116 THE BOEDER ANGLER. 



per parts of the stream and the burns that enter it, ex- 

 cept that of the angler's ability to pull out the fish, bait, 

 and drop in again ; and further down, better trout may 

 be taken with nearly equal rapidity with either fly or 

 worm. Not that to every angler, or on all occasions, 

 the Meggat will yield such " store of trout ; " for many 

 a one has gone out only to be disappointed, and break 

 his shins fruitlessly amongst the rocks at the linns, or 

 sink to the knees in "Winterhope moss. But a proficient 

 angler may always make certain of a full basket in 

 the Meggat, from the first of May to the end of the 

 season ; and will not gi'udge the labour of climbing the 

 hills or venturing through the morasses to get to the 

 lonely and mossy moors at the head of Meggatdale. 

 If he intends to take advantage of a flood when the 

 waters are thick, he ought to make at once, in the 

 early morning, for Winterhope-burn, and fish down ; 

 if he intends to practise the ordinary worm-fishing in 

 clear- water, he should begin at Henderland and fish up 

 to the linns, below which lie large trout, and then, 

 missing a mile or two, pursue the lonely stream as far 

 as time or fatigue will permit him. Fine trout from 

 the loch enter the Meggat during floods, and baskets- 

 full may be taken with minnow, worm, and fly, one 

 being used after the other as the water gradually cla- 

 rifies. In all the burns that join the Meggat, trout are 

 in remarkable abundance. 



Loch Skene is more easily reached from Tibbie's 

 than from any other point. It is near the head of Win- 

 terhope-burn, but, particularly after rain, the mosses in 

 that direction are unsafe, or at least troublesome, to 

 those unacquainted with them. The angler, however, 



