THE TOP WATER 91 



hardly fair fishing. The chance of landing a 

 fish is very small, and a fish breaking the 

 tackle and getting swept over the fall would 

 very likely be killed. I fish down to Second 

 Fos without success. In the pool below, at 

 midnight, I lose one fish and kill another of 

 8 lb., and walk home to Osen as the day 

 begins to dawn. 



It is a pity that the top water, especially 

 the section above Alvaer Fos, is of so com- 

 paratively little use for angling. It contains 

 some of the best pools and streams on the river, 

 and they have the additional merit of being 

 for the most part fishable in low water. But 

 in the generality of seasons fish do not reach 

 them in any quantity before August, and by 

 that time those which ran early have gone off 

 very much in condition, and do not rise well 

 to the fly. There was a Spanish king who 

 regretted that he had not been consulted at 

 the Creation, because he could have suggested 

 several improvements. He might have included 

 a hint that salmon should not lose in the river 

 the brightness and vigour they bring from the 

 sea. How greatly would such an arrangement 

 alleviate the angler's lot ! How much does 



