28 How to Fish for Salmon, 



if the strain had been taken off, he would have been 

 killed ; but no ; and so the fly was left in the fish's 

 mouth, and he lived to fight another day. 



The autumn fishing for salmon on the west 

 coast of Scotland depends very much on the state 

 of the weather. Contrary to the prevailing opinion, 

 the months of August and September are, as a rule, 

 very fine. " Why do you go to the west coast, it 

 always rains there .-* " is a common question. I can 

 only say, I wish it did ; for seventeen autumns I 

 have spent two months on the west coast, salmon 

 and sea-trout fishing, and with the exception of 

 one year, 1879, I have never found sufficient rain 

 to please a fisherman. Still, with patience sport 

 will come some time or another. I give an example 

 from my note-book. 



" The greater part of the month of August of this 

 year was dry and fine, occasionally some heavy 

 rain with thunder. The last fortnight of the month 

 I only got seven fish: one of 18 lbs., one of 9 lbs., 

 one of Z\ lbs., one of 'j\ lbs., two grilse of 6^ lbs., and 

 one of 4 lbs. The small river I was fishing was very 

 low and very clear. Early in September, in four days* 

 fishing on the Lochy, I took five fish : a salmon of 

 10 lbs. and one of 8 lbs., three grilse, of 7, 6 and 

 54^ lbs. The weather was very dry and hot, and fisher- 

 men were in despair, and we took to the Trot on 

 the Linnhe Loch for a day or two. The big skate 



