ON ANGLING. 145 



pocket. But that is work for a small river, where the fish 

 run small. Do not be deceived and do not accuse me of 

 any coward counsels when I say that wading in rough waters 

 on big rivers, and especially where the rock surface is very 

 slippery, is an entertainment not to be engaged in without 

 great caution. There are places, such as the Benchill stream 

 on the Tay, and portions of the Nith beat, on the Wye, where 

 I should hate to go wading without a gillie in attendance to 

 pull me up if I made a false step ; and when you are consumed 

 with the ardent excitement of a good salmon at the line 

 a false step is made quite easily. But apart from such help 

 as he may give you in such a relatively unimportant detail 

 as saving your life, the real value of a gillie should be in 

 showing you where the fish are likely to lie. You will observe 

 that I am speaking of the intelligent and observant kind, 

 who knows the water, knows it at all its varying heights ; 

 the other kind of gillie is not worth wasting words on. 

 He ought to be able to tell you where to pitch your fly at 

 each cast, and just at what point as it comes round you are 

 likely to feel " a pluck." And you will be surprised, I think, 

 at the number of little runs and places that look hardly 

 worth a cast, to the uninstructed eye, that he will induce 

 you to try now and again with result as blissful as it is 

 unexpected. I say nothing in respect to all the aid that he 

 will give you as an expert gaffer. That is a part of his 

 craftsmanship which should go without saying. 



Equally, as a matter of course, we may look on his ability 

 to manage a boat. It takes you to the places where, whether 

 casting or " harling " from it, you will have best chance of 

 a fish. Presumably, when you have hooked a fish he will 

 land you as soon as possible, so that you may follow the 

 salmon along the bank. I do not know that written words 

 of mine can help you much in the play of a big fish. You 

 must let him have his first big rush or two, when he is fresh, 

 with little check, unless there is special reason to keep him 

 out of some particularly nasty place. Very likely he is far 

 too strong at first to check even if you would and at all 

 events a run out or two help to tire him. But after this 

 prelude, I am sure that the mistake which most of us who are 

 amateur fishers make in playing a salmon is that we are 



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