say 10 to 10 J feet long and weighing about 6 or 7
ounces, or even a trifle more. The leader should be
stout. Bright-coloured flies, like the Parmachenee
Belle, Silver-Doctor, White-and-Scarlet Ibis, Dr.
Breck, etc. on number 4 and 6 hooks are generally
used. Sea-trout are most readily found in pools
situated at the head of tide-water, and the most
favourable time is at young flood or young ebb tide.
They lie, like salmon, at the tail of the pools. Canoe-
fishing is usual.

Read Sea-Trout Fishing, by Arthur P. Silver, in
Outing for August, 1907.

OTHER TROUT IN EASTERN WATERS

It is a matter of the deepest regret that, on account
of the denuding of mother earth of her stately trees
by the inexorable demands of what we are pleased
to call civilisation, the waters of a great number
of our streams and lakes have already become too
warm for our native charr, the peerless fontinalis,
or brook-trout. More and more, therefore, must we
look about for a satisfactory substitute, and for-
tunately the fish-culturists are able to supply us
with other varieties of trout, which thrive in water
several degrees too torrid for our native fish, and
which are strong and gamey fish and grow to a larger
size, though we will never admit their equality with



Fishing 271

our brook-trout. The most important of these are
the Western rainbow trout (Salmo irideus) and the
European brown trout (Salmo fario) . Which of these
two is the best colonist has not yet been decided, as
experiments with the rainbow have as yet been too
infrequent and sporadic to found a judgment upon.
The brown trout, the classic fish of Great Britain
and Germany, has been very successfully planted in
many American streams and seems to thrive finely,
even in streams the banks of which have been quite
denuded of trees. The fish has been praised very
highly by those who have angled for it here, and no
doubt it is a good fighter. My own opinion, however,
founded on some years' experience of both fish in
their native waters, is that the brown trout must
yield the palm for gameness to our own fontinalis,
while for beauty our charr is peerless. It is not
unlikely that the brown trout, when acclimated in
the somewhat cooler waters of this country, becomes
a harder fighter than in Europe. We shall be obliged
to learn more and more about it as the axeman and
sawyer ply their deadly trade year by year.

THE GRAYLING

The American Grayling (Thymallus tricolor), an
offshoot of the salmon family, was probably abundant
formerly in many parts of the continent, but is now
found in a few regions of the middle Northwest,
especially in the streams of Michigan. It is a hand-
some and gamey fish which readily takes the fly, and
is of a delicious flavour. Unlike other members of
the salmonidce, the grayling spawns in spring. It
lives less in tumultuous water than in the deeper



272 The Way of the Woods

parts of the stream, and rises abruptly to the lure.
Three quarters of a pound is a good average weight
according to Norris. It has a slimmer body than
the trout, a small head with prominent eyes, a forked
tail, and, its most distinguishing mark, the large
dorsal fin, which shimmers in the light with iri-
descent colors.

The Montana Grayling (Thymallus montanus) is
found only in the tributaries of the Missouri River
above the Great Falls. It is similar in colouring to
the Michigan fish, but is slenderer and has larger
scales.

Light trout-tackle may be used, with very small
flies. Dr. Henshall recommends the following pat-
terns, but says that a red tag should replace the
usual tail and that the wings should be narrow and
split: Professor, Queen-of -the- Water, Oconomowoc,
Lord-Baltimore, Coachman, Henshall and Grizzly-
King. Two flies of different shades should be used
at once. The flies are allowed to sink and then
retrieved.

Read J. A. Henshall's Bass, Pike, Perch, and
Others.

SALMON FISHING

There are several varieties of Pacific Ocean salmon,
all distinct from the Atlantic species, but, as they do
not commonly take the fly, they are of little interest
to the north woods angler. The Atlantic salmon
(Salmo salar), which frequents the streams of eastern
Canada and Newfoundland, as well as north-western
Europe, is generally acknowledged to be the king of
game fish, both on account of his size and his fighting



Fishing 2 73

qualities. Unfortunately he has many powerful
enemies, the greed of the net-fishermen at the river-
mouths, the enterprise of the pulp and lumber dealers,
and the failure of many local governments to prevent
netting and to provide fish-ladders, so that the
salmon can ascend mill-dam falls to reach their
spawning-beds. Thus such rivers as the Hudson,
Connecticut, and Merrimac, once good salmon streams,
now know the grand fish no more, and even the great
rivers of Maine are fast being abandoned by them.
The progress of industry cannot be arrested.

The magnificent streams which flow into the St.
Lawrence Gulf and River produce the largest salmon
on this side of the Atlantic perhaps, if an average
be struck, in the world; but practically every good
stream in the province of Quebec, in which nearly
all the best of them are situated, is rented by the
government to private clubs or individuals, for
annual sums ranging from a few hundreds to many
thousands of dollars, and the ordinary mortal who
is not fortunate enough to receive an invitation to
fish these choice waters, the famous Restigouche
and its tributaries, the Cascapedia, the Moisie, York,
St. Marguerite, etc., must repair to the free fishing
of Newfoundland (no license fee), where salmon are
very abundant, though smaller than in Canada. The
La Have and Port Medway Rivers in Nova Scotia
and the Magaree River in Cape Breton are also fair
salmon waters and have hitherto been free, but
private clubs have already begun to sequester some
of the best pools. The fish run very early in Nova
Scotia, there being little salmon fishing after the
first days of June, though grilse may be taken. The
Canadian license-fee for fishermen who are not



2 74 The Way of the Woods

British subjects is a farce in Nova Scotia and in some
other provinces, not being enforced.

Newfoundland is the paradise of the salmon angler
of moderate means. Its streams are best reached
from Sidney, N. S., or St. John's, Newf. The Reid
Newfoundland Company of St. John's furnishes
folders containing exact information about fishing,
accommodations, etc. So many people fish these
streams nowadays that it is usually easy to find some
acquaintance who can furnish first-hand references
and information. Labrador promises fine salmon-
fishing, but is hard to reach (by steamer from St.
John's).

Salmon spawn in late autumn on gravelly shallows
in the streams where they were born, the eggs hatch-
ing in from 80 to 100 days, according to
temperature. The fry (length at six weeks
about if inches) remain in the parent stream for one,
two, or even three years. At first they are distin-
guished by vertical bluish bars on their sides and
are called parr. They then lose these bars, turn
silvery, and are called smolt. In case this happens
early in the spring the smolt go down to the sea
and remain there not longer than ten weeks, returning
to their home stream as grilse, with an average increase
in weight of from three to six pounds in this short
time. These grilse go back to the sea the last of
autumn and are most likely to reascend the home
stream the next spring as "full-fledged" salmon, with
another considerable increase in weight. If, however,
a smolt should remain nine or ten months in the sea
instead of as many weeks, it will skip the grilse state
and return the next spring as a small salmon. After



Fishing 275

spawning, the fish, now played-out and bedraggled
kelts, return to the salt water in February or March.
The above general facts, taken from C. Pennell, are
subject to unimportant exceptions. To distinguish
between a salmon and a grilse is difficult for a be-
ginner. Beyond the fact that grilse are usually
(though not always) smaller than salmon, it may
be said that the scales of a grilse are smaller, while
the fins are larger and longer than those of a salmon
of like size. The salmon's scales are less easily rubbed
off and its tail is much less forked.

The average grilse weighs a trifle over 3 pounds,
though individuals may run to twice that weight.
An adult Salmo solar may weigh anything
from 3 to 55 pounds, with an occasional
giant heavier still. The average in the great New
Brunswick rivers is between 15 and 30 pounds, 46
pounds being about the limit. In other districts
the fish run considerably smaller, 20 pounds being
heavy, while the average is under 1 5 pounds.

Unless it be for a pair of high mackintosh waders
or wading-stockings, there is no essential difference
between the dress of the salmon-fisherman D

and that of the camper, though on many
of the more fashionable salmon rivers somewhat
more elegance is often affected, even the "boiled
shirt" being in evidence. Mornings and evenings
it is apt to be cold, and one may with profit accept
the advice of Mr. Wells, to "clothe one's self like
an onion, and be prepared to peel layer after layer
as the day advances. " As salmon pools are generally



276 The Way of the Woods

fished from permanent camps, high waders, not to be
recommended for wilderness journeys, may be worn.
They should come up above the waist, or,
better still, to the armpits. Mackintosh
trousers with feet (but without shoes attached), and
worn inside heavy fishing-brogues, are better than
long boots, as they can be turned inside out and
dried easily. 1 At least two pairs of thick woollen socks
should be worn with them. Waders should be dried
often or they will rot. Hang them in the sun or fill
them with heated pebbles or grain of some kind.
Neither waders nor leather shoes should ever be
dried by the fire. Several firms now make very
high waterproof leather boots, which are more com-
fortable than mackintosh and far more durable.

Q.J - . A suit of yachting oilskins will always be

found a great boon, or, if waders are worn,
an oilskin coat long enough to cover the tops. If the
fishing is from a canoe the long rubber fishing-shirt
is not bad.

Don't forget fly-dope and head-net (see Personal

Outfit). Thick gloves with the ends of the fingers

cut of! are excellent to foil the flies. They

should be at least two sizes too large for

ordinary wear. Mr. Wells recommends that they

be worn with linen gauntlets provided with elastic.

TACKLE

For the larger American streams the rod need

1 If rubber or mackintosh high boots are worn, the new
kind, with hobnailed leather soles, should be chosen, as
rubber is too tender for rocky country.



Fishing 277

never exceed 15 J feet in length, while for the smaller
rivers, or waters where the salmon seldom

ixOQS

run over 23 pounds, 14 feet will be found
ample. Do not be persuaded to use (unless it be
for tournament casting) an English or Scottish
" weaver's beam" of 1 8 or 20 feet. There is no space
here to give the arguments for and against the light
salmon-rod, but they can be found in Mr. Wells 's
American Salmon-Fisherman, and they make out
an unanswerable case for the light rod. Of course
if your only object is to get out as much line as pos-
sible, and your physical powers are equal to a very
heavy rod, why, then get one. Mr. Enright's cast
of 152 feet was made with a 2o-foot greenheart, but
it is significant that American casting rules make no
provision for a rod over 18 feet in length, at least in
1907.




FlG. 58. British Salmon- Rod Handle

Both split-bamboo and greenheart are excellent
materials for salmon-rods, but bamboo is lighter
and livelier in action. Expense must be no object
when buying a salmon-rod, as the best is none too
good. If, however, you do not care to pay $45 or
more for an American split-bamboo rod, $25 will buy
a good, though heavy, greenheart. If the G .. .
fishing is to be for grilse only, the rod need
not be longer than n feet, and a powerful trout-rod
will do nearly as well.

British rods are generally capped at the butt with




278 The Way of the Woods

flat wooden, or, better, soft rubber buttons, which

Butt-rest can ^ e more comfortably braced against

the body than our metal caps. If the

latter are used, or if big fish are likely to be killed,

a leathern butt-rest, worn
with a strap round the
waist, should be used, as
it greatly relieves the
muscles when playing a

heavy fish.

FIG. 50 Butt-Rest , r j -, , 1

The first guide and the

tip of a salmon-rod are generally of agate.

The reel, always single-action, should properly
balance the rod, should be about if inches in the
R . width of the winding-barrel, and be pro-

vided with a tension-screw (on the opposite
side from the handle) or adjustable drag, by which
the running can be made harder if necessary. Gen-
erally, of course, the reel should work with the utmost
smoothness and ease, the drag being applied only
in the stress of battle. For large streams the capacity
of the reel should be 120 yards. American salmon-
reels cost from $15 to $25; Malloch's Scottish reels
cost about $10 (bought in Canada) ; Hardy's the same.
Each reel should have a stout leathern case.

Salmon-lines of enamelled silk are now made in many
varieties. A taper is usually preferred. As the line
,. should be at least 100 yards long and would

cost, if entirely of silk, in the neighbourhood
of $12.00, it is usual to splice a 60- or 4o-yard salmon-
line to 80 or 100 yards of Cuttyhunk linen line, No. 15,
which is very strong, and which does not come into



Fishing 279

action except when the fish is hooked and has run
quite far, so that it does not interfere with casting.
The splicing should be done in a tackle-shop unless
the angler is an expert in such matters. (See Wells' s
American Salmon-Fisherman.) On smaller streams
60 yards will generally be found enough, without
piecing with linen. A bodkin of bone or ivory is a
good thing to unravel knots and tangles in the line.
The exact size of line is impossible to give, as it must
fit the rod, a heavy rod requiring a larger size, so as
to bring out all its power, while a light rod cannot
readily take much length of heavy line from the water.

The classic length of the leader, or casting-line,
is 9 feet, tapered, and, as it should be of single gut,
it is absolutely necessary that it be above
reproach in quality, for it must always
remain the weakest part of the tackle, and a time is
likely to come when one must "throw finesse to the
winds and make a direct issue between the strength
of the fish and that of one's tackle." Therefore, unless
you can afford to buy the best heavy gut ($10.00 to
$12.00 per 100 strands in New York) and tie your
own casting-lines, it is well to purchase only of the
most reliable dealers. For medium weight, sufficient
for Newfoundland or Nova Scotia, you will pay
$1.50, for heavy $2.00, while very heavy single-gut
leaders command as much as $3.00 and $3.50. Salmon-
leaders should be tested to 10 pounds. On bright
days unstained gut is the best; on dark days mist
colour is said to be less conspicuous, though I rather
doubt this.

Why salmon rise to the fly, since they eat almost



280 The Way of the Woods

nothing in fresh water, is one of those things "no
fellow can tell." Volumes have been written on the
subject, which is complicated by the ex-
traordinary vagaries of the fish, that have
been hooked with a piece of caribou-skin, a glove-
thumb, a mouse, a silver coin, a live butterfly, and
many other singular baits, all attached, of course,
to hooks. At the present time it is commonly be-
lieved that the flies are taken for food, since it has
been proved that salmon do eat, though most
sparingly, in fresh water. It may be that the
fish rise more from instinctive habit than from
real hunger; perhaps also partly from jealousy, to
prevent some other fish from mouthing a delicacy,
somewhat as a dog will eat, even when already
satisfied, so long as a rival stands ready to seize
what remains.

Bright-coloured flies prove most attractive to
salmon, and nearly all the favourites on this side
of the Atlantic are of that description. Among the
most successful may be mentioned: Silver- Doctor,
Jock-Scott, Durham- Ranger, Silver-Grey, Butcher,
Black-Dose, Fiery-Brown, Black-Fairy, Dusty- Mil-
ler, Popham, all resplendent in tinsel and bright
feathers. Two or three sizes of
each fly chosen should be in your
fly-book or box. The favourite
hook seems now to be the
O'Shaughnessy, with Limerick or
Sproat for second choice. Double

FIG. 60. Salmon-Fly r

hooks are very much used, espe-
cially in the smaller sizes, but the correct salmon-
angler rather despises them as . unsportsmanlike.
Salmon-flies are provided with twisted gut loops, and




Fishing 281

are attached to the leader by one of the knots
described above under Trout-fly Tackle.

For storing flies, as well as for the supply carried
on the person, special moth-proof boxes and cases
may be had of the dealers. A metal pocket box,
holding five dozen flies, costs in the neighbourhood
of $4.00, while the stronger and more elaborate cases
run in price from $12.00 to $25.00.

Though grilse and salmon up to ten pounds weight
may be landed in the largest size linen nets, the correct
thing is to gaff them, and in the purchase G ~

of the necessary instrument the beginner
has no choice but to trust to his dealer, and this in
spite of Mr. Wells's dictum that he had never seen
a really good gaff in a shop. That was, however,




FIG. 61. Salmon-Gaffs

in 1887, and his strictures have probably borne
fruit. The chief characteristics, as he gives them,
are: hook strong and stiff; depth of point must
exceed width of hook at widest part (measuring
inside the curve) by \ to f inch; wire not too
thin nor clumsily thick; point long, keen, and con-
ical; gaff, except point, neither polished nor nickel-
plated; should be lashed to improvised handle cut
on the bank rather than screwed to a ready-made
handle ; point side of gaff straight. When the handle
is cut on the fishing-ground one side is flattened
at one end and the spur of the gaff driven into it,



282 The Way of the Woods

the gaff then being firmly bound to the handle with
twine. When leaving the stream the twine is cut and
the handle thrown away. The dimensions of an
''able-bodied" gaff are as follows: bottom of hook
to spur (on a straight line) i foot; width of hook
opposite point 3 inches (or a trifle less) ; width of
hook at widest point 3^ inches; depth of hook
(straight across from point to shank) 3 T 9 inches.
All measurements are on the inside curves. Such a
gaff will land anything, great or small. Plain gaffs
without handles cost less than half a dollar. They
are also made with a screw-end to fit the " Harrimac "
landing-net handle. The gaffing of the fish is con-
sidered to be an essential part of the killing of a
salmon (one never catches a salmon!), and a plain
gaff is therefore the only weapon which the "purists"
will allow in the hands of the gaffer. But nothing
is so annoying, to use the very mildest of terms, as to
play a big fish sucessfully and bring it to gaff, only
to have it missed, and very likely lost, by an awkward
gaffer; and for this reason many a good salmon-
angler, who has repeatedly suffered this catastrophe,
has taken to the automatic gaffs, when going among
untried guides. The best of them is the Marble
($2.00), a deadly weapon even in the hands of a
duffer. Order one not nickeled. Though perhaps
rather unsportsmanlike, one must remember that
the angler has actually done his part in bringing the
fish within reach of the gaffer, and the punishment
certainly does "not fit the crime" when he loses
it through no fault of his own. The "Marble" should
be handled carefully, as it closes easily.

The principles of casting are identical with those



Fishing



283



of manipulating trout-rods. The line is thrown back,
though not so far as to allow the fly to c .
touch the water, a pause is made while the
line straightens out behind, and the forward cast
completes the operation. (See Casting the Fly.)
There is, however, one important
difference: with the trout-rod the
balance, or centre of motion, lies
within the hand holding the rod,
while with the two-handed salmon-
rod the balance lies in the lower
hand, which grasps the butt. One
must consider this hand the pivot
upon which the rod swings, hold
it steady, as if it were merely a
socket, and manage the rod with
the upper hand. Above all things
practise with each hand alternately
held above and below, so that a
cast over the right shoulder will
be as easy as one over the left.
Ambidexterity is as convenient,
nay,
as for the axeman or the canoeist.

The underhand switch-cast, which has many
variations and names, is made by switching the line,
not over the angler's head, but off to one side; then,
by a smart forward and upward movement, the fly
is flung up and out, following the motion imparted
by the curve of the line. Such casts are resorted to
when some natural object interferes with a proper
overhead cast. At the end of a cast directly into the
wind, the tip is brought sharply down nearly to the
water. (See Figure 63.)




Fig. 62. Top of Back-
as necessary for the angler Cast



284



The Way of the Woods



A salmon "pool," unlike that deep and serene
haunt of the trout at the foot of some fall, is generally
Fishing nothing more than a stretch of clear water
the Pool from 3 to 10 feet deep, with a gravelly
bottom and a 3- or 4-mile current; in other words a

kind of quiet rapid. It is
fished either from the bank
or from a canoe or boat
anchored amidstream. If
from the bank, the angler,
having consulted his guide
as to where the fish usually
lie, takes his station near the
upper end of the pool, and
casts his fly across the
current. The rod is held
quietly in a nearly horizontal
position, while the fly is
carried down-stream in the
segment of a circle, until
the line is nearly at right
FIG. 63. Finish of Wind-Cast angles with the rod, which

is then moved so that it

points down-stream at an angle of about 45 de-
grees with the bank. The fly is carried on down
until it passes the end of the rod a few de-
grees, when it is retrieved for another cast, which
may be made over the same water, or with some
6 or 8 feet more line. The line is lengthened grad-
ually with successive casts until the limit of the ang-
ler's casting powers is reached or a rise rewards his
efforts. If unrewarded he moves the length of a
cast downstream and resumes operations.

From a canoe the water is covered by casts towards




Fishing 285

each side. It will be seen that, in salmon- fishing,
the rod is more quiescent than in angling for other
salmonidcz, the current doing most of the From a
work. If the line, on account of a particu- Canoe

larly strong current, bellies badly, so that it runs
ahead of the fly, one must cast more obliquely down-
stream; or the line may be given a flip up-stream
just as the fly strikes the water, by switching the tip
of the rod in that direction.

Should the fish rise but refuse to take the fly do not
cast again at the exact spot, but some distance
beyond, so that the fly shall swing round and over it.

Displaying is the art of offering or showing the
fly to the fish over as large a radius as possible, and
in such a manner that line and leader are Displaying
invisible. The fly itself is submerged, the Fly
and many anglers do not attempt to aid the current
in giving it a natural motion. The majority, however,
endeavour to do this by vibrating the tip up and
down through the space of a foot, the result being
that the wings and hackle of the fly alternately close
and open with the successive jerks, and, so it is
thought, a lifelike motion is imparted.

Salmon are much more deliberate in their move-
ments than trout, and, while the latter will seize a fly
and spit it out again almost in an instant,
the salmon approaches and takes it in a
more stately manner, and is apt to carry it down with
him to his lair before investigating its precise char-
acter. From this it follows that the angler must not
strike too soon when he sees the warning boil of the
water near his fly; in fact it will be better not to



286 The Way of the Woods

strike at all, and many fishermen follow this precept
exclusively, asserting that the fish and the resistance
of the heavy line will do the hooking quite effectually,