  it  probable  that  a  fish  would  prefer  the 
trouble  of  collecting  several  small  morceaux  to  the 
chance  of  one  large  one  sticking  in  his  gullet,  and 
chokeing  him.  And  ihusprobatum  est  q.  e.  d.,  viz. 
that  large  flies  attract  attention,  while  smaller  ones 
take  the  fish.  In  trolling  for  pike,  a  large  bait 
often  induces  a  fish  to  seize  it,  and  it  is  well  to * 
use  such,  if  you  are  fishing  with  a  snap  ;  yet  if 


SIZE  OF  FLIES.  227 

you  use  a  gorge,  though  the  large  bait  be  seized, 
it  is  ten  to  one  but  that  he  leaves  it  without  an 
attempt  to  pouch  it,  unless  he  be  strong  on  feed ; 
though  there  is  no  doubt  his  throat  would  be 
capacious  enough  for  the  purpose,  had  he  been 
inclined  to  make  the  experiment.  A  fish  often 
seizes  a  passing  prey,  merely,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
by  way  of  a  punishment  for  its  audacity  in  ap- 
proaching too  near.  You  often  see  fish  take 
things  into  their  mouths,  and  then  instantly  eject 
them,  though  the  next  hour  they  would  seize  and 
swallow  the  same  in  nature  and  substance.  Yet 
it  is  only  when  much  pressed  with  hunger  that 
they  attempt  to  swallow  a  bait  large  in  propor- 
tion to  their  own  size.  I  certainly  was  once 
trolling  with  a  gorge  for  pike,  with  a  good  sized 
gudgeon,  when  I  saw  a  perch  not  longer  than 
nine  inches,  and  not  twice  the  length  of  the  bait, 
seize  it.  She  (for  I  found  it  to  be  a  female  full 
of  spawn,  and  nearly  as  deep  as  long)  ran  with 
it  in  shore,  and  I,  thinking  it  impossible  that  she 
would  attempt  to  swallow  it,  sang  out  for  the 
landing  net  to  entrap  her  with  it  at  once  from 
among  the  rushes  beneath  me.  This  t  and  my 
companion  did,  and  when  we  got  her  out,  I  was 
indeed  surprised  to  find  that  she  had  attempted 
to  swallow  it,  and  was  fairly  hooked,  but  neces- 
sarily "  stuck  at  the  tail."  Yet  I  am  satisfied  she 
must  have  been  driven  by  hunger  to  commit  such 

Q2 


228  SIZE  OF  FLIES. 

a  daring  atrocity.  Pike  are  found  occasionally 
gorged  and  half  choked  with  one  of  their  own 
species,  not  much  less  in  size,  in  their  throats ; 
though  this  again  is  only  in  ponds  where  food  is 
scarce,  and  therefore  they  are  urged  on  by  the 
old  adage,  that  "  hunger  has  no  law."  And  you 
may  depend,  that  these  are  unnatural  feats  on 
the  part  of  fish.  Give  me,  therefore,  small  flies 
in  preference  to  large  all  the  world  over,  whether 
for  trout  or  for  salmon. 

Herb. — Why,  then,  let  me  ask  you,  do  you 
recommend  any  variation  in  the  sizes  of  flies, 
according  to  the  different  depths  and  degrees  of 
the  clearness  of  the  water  ? 

Theoph. — Simply  upon  the  principle  of  ex- 
citing attention,  That  which  he  would  discern 
plainly  from  the  bottom  of  four  feet  of  water  can- 
not be  so  perceptible  at  a  distance  of  twelve  feet, 
and,  for  the  same  reason,  the  faculty  of  vision  is 
less  perfect  in  muddy,  than  in  clear  water,  or  in 
cloudy  than  in  clear  weather  ;  and,  therefore,  you 
must  use  a  larger  fly.  Such  have  long  been  my 
notions  upon  this  subject,  and  though  I  am 
willing  to  change  them  for  better,  considerable 
experience  has  not  afforded  any  inducement  to 
forego  them.  You  will,  of  course,  understand 
me  as  using  the  terms  large  hooks  and  large  flies 
synonymously  ;  since  you  must  always  apportion 
the  quantity  of  material  in  the  one  to  the  size  of 


A  KILLING  FLY. EVANSES  FLY.  229 

the  other.  And  do  not  forget  the  hint  I  dropped 
just  now,  that  larger  flies  should  be  used  early  in 
morning  and  late  at  night,  than  in  mid-day; 
simply,  because  they  are  then  less  easily  seen. 
That's  a  mighty  great  reason  !  you'll  say  ;  yet  it 
it  is  little  known  or  thought  of,  as  the  reason 
why  a  fire  burns  better  and  brighter  from  poking. 
So  much  for  the  sizes  of  hooks  and  flies. 

Herb. — You  have  not  yet  described  the  fly  I 
have  on,  and  with  which  we  killed  the  last  fish  at 
the  Quay-stream  pool. 

Theoph. — You  mean  Antiquarius's  fly.  It  has, 
you  see,  an  apple-green  silk  body,  a  golden  phea- 
sant's crest  feather,  and  a  few  fibres  of  scarlet 
ibis  left  shorter  for  the  tail;  below  which,  and 
wound  up  the  body,  is  middling-sized  gold  thread. 
Close  under  the  wings  is  wound  a  claret-coloured 
hackle ;  and  the  wings  are  composed,  the  major 
part,  of  dark-brown  speckled  mallard  ;  the  rest 
of  a  few  strands  of  dark  striped  turkey  feather, 
and  on  each  side  are  two  bright  blue  king-fisher's 
feathers ;  and  the  hook  is  about  my  size  No.  5. 
But  see  another,  the  choicest  fly  in  my  collection 
for  this  state  of  water.  It  is  "Evans's  fly;* 
and,  like  a  provident  man,  I  reserved  it  for  the 
last,  in  the  assurance,  that  though  the  others  had 
failed,  this  would  have  served  me  well  if  anything 
would  have  stirred  a  fish  to  day.  Its  size  is  as 
small  as  my  No.  6,  or  even  No.  7.  Mulberry 


230  AN  UNEXPECTED  CONCLUSION. 

floss-silk  body,  golden  pheasant's  crest  tail,  under 
which  are  several  turns  of  the  thinnest  silver  wire, 
and  some  turns  of  the  floss-silk ;  the  silver  wire 
is  then  carried  over  the  body  spirally ;  close 
under  the  wings  is  wound  a  small  dark  partridge 
hackle.  The  wings  are  of — First,  brown  speckled 
mallard :  second,  about  a  dozen  fibres,  from  the 
golden  pheasant's  ruff;  Third,  'three  or  four  fibres 
of  bright  green  paraqueet,  and  above  them  are 
about  a  dozen  strands  of  dark  mottled,  or  rather 
striped  turkey.  Above  the  wing  is  hackled  either 
a  striped  blue  jay's  wing  feather,  or  a  marlow-buz 
hen's  hackle*,  which  is  perhaps  preferable,  and 
then  a  heading  of  ostrich  hurl  completes  the  fly. 
I  shall  try  this  myself  by  and  bye,  and  I  know 
I  shall  succeed  with  it,  if  the  fish  continue  on 
the  move. 

Enter  Messenger  with  a  Letter. 

Herb. — Theophilus,  what  means  this  pallid 
tremor — this  suddenly  anxious  visage  ? 

Theoph. — My  friend,  instantly  we  part.  How 
unexpectedly.  Little  indeed  do  we  know  what  a 
day  may  bring  forth.  I  must  leave  you,  and  not 
only  you,  but  dear  Old  England,  at  the  same 
time.  The  call,  imperative,  admits  of  no  delay, 
I  must  depart  at  once.  Farewell,  my  pupil.  If  I 


*  Similar  to  the  Marlow-buz    hackle  mentioned  ante;  but  taken  from 
off  tbe  hen's  neck. 


FAREWELL  !  231 

have  helped  you  ought  in  our  loved  art,  improve 
my  precepts,  and  when  at  any  future  moment  of 
success,  remembrance  bids  you  own  my  influence, 
think  of  me,  as  of  one,  who  exiled  far  from  old 
associations  and  old  friends,  seeking  a  new  home 
in  a  distant  clime,  breathes  ardent  prayers  for 
his  loved  country's  welfare,  and  leaves  his  heart 
still  with  his  native  land. 

Herb. — God  speed  you — and 

FAREWELL  ! 


WALTER  SPIBRS,  PRINTER,   17,    NORTH    AUULEY  STREET. 


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