lmon will hook
himself by his own weight. This may be so, though we doubt it,--but
don't trust to it. Certain it is, that the first rush of a fish does not
usually fix him certain; and should the hook happen to be in a piece of
hard gristle or on a bone, you will soon find this out for yourself, but
generally at the cost of the fish.

Salmon-fishing is an expensive luxury; but if you can get it good, never
mind the expense, but give it a trial. If you get good sport, you may
not care to go in for smaller game again; but in all our experience we
never knew a salmon fisher who did not enjoy trout-fishing as much in
its own way as ever he did that of the nobler animal. There is something
in the gossamer gut and small flies irresistibly attractive to all
sportsmen, and from which no amount of salmon-fishing can ever wean
them.

The _salmo ferox_ is a fish on which many opinions have been expressed;
and we have heard more than one old boatman say that he did not believe
it to be anything but a big loch-trout, as, they ask, Who ever saw a
young one? We see the young of all other fish, but why do we never come
across a young _ferox_? It seems pertinent enough questioning, and we do
not pretend to settle their doubts in either one way or another. Certain
it is, he is a big strong fish with some features distinct from the
ordinary loch trout, and that when caught he shows an amount of fight
not to be equalled by any of his neighbours, either white or brown. He
is usually caught by trolling either natural or artificial minnow; and
the tackle should be mounted on gimp and fixed to a strong line, and
plenty of it. We have read of a _ferox_ rising to the fly, but never
saw one so captured. There seems no reason why a gaudy fly should not
attract him. After he is hooked the fun begins. A _ferox_ of 10 to 12
lb. will give you amusement and excitement for an indefinite time; and
you are never sure of him till he is in the boat. A friend of ours (a
capital angler to boot) fishing with us on Loch Assynt in
Sutherlandshire in 1877, hooked a fine specimen; and after battling with
him for an hour, had the mortification of seeing fish, angel-minnow, and
trace, disappear! A good boatman is a wonderful help in such a case;
indeed without his help your chances are small. To be sure it is slow
work trolling for _feroces_, and a whole day--yea, days--may be spent
without getting a run. The angler must always be the best judge as to
whether the