352 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



" April 2nd. 6J, 9, 7J, 10, 19, 16J, 19, 15, 22, 

 16, 13, 22, and 17 pounds. 



" April 5th. 13, 18, 11, 10J, 10, 14, 22J, 23, 16, 

 13, 17J, 14, and 8 J pounds. 



" The whole of the above were taken casting from the 

 boat, and all but three on the " Black Dog." They 

 were caught at Stanley, I forget what the pools were 

 called, but I think Pitlochry and Washing Pools. Below 

 the pool is a big rush of water, which the boat cannot 

 go down, but down which it is always supposed that the 

 fish will escape. The banks are high and wooded. The 

 pool is not dark, but the sun goes off it fairly early. 



" My rod is an eighteen foot one. 



" I landed 102 fish in 23 days' fishing, all casting, 

 total weight 1,503 J pounds, largest fish 29 pounds, 

 18 of these weighed 20 pounds and over, and 51 

 weighed 16 pounds and over. I had three blank days 

 between 2ist March and zgth April. I can send you 

 a photograph when I get back to Woburn in about 

 ten days' time. (See plate LI.) 



" I should probably not have made these good 

 catches but for my lessons in casting,* and a hint I 

 helped myself to when watching a very well known 

 angler, Sir H. Maxwell. After making his cast he 

 slipped the handle of the rod back so that the rod 

 balanced evenly. Oh ! the exhaustion this has saved 

 me. When I asked him to improve my casting, by giv- 

 ing me hints, he said he could not teach me anything, 

 but the hint I stole just made all the difference in a 

 long day's casting, in fact made it possible for me. 



" Yours truly, 



" M. BEDFORD." 



ANOTHER RECORD 



When staying with Mr. Arthur Millington Naylor in 

 1897, as a fellow-guest of Mr. George Beck, he told me 



* This remark is a kind reference to the Author's coaching. 



