26 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



them when in alarm they rushed for the deeper 

 water. It was very exciting, as one had to creep 

 at a snail's pace until the net completely encircled 

 the shoal of fish, which must not on any account 

 be alarmed until the net was close to them. We 

 could seldom approach nearer than twenty yards 

 without being detected, and then came the rush, 

 we running for the shore, the fish dashing at the 

 net, from which they immediately recoiled. Even 

 within the few moments occupied by our advance 

 the Grey Mullet often succeeded in beating us, 

 either by darting to the ends and then escaping 

 between our legs or by recoiling and leaping clean 

 over the net. 



Nevertheless we had some good takes, once net- 

 ting twelve ranging from 4 to 12 Ibs. The stalking 

 advance was grand, and I often wonder if any other 

 sportsmen have tried it since. John Oman still 

 lives at Stenness, but tells me he is now too old 

 " for the watter." 



Writing in 1907, when I had sent him a copy 

 of my Wildfowler in Scotland, John Oman says, 

 " There are some nice pictures in the book of our 

 old days together, but what I should like to have 

 seen was the picture of when you jumped overboard 

 in Voy Bay when the net was carried away by Grey 

 Mullet." On this occasion John was at one end of 

 the net in the shallows and working round the shoal 

 of fish, which was a much larger one than we had 

 expected. I was still in the boat, rowing gently 

 to encircle them, when the whole school became 

 alarmed and made a dash for the centre of the 

 net, tearing the cord out of my hand. Not a 

 moment was to be lost to prevent the escape of the 



