404 SALMON AND TROUT. 



1 On a fish taking the prawn, you will, if inexperienced, at 

 first fancy yourself fast in a rock ; but you will soon learn to 

 distinguish in a moment by a sort of indescribable sensation 

 when your line tightens in a fish. When you first feel him 

 do not strike, but give a good 'pull' or two. After two or three 

 seconds have elapsed many fishermen strike or jerk up the 

 point of their rod, but I am against this plan of hooking a 

 fish for reasons I have already explained in my notes on fly 

 fishing.' 



Quitting now the subject of prawn or ' shrimp-bait fishing ' 

 for salmon, with thanks to Major Traherne for his excellent 

 hints, and wishing him ' a light heart and a heavy creel,' we 

 must step into the boat that has been awaiting us for the last 

 half-hour, and putting ourselves under ' the creature Dougal's ' 

 guidance make play for the upper end of the loch ' Youth on 

 the prow and pleasure at the helm ' so as to have at least a 

 couple of hours before sunset to try our luck at 



SPINNING FOR LAKE TROUT. 



Putting aside the true salmon, Salmo salar, which has been 

 already alluded to, there are three species of Salmonida taken 

 more or less constantly with the spinning bait, namely, the 

 common trout, Salmo fario, the Great Lake trout, or grey 

 trout of the Cumberland lakes, Salmo ferox, and the sea trout, 

 or salmon trout, Salmo trutta. This sequence represents 

 probably the relative importance of the three fish from the 

 point of view of the lake spinner. Indeed, as the sea trout is 

 most commonly taken when spinning for one or other of the 

 first-named fish, and the tackle, &c., used are the same as 

 those applicable to spinning for brown trout, further details 

 are needless. 



The neighbourhood of broken rocky islands, and round and 

 amongst submerged rocks, is generally good holding ground for 

 both species, and such a place, with a depth of 6 to 10 or 



