Chapt. vi. Pool Fishing. 87 



spun by the motion of the boat, so that it is really spun by the 

 boatman no1 by you. When you realise this awful fact it strikes 

 one that it is very similar to shooting sambre that have been driven 

 out to you by the beaters, instead of stalking the stag yourself hke 

 an honest sportsman. In letting out the line, of course you will 

 take care, having the boat in motion, to keep the bait off the 

 bottom, for you do not want to catch that, like the man in "Punch," 

 who got fast into the Kingdom of Scotland. Commence at the 

 lower end of the pool, and row up against the stream, regulating 

 the pace by the stream. Fix the rod with the reel free, or bold it as 

 you prefer. In the lakes in Scotland it is usual to fish thus with 

 two rods, one out of each side of the stern, and, the depth being 

 known, to tie a little piece of bright coloured silk round your running 

 line at the required distance from the end, generally, if I remember 

 rightly, about 30 yards, so that when you see the little bit of silk 

 out of the ring at your rod tip you may know how much line 

 you have payed out, Whether you prefer to let out 30, 50, or more 

 yards must depend much on the depth of the pool and the weight 

 of your bait. If you have only one rod you can work it slowly 

 across and across the stern it' you like, but always with a taut line, 

 and giving time after each crossing for the bait to swing round ; 

 this will cover more water than simply trailing. If you are 

 trailing two lines the second one must be rapidly reeled up by an 

 attendant the moment you have a fish on No. 1 or you will get 

 into difficulties. 



Use dead bait, spoon or phantom, as you prefer. I have told 

 you which I prefer, and that a dead bait need not be spun so 

 rapidly as a spoon or phantom. 



Though I say fish deep, still do not be too keen about getting 

 your bait very close to the bottom, for many more fish will see it if 

 it is well off the bottom. Bear in mind that a fish can see an 

 object moving across a light back-ground, much better than one 

 against a dark back-ground, can see an object between it and the 

 light which is above it, better than one between it and the dark 

 bank on the side of it, and that above it, it can, within certain 

 limits, see it the further the higher it is. For instance (see 

 Francis Francis' "Book on Angling"), an object at A, which is 

 twice as far from the bottom as B, will be seen over the whole 

 base C D, which is twice as big as the base E F ; in other 



