requires a placid temper, a
thoughtful if not a poetic appreciation of the picturesque, a moderate
love of solitude, a patient habit, and a quiet disposition. To find
delectation in his walks, the angler need not be an ascetic or a
stickler for creeds; but I do not think the heart of Gallio, who "cared
for none of these things," would have been made glad when "the voice of
the turtle was heard in the land," and it was right to "go a-fishing,"
because I cannot imagine him a man of a teachable disposition or of a
lovable nature, who took pleasure in the society or teachings of the
gentle Master of the Galilean fishermen. Izaak Walton might have had
equal skill with rod and reel without his saintly faith; but his
"Complete Angler" never would have attained the high place it has held
and will ever hold in the affections of the contemplative men of all
time had he not been imbued with the spirit of reverent humility and
such a loving sense of the Infinite Beneficence as to find in all the
beauty and sublimity of Nature evidence of His great goodness and
loving kindness to the children of men. He may not, like Enoch, have
"walked with God," but in all his walks he saw God's handiwork; and
this consciousness multiplied many fold the pleasure he sought and
always found in the pursuit of his favorite recreation.

II.

There are times and seasons for salmon fishing as for all things. But
all times and all seasons are not alike. Nor are all places. The best
time to fish for salmon, where salmon are to be fished for, is the
first hour the water is in condition; that is, as soon as the spring
freshets have subsided, and the water, by falling back into its natural
channel, has become freed from the surface rubbish washed into it, and
sufficiently settled to render your line visible to the eye of the
fish. This time varies on different rivers, according to their length,
their volume, and the character of the soil through which they flow. On
some rivers the drainage is so limited that a fly may be cast
successfully so soon as the ice disappears. There are, however, but few
rivers on either side the Gulf, or in either of the Provinces, where
the best fishing is attainable before the first of June. The "season"
continues from that time on to the middle of August, although there is
often good sport into September, when the last "run" begin their
journey. But no "posted" angler would care to be compelled to take the
chances of sport a