LOCH-FISHING 179 



which is a good bay and which a bad one, nor can 

 he tell, as in a river, at what cast to expect a trout. 



The trout also, from a variety of causes, are not so 

 wary or difficult of capture as the wily inhabitants 

 of most streams. Highland lochs are generally of 

 a dark colour, which helps to disguise the angler's 

 tackle ; and as the trout are little fished for, and 

 rarely disturbed, they are by no means shy. 



All these things render loch-fishing a less difficult, 

 and consequently less interesting, branch of angling 

 than fishing in our southern streams. It is, indeed, 

 the simplest fishing of any, and the one in which the 

 tyro and the accomplished angler are most upon 

 a par ; and we do not wonder that most good anglers 

 prefer capturing smaller but more wary trout in 

 southern streams, to larger and better trout in some 

 remote loch. 



Still loch-fishing has its advantages. It is not 

 nearly so fatiguing as river-fishing, and therefore 

 better adapted for some. A sail on a loch possesses 

 great attractions, and as many of our lochs are 

 situated amidst the finest and grandest scenery in 

 the country, the angler must indeed be destitute of 

 taste if he can find no enjoyment in it. In an 

 angling point of view, great inducements to fish in 

 lochs are the large size and fine condition of the 

 trout. In this last respect they certainly surpass 

 those that are found in rivers, being in some lochs 

 quite equal, if not superior, to the salmon itself, and 

 cutting much redder in the flesh. 



Most of those acquainted with the subject are of 



