Home › W › Weight (Moreover is specially required)
Weight (Moreover is specially required)
moreover, is specially required in the top joint, to give the strength proper for the recovery of a heavy line from the water, and this makes the strain on the angler's back and arms very severe. So soon, therefore, as the advancing season prescribes the use of smaller flies and lighter tackle, advantage will be found in a rod considerably lighter in the top. Eighteen feet is a usual length for a salmon rod; none but men of extraordinary stature and strength gain anything by using a longer one, and many good fishers prefer one of seventeen feet. One thing is quite certain: it is unwise to employ any tradesmen except those of established reputation, even if their prices run high.
Rod-making has been brought to such perfection that, while you may get a good article in a cheap shop, you are certain to get it from any first-class maker. The man who gets among fish is sure to have his gear SALMON] rudely tested, and it is the worst economy to try and save a few pounds in outfit. The invention of adhesive tape has brought spliced fastening for joints into welldeserved favour, and it is certainly far preferable to the old method of metal ferrules, being far stronger and giving the rod a sweeter play.
While on this subject it may be observed that much chagrin may be avoided by invariably taking two rods to the water-side. The force exerted in lifting a long line from the water is so considerable that any check from fish or sunken rock may cause a fracture, which will take some valuable time to repair, or a bent ferrule, which is practically the rod; and here again let the angler beware of the cheap article. It may look as well when new as an expensive one, but sooner or later it will betray him at a critical moment. No design is better than the ordinary deep-barrelled, bronzed pattern, with revolving plate and a plain check, the pressure of the check being capable of regulation by a screw on the reverse side to the handle. In adjusting the reel to the rod, let the handle be on the left when the reel is below the rod; then, when a fish is hooked, the reel should be turned uppermost, bringing the handle to the right hand. The line then rests along the rod, instead of on the rings, while the fish is being played.
SALMON LEAPING. irreparable. Again, the soundest greenheart will sometimes snap in a high wind without any fault on the part of the angler, who, however, must bear the punishment if his spare rod has been left at home-perhaps miles away. If the ordinary slip ferrules are used, it is well to anoint them regularly with vaseline to prevent sticking; and the same applies to the various ingenious modifications of the slip ferrule which find favour with those who have adopted them.
When not in use, rods should be kept in some cool place, such as a cellar or coachhouse; if kept in a room artificially heated, the wood is apt to get brittle, or shrink away from the fittings. They should not be tied too tightly into their covers; they should either be laid flat or placed erect in racks: and before being laid by for the season they should be rubbed well over with vaseline.
The varnish on them should be renewed from time to time, preferably by the maker.
The Reel is second in importance only to The Line.-Reel-lines were formerly made of horsehair, or horsehair mixed with flax or silk. Happily, such material has been discarded generally in favour of silk alone, with waterproof dressing. Only experience will enable the angler to choose a line proportioned in weight to the rod that is to cast it. For early spring fishing and in stormy weather a heavy tapered line is desirable.
Forty yards of this expensive material is enough, backed with one hundred yards of the light, but exceedingly strong, line used in tarpon fishing. Silk lines readily rot if left wet on the reel; they should be pulled out and hung to dry immediately after use.
With due care a good line will last several seasons, but it should be tested at intervals from end to end.
Gut.-Between the reel line and the fly comes the gut casting-line, which may be attached to the line either by a hitch knot or, preferably, by a loop. Fracture is more frequent in gut than in any other part of the gear; not because there is any lack of good gut in the market, but because it is a peculiarly perishable material, liable to become brittle after lying by some months.
It is better to get small quantities from time to time and burn old stuff at the end of each season than to lay in a large stock. Treble twisted gut is less treacherous than single gut, and may be used in all but the finest waters. Most anglers, however, prefer single gut next the fly, except in spring and late autumn fishing; but seeing that salmon are generally fished for in swollen waters, it is very doubtful whether nicely tapered treble gut, made into casts without knots, is more visible to the fish than single. Quite recently a new material called Talerand has come into use as a substitute for gut, and threatens to supersede it, for it is far stronger, has no glitter, and is very much cheaper. It may be obtained, either made into casts by tackle tradesmen, or bought on reels, costing 2s. 6d. or 3s. for 50 yards.
Three seasons' experience of this material has caused the present writer to discard gut altogether in salmon-fishing. A finepointed stiletto, such as may be got for a few pence at any sewing-machine shop, is simply invaluable for undoing knots in gut or opening the loops of flies. 66 Flies. Of salmon-flies, and recipes for composing them, many volumes have been written. Local fishers are often very dogmatic about the precise pattern indispensable to success in their rivers; but those men who have cast angle in many waters generally come to the cold conclusion that, while size and movement are all-important, colour and material are of greater concern to the fisher than to the fish. A salmon-fly is not a fly" in the sense that a trout-fly is an imitation of a certain insect: it is an object which simulates no particular animal, but by receiving a life-like motion in the water, is intended to rouse the curiosity, irritation, or appetite of the salmon. Even if salmon possess the faculty of distinguishing between colours (as distinct from light and dark shades), which has never been proved, the fly is usually presented to them in a position which prevents colour being seen, namely, between the eye and strong light. Consequently, it is no matter of surprise that on many rivers, where thirty or forty years ago none but sober greys and browns were held of any avail, fishermen now use the gaudiest compounds of fur and feather with equal success. Such was the case on the Tweed, where, fifty years ago, bright Irish flies used to be regarded with the utmost aversion; yet at the present time, if Tweed boatmen were asked to vote in support of what they considered the most killing fly, taking one day with another, it is probable that the [SALMON "Wilkinson" would be found at the top of the poll-a creature with body of burnished silver, crimson throat hackle, and with jungle-fowl and blue chatterer in the wings.
Mr. Dunbar's favourite colour for the Thurso in spring used to be green; now nothing will please the gillies, let alone the fish, but yellow and scarlet. Nobody can fish for salmon long without acquiring a preference for certain flies, which may be indulged with perfect confidence in any river he visits. He may find it necessary, in order to keep his attendant in good humour on bad rising days, to allow him to attach a fly of local reputation to his line; but if he is prudent, he will never fail to test the temper of the hook before encountering a fish.
Hooks. Much of the care bestowed on flies would be applied more profitably to the study of hooks (see ANGLING). The Limerick bend is the general favourite among salmon fishers, and a very good hook it is, provided the barb is not exaggerated as in some English imitations. Very large hooks should be of the long-shanked Dee pattern, for nothing is gained by increasing the bend and barb beyond a certain size.
Hooks of an inferior make generally have been filed away behind the barb; and such should be avoided, as certain to snap if they strike on a bone. Fishermen are divided as to the merits of double hooks; but comparatively few deny that they are of great advantage in the smaller sizes of flies. a Casting the Fly. - Abundant directions how to cast the fly may be found in most works on angling, but it is an art which it is as vain to try and impart on paper as it is simple to acquire from the example of skilled companion. Unlike the trout-fisher, the salmon-fisher always works down stream, casting his fly more or less across the current according to its swiftness. If the rod is powerful, it will be found easier to cast a moderately long line-say twenty yards from the reel-than a shorter one.
The presence of an attendant who knows the lodges of salmon is indispensable to one fishing any stream for the first time. Salmon are very constant to their haunts; but the places most attractive to the eye are often such as no fish frequent, while others which on the surface look unpromising may be the surest casts in the water. There is one device, however, which may be mended for every good salmon cast. Supposing the angler to have fished down a piece of water where he has good reason to suspect the presence of fish, even though he has not had a rise, let him pull out three or four yards more of line, and, casting the fly more directly across the stream than he did in descending, move up-stream two or three paces, repeating the cast as soon as the recom- SALMON] fly hangs straight below him. This method of "backing it up" has proved successful times beyond reckoning; partly because the upward movement of the fisherman straightens the slack of the line and gives the fly a truer play, and partly, it is probable, because a fish that may refuse a fly brought down facing him, may be induced to rise at one coming up suddenly from behind him. The varieties of casting-the overhand and underhand cast, the switch, the Spey cast and its modification, the figure of eight cast, and the Helmsdale wind cast- Playing a Salmon.-In playing a salmon. it is a good rule never to let a fish take a yard of line without fighting for it; keep opposite your fish or below him; many a good salmon has been lost from over anxiety to prevent him disturbing the water below where he was hooked. Except in fine water, where the angler may be seen by fish in the stream, the play of a hooked fish does not seem to communicate alarm to his fellows.
Sometimes a fish is hooked immediately above a fall or a bridge, where inconvenience or disaster must ensue if he were to descend.
SALMON FISHING. cannot be imparted by written instruction, but must be acquired by watching an expert.
Hooking the Fish.-In many cases a salmon will take the fly without showing himself or breaking the surface. The angler feels the fish before he sees it, and all he must do is to raise the rod smartly to a position which brings its pliability into play. But at other times the salmon breaks the surface with a splash or a boil, or dashes wholly or partly out of the water at the fly.
At such times the angler, especially if he is accustomed to trout fishing, must train himself not to alter the movement of the fly till he actually feels the line tighten.
If he is fishing with a small or mediumsized hook, the act of raising the rod into play is quite enough "strike" to fix it in the fish: but with a very large hook with heavy barb it is advisable to drive it home with a smart pull.
VOL. IV [Photograph by Sport and General.
In such circumstances, if the fish is gently handled at first, he may be induced to move upwards from the dangerous spot into water where he may be dealt with securely. Under all ordinary circumstances the utmost strain the tackle will warrant should be kept on a fish from first to last; much time and many fish are lost by timid or inexperienced anglers who deal over tenderly with their quarry. As a rule, no fish hooked in a place where the angler can keep opposite to him with a short line ought to take more than fifteen minutes in play; and the average time in practised hands is certainly considerably less. When a fish "sulks" or lies down in a place where the rod cannot be brought into full play, "hand-lining" (i.e., taking hold of the line between the fish and the point of the rod and working it as in sea fishing) may be resorted to with advantage. In spring, "kelts" (unseasonable fish H descending to the sea) should always be handled in this way, both because it is more expeditious and because it avoids uselessly straining the rod.
Landing a Salmon. If your attendant is a practised hand, he should carry a gaff on a shaft of hazel or male bamboo about five feet long; but if you are fishing alone, a jointed gaff carried in a sheath slung from the shoulder will be found most convenient.
So soon as the fish lies quiet within reach, let the gaff be put over the middle of his back, and fixed smartly but steadily. The only exceptional circumstances under which the gaff should be put under the fish is when JOINTED GAFF.
LANDING NET. he has to be struck from a boat in deep water, as in the Shannon or on a lake. The use of the gaff is prohibited in the Tweed after the close of the net fishing, and in the Helmsdale while kelts are in the water, and a large landing-net is employed. But this is a heavy and clumsy article, and the landing-noose in use on some rivers in Norway would probably supersede it if more generally known. Failing gaff, net or noose, salmon may be landed by "tailing" them (i.e., seizing them by the small of the tail), providing the shore is shelving; but a little more time and patience is necessary to finish the struggle in this way, and a grilse cannot be tailed out, owing to the slimness of that part of its body.
Sea-Trout Fishing. The fish most commonly known as the sea-trout is Salmo trutta, which in general appearance, habits, and the mode in which it is angled for, resembles the salmon in miniature and is a delicious fish on the table. Though it often [SALMON takes the salmon or grilse fly, it is usually fished for with the larger sizes of loch-trout flies, the particular pattern being immaterial, though local fishermen usually have their favourite. As a general rule, bright colours A USEFUL ATTACHMENT FOR FASTENING GUT CAST TO LINE. are preferred, but nothing is better than the red palmer, the red-and-teal or the Wickham Fancy. Sea-trout ascend some streams in great numbers and afford the liveliest kind of sport, being free risers, and fighting most gamely when hooked. It is, however, a marked feature in the sea-trout that, having risen once and missed the fly, he can very seldom be tempted to rise again. The heaviest fish generally run in June and July, when they may be taken from 3 lb. to 6 lb. in weight and even heavier. These are followed by a run of smaller fish in August and September. By the beginning of October, nearly all have passed up to the spawning grounds, where they soon become unseasonable. In certain rivers it often happens that some tributary attracts the main run of sea-trout, while the salmon keep to the main stream. They are fond of congregating in lakes, where excellent sport is often obtained among them, notably in the lakes of Galway and Connemara, where they are known as white trout. They are called sewin in Wales, peal in Devon and Cornwall, and in Scotland the smaller fish are termed finnocks and herling. Sea-trout fishing in rivers is generally practised when a flood is running down; but these fish will take a small bright fly readily in low water, under a bright sun, provided there is a breeze.
Night fishing with fly is very deadly in a low water. If the angler takes his stand at KNOT FOR JOINING TWO PIECES OF GUT. late dusk beside the first pool above the tide, he may fill a good basket before midnight, for, unlike the salmon, sea-trout take the fly as readily by night as by day. But it must be confessed that this is not a very refined art, and much of the charm is lost by not seeing the fish rise. Sea-trout will take a worm or minnow very freely, but it is an inferior sport, and cannot be recommended in pursuit of a fish of such a free rising habit.
SALMON] In the Tweed, the term sea-trout is applied to another of the migratory Salmonida, viz., Salmo cambricus or eriox, known in most northern salmon rivers as the bull trout.
It is a fish of thicker and coarser proportions than either salmon or trout, and although it runs to a large size, 10 lb. to 12 lb. being by no means extraordinary, it holds a very evil reputation among anglers. Not only is its flesh much less palatable than that of Salmo trutta, but it is a very bad riser at the fly. In fact, it is only as it were accidentally that it is taken with fly by those fishing for better game. In such cases it fights strongly, a common device when hooked being to roll and splash about on the surface in a manner most trying to the nerves. blue chatterer, red-breasted crow, junglecock, blue and yellow, scarlet, blue and red macaws, Amazon parrot, toucan, peacock, guinea-fowl, ibis, summer duck, Mandarin drake, wigeon, teal, mallard, heron, English jay, ostrich, swan, and turkey; hackles, natural and dyed, from cocks' necks; gold and silver twist, lace, flat and oval tinsels (all especially made for the purpose); floss silks of all colours; dyed seals' fur and pigs' wool; Pearsall's gossamer fly tying silk chenilles; embroidery scissors, stiletto, Horns: nerves. The presence of this fish should be discouraged in salmon rivers, for although it has a good commercial value when taken in nets, it probably devours a quantity of salmon fry, being very voracious in the kelt state. The bull trout has taken possession of some streams, such as the Aln in Northumberland, almost to the exclusion of other sea fish.
HERBERT MAXWELL. a SALMON FLY TYING. -Salmon flies, although similar materials, such as feathers, furs, silks, and tinsels, are employed for their manufacture, bear no resemblance to trout flies. The latter are, in nearly all cases, tied to imitate living insects. It would be difficult to select from hundreds of patterns of salmon flies a dozen intended to imitate anything in nature. They are, generally speaking, a combination of feathers and furs of the gaudiest or richest hues, arranged on the hook in diverse ways in order to produce different effects. It is here that the methods employed for the manufacture of trout and salmon flies differ so much. One trout fly is a repetition of another as regards shape and manipulation of materials, and may be dressed upon three or four sizes of hooks. The materials used for salmon flies are far more numerous, each and all different in texture and behaviour; some are fine, some coarse; some easy, some difficult to manage; sometimes arranged one way, sometimes another, and on hooks that vary in size from half an inch up to four inches in length. It is, therefore, after long practice only, that the dresser can be sure of tying a well-proportioned salmon fly, of any size or description. Accuracy in fixing the different materials in the right place is necessary from the commencement, otherwise it is impossible to complete the fly satisfactorily.
Materials. The following list comprises most of the materials employed: Feathers from the golden pheasant, bustard, light Tail.
Tag.
Topping Tinsel.
Upper wing.
Cheek.
Head.
Loop.
Butt Body Hackle.
SALMON FLY.
CRB.B. hackle pliers; varnish, shoemakers' wax, hooks of all sizes, treble twisted gut, and strands of the thickest salmon gut.
Some dressers use a vice, in which the hook is held during the process of tying; others hold the hook between the left thumb and forefinger, the second finger helping where necessary. The illustration shows the names of the several parts of a salmon fly.
SOME STANDARD PATTERNS.
Jock SCOTT.
A fly with built wings and “floss silk" body.