64 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



" harl " the large pools, this operation being carried out in 

 greatest completeness in the wide stretches of the lower river. 

 Two men commonly row the boat, each rowing a pair of oars, 

 and two anglers sit facing the stern with two, or it may be 

 three, rods out. One rod may perhaps have a fly, another a 

 gudgeon, and the third a phantom minnow, or in early spring 

 or late in the season three flies may be on. When the lines 

 are paid out the boatmen begin to row with the bow pointing 

 upstream, but so as to allow the current to force the boat 

 slowly across the river. When sufficiently far across, the bow 

 is turned towards the first bank again and the current is made 

 to impinge mostly on the other bow, i.e. the boat's head is 

 slightly pointed for the return journey. At the same time the 

 current works the boat downstream as far as the rowers allow. 

 In this manner a zig-zag course down the pool is taken. When 

 a fish is hooked the angler generally lands and the other lines 

 are reeled up. Cases sometimes occur of two fish being hooked 

 almost simultaneously, and then very naturally the fun is 

 fast and furious. I have been told a story of two rods being 

 fast in the same fish, fly being the lure, and that on the fish 

 being landed the two flies were found in the mouth. I may 

 add that my informant, who was one of the fishermen, assured 

 me he knew I wouldn't believe him but that the story was 

 perfectly true. 



It is this system of harling which, I believe, is largely 

 responsible for the practice common in the Tay of opposite 

 proprietors fishing the whole water on alternate days, rather 

 than each attempting to fish his own section of the water as 

 in Tweed. To harl properly one must go from bank to bank. 



The strength of the current in the Tay is often very great, 

 and the effort of rowing a heavy coble correspondingly hard. 

 It is not surprising therefore that the more easily handled 

 Norwegian boat is now becoming more common, as in the 

 Spey. The boat introduced is not, however, the Norwegian 

 " pram," but the " faering " which is not so commonly used 

 for angling in Norway. In all ordinary conditions of water 

 one man can easily manage a faering. 



In harling, the man or men at the oars really do the fishing, 

 the man or men at the rods do the landing. At the same 

 time, a good (leal of casting is done from the boat as well as 



