CH. IV.] SHORE-SIDE BEST IN TRAILING. 67 



And long may it run, for a sweeter stream 



Never fisher nor painter saw, 

 And merrier Trout never leapt in the beam 



Than the Trout of the swift Versoix. 



When trailing a bait in lakes, the side next 

 the shore will almost invariably afford the best 

 sport. The same remark applies to rivers, when 

 trailing from a boat. When from a punt how- 

 ever that being commonly worked close along 

 the bank the case is of course different, as the 

 fish, which are lying under its shelter, are thus 

 naturally disturbed and driven into deeper water. 



In sea-fishing, those in the stern of the boat 

 will generally be found to have better sport than 

 those in the bow. That this is the case I have little 

 doubt, it having been often remarked by others as 

 well as myself. As to the reason why it should be 

 so, I have a difficulty in arriving at a satisfactory 

 conclusion. I used to imagine that, as the scent 

 of the baits would be carried down with the tide, 

 the fish below, becoming sensible of it, and fol- 

 lowing it up, would naturally arrive first at the 

 baits from the stern. But this theory was shaken 

 whilst I was fishing one blustery day on a Scotch 

 loch. On that occasion the wind was stronger 

 than the tide, and the boat consequently swung 



F2 



