188 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



way is to place it with its side to the wind, and 

 allow it to drift down, the boatman keeping it the 

 requisite distance from the shore. If the breeze is 

 strong, the boat will drift too fast to admit of 

 fishing the water thoroughly, and a large stone 

 attached to a rope should be put out at the wind- 

 ward side to act as a drag. Commencing at the 

 bow of the boat, the angler should first cast straight 

 out, and then go gradually round, casting to leeward, 

 and in a fresh piece of water every time till he comes 

 to the stern, when he should begin again. 



The parts of the loch in which to fish, as has been 

 before stated, can only be ascertained with certainty 

 by local experience. The amount of food is the 

 principal cause which influences trout in their 

 preference of one part of a loch to another, and this 

 depends entirely upon the nature of the bottom. 

 The bays and creeks in the immediate vicinity of 

 any place where a stream enters are generally good 

 ground, as the stream brings down mud and vege- 

 table matter, which, being deposited in the neigh- 

 bourhood, is peculiarly favourable to the develop- 

 ment of insect life. It is by no means uncommon to 

 find the trout in one part of a loch quite red in the 

 flesh, and in another quite white, the red-fleshed 

 ones being on a superior feeding-bank. Sport may 

 almost always be depended upon in the neighbour- 

 hood of weeds and large stones, which afford shelter 

 to the trout. The angler should allow his boat to 

 drift alongside, and cast as near to the weeds and 

 stones as possible. Places where the water is over- 



