96 SALMON FISHING 



on the 6th, six salmon, 32, 20, 20, 18, 19, and 17 

 Ibs. ; on the 7th, four salmon, 20, 19, 23, and 18 

 Ibs. ; and on the 9th, six salmon, 32, 17, 22, 19, 21, 

 and 17 Ibs. His basket for the four days was 24 

 salmon, weighing 502 Ibs. It is not at all certain 

 that one who goes fishing, on Loch Tay or else- 

 where, will find such sport as that ; but, equally 

 of course, it is possible that he will. If he does, he 

 will be kept in sufficient activity to prevent him 

 suffering from the weather ; even if he does not, he 

 will find at the end of the short day that the hope 

 of sport is not much less sustaining than sport 

 itself. 



Experience enough to keep this expectation active 

 is perhaps necessary to full enjoyment on the wild 

 water; but the angler need not be highly skilled. 

 Success with the salmon depends upon conditions 

 different from those of success with the trout. In 

 trout fishing you must be able to tell, by intuition 

 or from experience, where fish are likely to be hover- 

 ing, and you must be nimble in the use of rod and 

 line and flies ; but in salmon fishing the boatmen 

 provide the knowledge of the haunts, and it is 

 self-control in excitement, rather than dexterity, 

 that does the rest. Indeed, it may be said that all 

 men are equal on a salmon loch. The lines of all are 

 baited with minnows, the various types of which are 

 chosen more by fancy than by science ; the lines, 

 instead of being cast as in fly-fishing, are trailed 

 behind the boats ; and the boats, as a rule, are 

 rowed in courses which the professional attendants 



