128 A RIVER OF NORWAY 



to please if we had not been satisfied with our 

 fishing. As often happens in Norway, the exit 

 of the river from the lake that particular spot 

 where it had almost ceased to be a lake, and had 

 hardly yet begun to be a river was alive with 

 fish. It is quality rather than quantity that the 

 trout-fisher wants. Almost every lake or stream 

 in the country will afford an abundance of 

 fingerlings, but you soon tire of filling your 

 creel with fish that give you no trouble to kill, 

 and are little good to you when killed. If you 

 can find running water, not a lake, in which are 

 trout averaging nearly a pound, with an occa- 

 sional monster, you are in luck's way. And 

 such were the trout here. It was a stiff climb 

 down the rocks by the side of the river, but every 

 rocky pool would yield a trout to the fly, and 

 a dozen or two of such fish make a good day's 

 sport. Neither here, nor in any other river did 

 we kill with the fly a trout weighing more than 

 a few ounces over 3 Ib. ; those who care to use 

 a minnow may get larger fish. Once in a river 

 over the Swedish border, a big trout seized a 

 small grayling which had taken my companion's 

 fly, and as he allowed himself to be dragged 

 almost to the shore without letting go, I just 



