BOAT FISHING 75 



Whatever may be thought of harling from a 

 sportsman's point of view, there can be no doubt that 

 it is a most deadly method of killing fish. There are 

 casts which even the most skilful fisherman cannot 

 negotiate properly, and wind and current sometimes 

 sweep the fly round tail foremost and loose instead of 

 with the lifelike motion which attracts the fish and the 

 taut line which hooks him. But in harling, as the 

 boat goes from side to side, the oarsman keeping his 

 eye on a mark on the opposite bank and regulating 

 his pace by the speed of the current, the line is always 

 straight, and the flies and minnows visit in turn, and 

 in correct position, every nook and corner of the 

 stream. The fish under such circumstances are very 

 easily caught, and I can remember at least one fisher- 

 man — my own father — who made his debut as a 

 salmon fisher at Murthly, and came back from his 

 first day's apprenticeship the proud captor of no less 

 than ten salmon. 



I have not disguised my opinion that this method 

 of fishing is a very inferior class of sport to the more 

 legitimate casting from the bank or wading, but I 

 agree with Mr. Fraser Sandeman, in whose book — 

 ' Angling Travels in Norway ' — a number of valuable 

 hints on this subject will be found, that it is the only 

 practical method by which certain pools or even 



