Cape Breton's Magazine

you disturb a salmon at all, he's gone, he's not going to look at a fly. If you nip a salmon with a hook, he's not going to touch that fly till maybe the next day. Because the lighter that you can drop your fly on the water, the better the chance you have of that salmon coming after it. There's the difference in fishing. So I'd have to take my man to a pool where I was pretty sure there were no fish. And if there were no fish there were no fish? ermen. You take them there and maybe spend a half a day--and I've seen it happen, just a half a day and then they could get out a line and the current then would take it. Once you get the line out in front of you--the fly would go down, and if there was a salmon down around where that fly was reaching, and if he was in the mood of taking it, he'd take it whether it was an expert fisherman or not. I've had that luck in my career of guiding--take them out and just give them the half a day casting lessons, and in the afternoon I took them to a pool where I knew there were a couple fish, and I've seen it hap? pen that they caught them. (So you don't try to drop the fly right on the fish?) Oh, no. You fish on an angle. The fly has got to be moving with the cur? rent. You don't drop it directly over the salmon at all. Drop it a piece above him and the current takes it and he sees it moving. Then there's the other thing a- gain: maybe this fly gets down right where that salmon is, the salmon will raise. He's not too anxious for it. He'll raise and you'll see the wave, and when you see that little wave, well now, he's not too fussy about taking it. You pull that away, just as quick as you can, coil up your line. Keep that same amount--don't put any on the reel--and wait for about two min? utes. And then that salmon goes back again to his resting place. Don't cast right im? mediately because he's not there. But he's got his resting place. All right. You just wait about two min? utes. Then you cast again about the same way as you did before. And if he wants that fly he won't miss it the next time. He'll take it. Then, all right, when you got the salmon on, what are you going to do? You've got to watch these new begin? ners. You're supposed to put your rod right up to the sky. Let the rod and the reel do the work. The way I always fished, if I figured it was a 10-pound salmoij, I'd have that salmon in in 10 minutes. A pound to the minute. But a lot of these begin- ners--and some of the old ones--they like to keep the salmon on for possibly a half an hour. They get a-thrill out of playing him. But the longer you got your salmon on, the bigger the chance you have of los- Henry Poirier and Leo Car.. -'- ', >. ----' an early morning catch in" the "19'0'' ??college of cape breton press presents Songs & Stories from Deep Cove Cape Breton (Edited by Ron MacEachern). Twenty songs from earlier days, complete with note and verse, as remembered by Amby Thomas who was born and raised in the small fishing community of Deep Cove. The book also con? tains many of Mr. Thomas' memories of growing up in Cape Breton. Soft cover, over twenty illustrations $4.95 Patterson's History of Victoria County (Edited by W. James MacDonald). G. G. Patterson wrote the history in 1885. The work has been updated with added appendices and footnotes. Complete with early photographs, first settlers' names and early place names. Beautifully bound, hard cover $13.00 Records GLENDALE '77 - A live recording of the 1977 Cape Breton Festival of Fiddlers at Glendale, Inverness County $6.50 THE RISE & FOLLIES OF CAPE BRETON ISLAND - Original cast re? cording of the music and comedy revue that took Cape Breton by storm $6.50 Historic Map Reproductions DETAIL OF FORTRESS LOUISBOURG (circa 1760). A beautiful detail of the city and fortifications. One of the few maps of this period in English. 11" x 16" . . . Matted - $10.00 / Framed - $30.00 THOMAS KITCHIN'S MAP OF CAPE BRETON (circa 1758). An exquisite map of the island by the English geographer. Beautifully illustrated. 12" X 16" Matted • $10.00 / Framed - $30,00 Still Standing (Terry Sunderland). Thirty-two pen and ink sketches of older buildings from all parts of the island: churches, general stores, farm houses, private residence, etc. Accompanied by concise notes, including historical and architectural information on each building. Heavy paper. . . . $7.95 AVAILABLE AT MANY RETAIL OUTLETS. // ;ou wish to order by mail, send cheque or money order in the amount indicated to: The College of Cape Breton Press P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, Nova Scotia, BIP 6L2