I20 SHOOTING AND SALMON FISHING 



with him and has to walk half a mile or more to the next pool, 

 he is strongly advised not to do this in his waders, for should 

 he do so and then wade into deep snow water, he will feel the 

 cold far more than if he had taken off his waders for the walk, 

 while in addition to the comfort, the mackintoshes will also 

 wear longer if carried. 



The advantages of very large brogues were forced on our 

 notice while fishing out the last week of season 1890 on the 

 Spey at Aikenway, with Mr. W. S. Menzies of Culdares. 

 Arriving there from Gaick Forest and deer-stalking, we were 

 minus brogues, so Aberdeen was wired to, but they were sent 

 too small ; then Jock Shiach, the fisherman, kindly lent us his, 

 which were just about twice as large as seemed needful, so 

 much so, that it was a difficult matter to stay in them on dry 

 land : but never before had we waded in such comfort, or 

 with so few stumbles, and as the Spey offers the very 

 worst of wading, we are sure the very large flat shoe is the 

 right thing. Wading is quite an art of itself, which wants a 

 quick eye with good nerves ; but the great thing when fishing 

 a very bad place, when the toes are invisible and the pool 

 strange, is to move very slowly, while with a nearly straight leg 

 shuffle the feet round large impediments, whilst avoiding in any 

 way climbing over them ; also be careful not to stir the rear foot 

 before the advancing one has a firm hold. During our stay at 

 Aikenway, mine host made a curious catch of a fish ; he had 

 hung his coat — a sleeveless one — on a rail when walking to the 

 top of the pool, and having fished down to his garment, halted 

 to put it on, to save the trouble of going back. Laying 

 his rod on the bank with the line out, he ran to the garment, 

 and while slipping it on, a fish hooked, and began to make 

 the reel sing ; the rod was speedily in good hands, and a 

 fifteen-pounder was laid on the bank in due course. 



To some bigoted anglers bait-fishing is a detestable method 

 of catching salmon, so much so that by the very rabid ones 

 this has been described as equivalent to shooting a hare on its 



