The most difficult thing for a beginner is to throw the line far, neatly, and to make the fly first touch the water. A few attentive trials will, however, bring him to do it with much dexterity. It should always be across the river, and on the off or far side, where you expect the fish to rise. lf he appears, do not be too eager to strike, but give him a little time to catch the fly ; then, with a gentle twitch, fix the bait in his lip or mou,h ; if he is hooked on a bone, or feels sore, he will shoot, spring, and plunge, with such strength and vehemence, as to make the reel run with a loud and whizzing noise, and your arms to shake and quiver most violently. In this situation, take out the line from the winch quickly, though with composure, keeping it always at the same time stretched, but yet ever ready to yield to his leaping. Do not let it run to any great length, as it is then apt to be unmanageable, but rather follow him, and if he comes nearer you, retire, and wind up as fast as possible, so as to have the line tight, and hold your rod nearly in a perpendicular situation. When he becomes calmer, he often turns sullen, and remains motionless at the bot tom of the water.—Then cast in a few stones upon the spot where you think he lies, and this, in all probability, will rouse him from his inactive lf you have no servant or attendant to do it for you,Me cautious in the lifting and throwing of them, as the salmon may spring at that instant, and break your tackle, should you be off your guard. Being again in motion, he generally takes his way up the current,—do not then check him ; as by this course his strength will be the sooner ex hausted. When now fatigued, and no longer able to keep his direction, he once more tries all his wiles in disengaging himself from the guileful and hated hook ; he crosses and recrosses, sweeps and flounces, through out every part of the pool and stream : But, finding all his efforts to be vain, he at last, indignant of his fate, with immense velocity, rushes headlong down the stream. If the ground is rough or uneven, or if you cannot keep pace with him, give line enough, and when it slackens wind up again, until you nearly approach him. You will then probably perceive him floating breathless on his side, his motion feeble, and all his vigour gone. Being unable to make any further resistance, it behooves you now to lead him gently to the nearest shelving shore; use no gaff, (Scotch cleick) as it mangles the fish very much, but take him softly by the gills into your arms, or throw him, if not too heavy, upon the top of some ad jacent bank.
The smouts and gilses, being the young of the sal mon, require the same modes and baits in fishing for them, only upon a smaller scale ; but indeed every an gler who is not a poacher, ought to do every thing in his power to preserve the fry, for in that state they are but poor, ill-tasted fish, and their destruction is not only illegal, but injudicious, as the more that are taken, the greater must be the decrease in the breed of salmon.
SEA TRouT—Salmo Trutra. Of this species the two principal varieties are the whirling and the finnock ; this last in Dumfriesshire is called a biding. They may he the very same fish, only differing in age, and from that in the colour of their fins, the first having them black, and the last yellow. It has been asserted by some anglers, and especially by gentlemen from the neighbourhood of the river Annan, that they are salmon in a progressive state towards maturity. This was strenuously maintained by the late Dr Walker, professor of natural history in the university of Edinburgh, who, among many mistaken notions respecting the salmon, observes of the hirling, "That from its shape, colour, and other characters, and especially from the number of rays in the fins, it is evident, that it is only the samlet (we suppose that he meant the smout) in a Inure ad vanced state, and a salmon during the first year of its growth." Artedi, Gronovious, and Liana us, attempt
ed to establish the specific character of fish, from the number of their pinnal rays ; however, they did not altogether succeed, nor do we imagine, that the doctor, had he been still in life, would have been more fortunate. It is true, they may afford a strong subsidiary indication, by frequently corresponding, but more cannot be count ed upon, as a difference of two or three rays has often been observed in the very same species, although of equal age and size. We have noticed, in a former part of this article, and we think have incontrovertibly proved, not only from our own oJservations, but by the undoubt ed evidence of fishermen, who have marked them, that there is no mediate size, nor state, between the smout and gilse ; besides, there are rivers in Scotland, the Erich for instance, in which the hirling was never seen, and where the salmon, gilse, and smouts, regularly ap pear. We have also had many conversations with sal mon fishers of North America, to whom this fish was entirely unknown. The common size of the whiffing is from 16 to 24 inches, and of the finnock or hirling, from 9 to 14 inches long. The sea-louse adheres to both, and they are subject to the same curvature of the under jaw as the salmon, but are, as we firmly believe, a very distinct species from the salar.
They rise readily and eagerly to an artificial fly, and require one rather more gaudy than is commonly offered to the yellow trout.
The PAR. We apprehend no Latin specific name has been yet properly given by authors to this fish. It has indeed been ranked by Bcrkenhout as a distinct species, under the appellation samtet, in the genus salmo. It is well known, however, over all the kingdom. In Scot land it is called a par; upon the river Wye a skirling ; in Yorkshire a brandling ; in Northumberland a rock rider ; and in some countries of England a fingerin, from the black streaks on its side resembling fingers. This hitherto unaccountable fish, is said by some to be a mule, the production of a salmon with a trout. Its tail, like that of the salmon, is forked, and its length never ex ceeds eight inches. They are not to be found but in such rivers, or their branches, where salmon frequent, or sea trout haunt. From their emitting a whitish fluid, something like that of the salmon milter, many believe them to be all males ; and some of the fishermen upon the Tweed, from this circumstance, allege that they are the male salmon fry, that do not go down to the sea until winter. Others affirm, and we think with strong probability, if not certainty, that they are the young or fry of the sea-trout. Those of the salmon have already been ascertained ; and it may now be asked, What can become of the trutta spawn ? (That they have both milts and roes is unquestionable.) What colour or shape does it assume when brought into life ? We are sure it pro duces something, and therefore, that it must exist. 'We consequently conclude, that these pars or samlets, are the young of all, or of some of the varieties of sea trout, and that they lose the appearance of the forked tail, and finger-like streaks, in the salt water ; and upon returning from it, are then whitlings and finnocks. If these premises are not convincing, they at least ought to lead the naturalists to a farther investigation of this matter. The same ouservations which we made res pecting the angling for smouts, may be applied to the capture of the par or samlet.