104 ANaiilNa IN SALT WATER. 



SO that tlie pull on each side is equal. The Chapman spinuer 

 (shown on page 27) frequently requires some little modifi- 

 cation to adapt it to the shapes of various baits. The trace 

 {see page 30), and also the mounting of the spinner, should 

 be of ordinary salmon gut, and the lead should be, as a rule, 

 light, not more than |oz. in weight. Occasionally, sea trout 

 feed near the bottom, when heavier leads should be used. 

 This fishing is usually done from a boat near the mouths of 

 rivers. The bait is trailed about thirty yards or more behind, 

 and the boat should be rowed rather quickly. Sea trouting 

 is not at all confined to a short season, for, from early spring 

 to late autumn, the fish are running up, or waiting to run up, 

 rivers. In the South of England it is rather an unusual 

 thing for sea trout to take a bait in salt water; but in the 

 North of Scotland, and notably the Kyles of Durness and 

 Tongue, many fish are taken this way. Sea trout are so little 

 sought after in salt water that I am quite sure there are 

 many bays and sea lochs, especially in the North of Scotland, 

 which have not yet been fished, where first-rate sport may be 

 had. As sand-eels are not easy to obtain, the angler should 

 provide himself with some artificial baits. I have found 

 small Devon minnows (silver, with a little transparent paint 

 of a golden-brown colour on the back), and " halcyons," as 

 good as any. The latter are practically Alexandra flies, fitted 

 with a pair of fans to make them spin. As a matter of fact, 

 sea trout will take almost anything in motion which is not 

 too large, and glitters. In fresh water I have what may be 

 termed the bad taste to prefer fly fishing for sea trout, to 

 salmon or any other kind of fishing, and I incline to the 

 opinion that, in salt water, where plentiful and on the feed, 

 no fish afford better sport. 



As sea trout and salmon do not generally ascend rivers, 

 except in times of flood, it follows that during a long drought 

 a large number of fish collect at the mouths of rivers, and the 

 success of the salt-water angler is then greatest. The fish 

 sometimes take the bait best when the water in the rivers is 

 just beginning to rise, and they are working up close to 

 the river's mouth. 



