rge fish by spinning, and some very good bags of smaller
fish have been got on the fly.

The Thompson is not very much fished. Near Ashcroft the local sportsmen
from that small town fish it, and Savona's Ferry is visited from
Kamloops when the fish are taking; but Kamloops Lake must provide an
inexhaustible reserve of fish to take the place of fish caught, so that
the river could never be really fished out or much overfished under
present conditions. The Indians also fish, and generally with the
illegal salmon roe, but do not make great catches; the fly is more
successful when the fish are taking it. Nets and dynamite would be
useless in this river; therefore, even should a far greater population
inhabit the surrounding country, which is not likely for a great number
of years, this beautiful and striking river will still afford great
sport for many generations. There are long stretches which are never
touched except by a stray Indian or Chinaman with a grasshopper or bit
of salmon roe on a string tied to a long willow pole. Some years ago a
nondescript individual who said he was a Cherokee half-breed turned up
at Savona's Ferry and earned a living by fishing. Every day he caught
more fish than he could carry, though he never revealed his secret. Some
believed that he used set lines. His success showed that trout were far
more numerous than was generally believed, but the fly fishermen caught
as many as usual. He was the most successful fisherman I ever saw.

It is a fact very striking to the English fisherman that the best
fishing days in British Columbia are the exact opposite of ours. Fine,
bright hot days without wind are the best, both on river and lake; cold
and rainy days are always bad, a fortunate thing, as such days are very
uncommon. Strong wind is, oddly enough, the greatest enemy of the
angler, especially on the lakes; it nearly always puts the fish down.
The only thing that seems to account for these curious facts is the
probability that the stone fly and other flies are not hatched out
except on hot days, while the fish are regardless of the gleam of the
gut in the water. My own experience has always been that the hottest
days are the best. Except for rocks and stones, and clambering up and
down very steep banks, the Thompson River is easy to fish, and trees are
not troublesome. Mosquitoes are almost absent, except in the south
branch, and the Canadian Pacific, as has been said, runs along its whole
lengt