ROBERT KERSE'S BIG FISH 189 



well up, and the fish swattering down the stream. 

 He followed as best he could, and was beginning 

 to think of the rock at Craigellachie, when he 

 found to his great relief that he could ' get a pull 

 on him.' He had now comparatively easy work ; 

 and exactly twelve hours after hooking him, he 

 cleiked him at the head of Lord Fife's water : he 

 weighed fifty-four pounds, Dutch, and had the tide 

 lice upon him." 



Thus Duncan Grant has instructed us how to 

 manage a large salmon. Let us now see how a 

 large salmon may manage us. 



In the year 1815, Robert Kerse hooked a clean 

 salmon of about forty pounds in the Makerstoun- 

 water, the largest, he says, he ever encountered : 

 sair work he had with him for some hours ; till at 

 last Rob, to use his own expression, was "clean 

 dune out." He landed the fish, however, in the 

 end, and laid him on the channel ; astonished, and 

 rejoicing at his prodigious size, he called out to a 

 man on the opposite bank of the river, who had 

 been watching him for some time : 



" Hey, mon, sic a fish ! " 



He then went for a stone to fell him with ; but 

 as soon as his back was turned, the fish began to 

 wamble towards the water, and Kerse turned, and 

 jumped upon it; over they both tumbled, and 

 they, line, hook, and all went into the Tweed. 

 The fish was too much for Rob, having broke the 

 line, which got twisted round his leg, and made its 

 escape, to his great disappointment and loss, for at 

 the price clean salmon were then selling, he could 

 have got five pounds for it. 



