242 GOOD LUCK 



A 50-PouND SALMON 



It might perhaps illustrate the uncertainty of salmon 

 fishing and the reward which will at times repay a 

 patient wait on the river-side if I describe the good 

 luck which attended my enforced stay on the Namsen 

 River at the end of the 1897 season. The late Mr. 

 Merthyr Guest had very kindly placed his house at 

 Gartland, and his stretch of the Namsen River, at my 

 disposal. I had been entertaining a party of my 

 friends, who, owing to previous engagements, or 

 because the water had been too fine to fish, had 

 one by one left me, until on the 23rd of August I 

 found myself alone, to pay off servants, and see that 

 the house was properly closed for the winter. I had 

 arranged to follow two other friends further into the 

 interior and join them in elk shooting. 



On the very night, the 23rd, on which the last two 

 visitors left Gartland a heavy downpour of rain com- 

 menced, which made their journey up-country ex- 

 tremely unpleasant, but which, to my great delight, 

 brought down the Namsen River in spate. 



On the 26th of August it was fishable, and I was 

 lucky enough to kill over 200 pounds weight of salmon 

 in the next three days, killing on the first day, among a 

 lot of other fine fish, one which scaled just over 50 

 pounds. This was a fine old cock fish, which, had he 

 been fresh-run, would probably have scaled 60 pounds. 

 He was killed at 5 p.m. on August 26th. This splendid 

 salmon measured exactly 4 feet in length, 27 inches in 



