LOCH AWE 147 



like it or not, as they find most of their employment 

 on that river. 



The well-known gillie John Campbell, who is 

 a man of substance, is probably the best salmon 

 fisherman at Dalmally. He is indeed one of the 

 prettiest and neatest casters that a man need wish 

 to see. He is a capital companion, being exceed- 

 ingly well-informed ; a strict teetotaller, and a pillar 

 of the Free Kirk. None of the new-fangled ideas 

 find favour with John. He swears by a good 

 eighteen or nineteen feet salmon rod and heavy line. 

 He despises the degeneracy of the modern school, 

 with its preference for light fourteen to sixteen feet 

 rods and tackle to match ; and it is surprising — in 

 spite of his short stature — how delicately, and with 

 what precision, he can make the fly drop on the 

 water, with the heavy weapon which he affects. 



The brown trout is despised by him, as he con- 

 siders that the only fish worth catching are the 

 salmon and sea trout. 



In spite of his being a devoted fisherman, 

 Campbell also holds the singular idea that the 

 only incident worth caring about in salmon fishing, 

 is the hooking of the fish ; and after that feat is 

 accomplished, he feels no further interest or excite- 



