This Victorian guide to fly fish tying built up the illusion that angling for salmon required feathers of exotic bird species.

Here's a typical pattern write-up: It is only just possible to find a river or a catch, be it in pools, streams, rapids, or flats, shaded or exposed to the light of day, in which a "Jock Scott," when dressed properly, has not made for itself a splendid reputation.

The Salmon Fly also includes 46 full page black and white advertisements for mostly angling and sporting pursuits.

[4] Kelson's book is considered one of the greatest works on the subject of salmon fishing.

The book was not without its controversy as it rekindled some of the rivalry between R. B. Marston, editor of the Fishing Gazette and Kelson.

This was one of the factors that contributed to a major heist and destruction of scientifically valuable bird specimens from the Natural History Museum at Tring.