176 FLY FISHING 



turned to go. My back was to the water, but 

 I had got only a few paces from it when I 

 heard a splash, and looking round, saw where a 

 fish, had jumped, the first sign of one seen that 

 day. I went straight to the place and caught a 

 sea trout almost at once, and in the few re- 

 maining hours of the day landed sixteen pounds' 

 weight of fish with fly. It may not seem a 

 very heavy basket, but it was something to carry 

 over the moor in addition to heavy waders, and 

 not to be despised as a contrast to the prospect 

 of the morning. I had a delightful reaction 

 from despair to good spirits, and the satisfas- 

 tion which perhaps a successful prospector or 

 pioneer feels in a new country. The largest 

 fish that day was under three pounds, but I lost 

 one or two good fish in sea weed, and saw some 

 much larger. 



We still had much to learn about thatvoe and 

 the trout there. They moved with the tide, and 

 we had to understand their habits and follow 

 their movements. Sometimes the burns had been 

 in flood, and brought down muddy fresh water 

 which floated on the top of the sea water. A 

 good wind soon carried this out to sea, but if the 



