DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 157 



that three fish are taken in an hour or so by one or 

 the other of us, only on two occasions — as far as the 

 records show — have four been taken in a day, and 

 that number not once exceeded?' This is one of the 

 many questions incidental to this sport that cannot 

 be answered other than by an inference from what has 

 happened. Captain Hargreaves was the last who put 

 this question to me. He had during the day caught 

 three splendid fish, all over twenty pounds, and he 

 got them so quickly and so early in the day that there 

 was time to catch a dozen more. The answer I gave 

 him was, Tn the first place, Captain, three fish are 

 not very frequently caught in a day. The average 

 is about three per week — half a fish per day — and 

 those who get one a day are very lucky if they are 

 fishing many days. When you get two it is a grand 

 day, and when three there are no words for it or too 

 many. The fourth fish is a miracle that has only 

 happened twice, and to get beyond four w^ould be 

 a miracle that has not happened j^et.' 



My son's great hopes resulted in four fish in the 

 six days that business permitted him to stay, so very 

 probably during that time his ideas of fishing for 

 salmon varied much. The capture of two strong kelts 

 that so nearly resembled clean fish while in action as 

 to deceive old John, his gillie, who, though eighty 

 years of age and with indifierent sight, can generally 

 say when a kelt is being played, 'I am fearful it's no 

 a clane fush, sir,' lowered his hope a bit, and the two 

 blank days which followed removed any question as 

 to his captures exceeding the number of his friends 

 who would accept a January Tay salmon. 



