114 THE WONDERFUL TROUT 



we have spent upon it before the distilleries 

 became upon its banks almost as numerous 

 as ' black beetles ' in a yellow flood ! l 



But how many local fishermen are there 

 who turn back into the water all the par, 

 small trout, or large, lanky, ill-conditioned 

 fish they catch ? If they are down-stream 

 fishers in low, clear, summer water, very 

 often they would come home c clean ' if they 

 did, One local fisher we wot of, who was 

 found drowned in shallow water, having 

 tripped and fallen in on his face, who locally 

 was looked upon as a 'king among fishers/ 

 who kept a record of the numbers only of 

 the fish he killed, and in a lifetime scored 

 some thousands and thousands, bagged every- 

 thing he c yanked ' out, from par up to, say, a 

 few odd pounders, and always selected the 

 narrow bit burns and smaller streams in 

 order to increase his tale. 



Under circumstances of summer waters 

 low and clear, when up-stream anglers have 

 met with a favourable day and up-stream 

 breeze, or a cool, drizzly day in June or July, 

 and come in with baskets of seven, eight, or 



1 See Table showing measurements and weights of 

 trout in good condition and in bad condition, p. l&J infra. 



