Fly-Fishing in the Bavarian Highlands. 7 1 



self was absent, and his wife spoke an utterly 

 unintelligible patois. However, it turned out 

 that he had only the fishing in the Plan See 

 (about three miles from Eeutte), and in the 

 stream which flowed out of it, in both of which, 

 by the way, early in the year there is said to 

 be capital trout-fishing, whilst there is a con- 

 venient little inn on the shores of the lake. 



So more inquiries had to be made ; and, 

 satisfied by the assertions of the postmaster, 

 the tobacconist, and the ostler of the Post Inn, 

 that the fishing in the Lech was free, we deter- 

 mined to try it in the morning. Like all the 

 rivers which run from the Eastern Alps and 

 are tributaries of the Danube such as the 

 Iller, Loisach, and the Isar the Lech is a rapid 

 river, running over a wide bed of grey stones 

 and gravel, through which it winds its devious 

 way in streams and pools. To fish it well, 

 a double - handed rod would be best, even 

 though it is cumbersome among the stones 

 and bushes not, however, that the latter are 

 numerous here. We fished about half a mile of 

 the Lech on this cold September morning, from 

 half -past ten to half -past one, with only an 

 occasional gleam of sunlight breaking through 



