PACIFIC SALMON 11

salmon, while the stench from all the rotting fish
attracts the bears, which now have a high old time
feeding on the carcasses.

This is the time for bear hunting, and by watching
a river many a chance of a shot may be had, as I
shall endeavour to relate in the following pages.

At Campbell River the angling for salmon is carried
on by trolling from a boat, as the Pacific salmon is
said not to take a fly, but Mr. Bryan Williams maintains
that this is not so, and that the reason for the lack of
success in fly fishing is that it has never been attempted
seriously, nor has it been carried out in the proper
manner.

Owing to the very strong tidal current which twice
during the day rushes through the narrow sound, it is
necessary to use very coarse tackle. This generally
consists of a strong eleven-foot trolling rod, with a
large six-inch “ Nottingham” reel carrying about three
hundred yards of strong Cuttyhunk line. As a leader,
piano wire was used, and as bait, large five or six-
inch spoons of matted zinc or brass. About eight feet
in front of the spoon a very heavy lead sinker is attached,
something like the sinkers used for mackerel trolling
in Norway. It is evident that with such a heavy
tackle the fishing can never approach fly fishing as a
sport, but of course once you have hooked a fifty or
sixty-pounder you are in for a pretty lively time while
it lasts.

Indians from a nearby village were employed as
gaffers, and as soon as I arrived I set out to find a good
guide and gaffer. I was lucky in securing the services
of one Tyee Joe, a full-blooded Siwash Indian, who had
his own boat, and that very evening I was out on the
Sound trying my luck.