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CHAPTER IX. 



TEOUT-FISHING IN THE " NORTH COUNTRIE." 



North Country fly-fishers have many more facilities 

 for indulgence in their favourite sport than dwellers in 

 the Souths where salmon and trout rivers are com- 

 paratively few and far between, and in consequence 

 command a price which places them beyond the means 

 of many; M-hereas in the Northern Counties almost 

 every river, streamlet, or burn may be said to contain 

 some one or more of the Salmo species, which may be 

 rented by individuals or, as is often the case, by clubs 

 at a moderate figure. 



For this reason the younger branch of sportsmen in 

 the North, as a rule, are more familiar with the rod 

 than their confreres of the South, as, even if resident in 

 towns or cities, there usually is a river within easy 

 distance on which fishing is obtainable either by rent, 

 leave, or by putting up at an inn which provides visitors 

 with a stretch of water. 



Trout-fishing on the Borders commences about the 

 1st of March, but not until the end of that month 

 do the fish get into fair condition, and they do not 



