00 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 



points, and about islands. The fisli usually go in shoals ; and 

 having found a large shoal of rising fish, it is as well to keep 

 the boat back, and not drift over them. The flies should be 

 drawn rather quickly. If the fish seem very shy, try letting out 

 40yds. of line, and trailing the flies after the boat. 



Among other methods of taking sea trout, the principal is 

 worming both in clear and thick water. The process differs in 

 no material respect from worming for brown trout already 

 described on pages 69, 70. In thick water, large worms, or two 

 or more small ones, should be used. The anglers of the North 

 and Border catch many sea trout in rivers by casting the worm 

 at night. Spinning is much practised, and sea trout will take 

 a small Devon, or other swift-spinning bait, greedily (see page 

 71). But why spin for such a free-rising and sport-giving fish ? 



In the North and North-west of Scotland sea trout are often 

 caught in the sea-lochs.* The best bait is a sand-eel, mounted 

 on a Chapman spinner; but the fish are also to be caught with a 

 worm, cast and worked with a sink-and-draw motion, and occa- 

 sionally with a fly. The best place for the two latter methods is 

 in quite shallow water, close to the edge of seaweed which fringes 

 the rocks. Yery full information on this subject, for which I 

 cannot now afford space, was given in two articles of mine 

 published in the Field on November 12, 1887, and March 3, 

 1888, entitled respectively " Sea- trout Fishing in Salt Water " 

 and " Sea Angling in the North of Scotland." Spinning with 

 the sand-eel is carried on very successfully during the month 

 of June in the Kyles of Durness and Tongue, in Sutherland; 

 but sea trout will take baits in many other sea-lochs on the 

 North and North-west Coasts of Scotland, and, doubtless, 

 elsewhere. 



* Mr. Anderson Smith, in " Benderloch," one of the most pleasing books on 

 natural history I have ever had the pleasure of reading, tells now the sea trout 

 come into the sea-lochs of the North of Scotland to feed on the herring-fry. At 

 such times I vpould suggest their being fished for with a large Alexandra fly, with 

 two strips of white feather in the wing, which is a very good imitation of a small 

 herring. In Orkney, the best fly to use in salt water is dressed with a fiery-brown 

 cock's hackle, tied Palmer fashion, with or without grey-speckled wing. It is 

 supposed to imitate the sandhopper. Another good salt-water fly has a pale blue 

 body, with red tip and teal wing. 



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