LAKES AND STREAMS OF ARGYLESHIRE. 267 



Many streams run into the Sol way Firth which are plenti- 

 fully supplied with good trout, fed on the insect population of 

 the fertile fields of Ayrshire, Kirkcudbright, &c. Many fine 

 lakes, abounding in trout, char, and pike, are also to be found 

 in that district. But mines, and other similar works, are 

 already beginning to fill that part of the country with a 

 population peculiarly destructive to fish and game. 



The Tweed and its tributaries are known to all as the 

 angler's classic ground, and have been so often described by 

 abler pens than mine, that I will say nothing about them. 



Loch Leven trout are famous throughout Scotland. 



Then comes the lakes and streams of Argyleshire, beauti- 

 fully situated in a wild and rugged country, but overrun of 

 late years by cockney and summer tourists. Loch Awe will, 

 however, always maintain its high repute for its large lake 

 trout, which rival the pike in size and voracity, but are 

 stronger, and far more wary and difficult to catch. A 

 " Salmo ferox " of fifteen or twenty pounds weight is no 

 mean adversary. His first rush, when he finds himself firmly 

 hooked, is nearly strong enough to tow the fishing coble after 

 him. And then comes the tug of war. The monster, held 

 only by a slight line and tapering rod, is one moment deep 

 down boring his head to the bottom of the lake, with every 

 yard of the line run out, and the rod bent into the water ; the 

 next he takes a new freak, and goes off near the surface like 

 a steamboat, and before you can wind in, he is right under 

 your boat and close to the bottom of it, your line being you 

 know not where. Again the reel is whirring round so 

 rapidly, that you feel your line must break in spite of all 

 your fancied skill. But no he stops suddenly, and again 

 seems inclined to wind your line round and round the boat ; 

 or, by Jove ! to upset you, if he can, by running against its 

 keel. If there is a projecting nail, or a notch in the wood, he 

 manages to get the line fixed in it. After you have cleared 

 your tackle from this danger, off he darts again. Your 

 Highland boatman swears in Gaelic ; you perhaps follow his 

 example in English at least, to a certainty you blame him 

 for rowing too fast or too slow, and begin to think that you 

 would give a guinea to be honourably rid of the fish, without 

 discredit to your skill as an angler. At last your enemy 

 appears exhausted you have been long exhausted yourself 

 and floats quietly near the surface. But at the critical 

 moment of placing the gaff in a position to secure him, he 



