74 ANGLING & ART IN SCOTLAND 



Loch Wee trout were the fiercest fighters that a man 

 need wish to meet ! 



The excitement did not, however, last long. After 

 lashing about for a minute or two on the surface 

 of the water, the great fellow dived straight down to 

 the bottom at lightning speed, to the accompaniment 

 of the hoarse shriek of the reel, where he commenced 

 that heart-breaking tug, tugging, accomplished by 

 the fish boring head downwards, while he whacks 

 the line with his tail. This very pretty device 

 often ends in disaster (to the angler I mean, and 

 not to the fish), and this was a case in point; for 

 in a very short time the hook lost its hold, and I 

 experienced that most appalling sensation which 

 the fisherman can feel, the sudden slackening of 

 the line. The loss of a trout of that uncommon size 

 is indeed a heart-breaking catastrophe, for which one 

 feels that no amount of subsequent good fortune can 

 entirely compensate. 



Later on in the afternoon, as the sun got lower, 

 we rose several more good fish ; and just at the finish, 

 when it was time to be leaving, my brother succeeded 

 in capturing a fine two-pounder. 



Altogether that day we had twelve fish, weighing 

 as many pounds ; which was better than might have 



