ANGLING COMPETITION NUISANCE 239 



not in the least degree jealous, for I knew that 

 there must be a reason, though what it could be 

 I was then unable to account for. I have since 

 ascertained that it is nearly always thus. 



These Lochleven trout fight hard and fiercely 

 when hooked, and will often spring yards high 

 into the air. The chief thing to be guarded 

 against is to prevent their getting under the boat, 

 and so fouling the line. They do not, as a rule, 

 run large, the average size being somewhat under 

 a pound. 



The angling competitions which take place 

 there from time to time through the season are an 

 intolerable nuisance, and it is much to be regretted 

 that the peace and beauty of the loch should be 

 so ruthlessly disturbed. The competitors, who 

 hail from the large towns, go there rather for the 

 sake of making a day of it than for sport ; they 

 shout and drink and make the place altogether 

 unbearable until, to everybody's relief, the evening 

 train carries them off. Some idea of the enor- 

 mous stock of fish in the lake may be formed 

 from the record of the annual takes. The year 

 previous to that of my visits there, sixteen thou- 

 sand trout were taken by the rod, and yet, since 

 there are some four thousand acres of water, 

 nearly all of which is fishing ground, this total 

 represents but four fish per acre. 



I have since that time fished in other lochs, 



