LOCH-FISHING 193 



in weight, a whole parr should be used, and it is 

 superior to a trout, being much more silvery and 

 easily seen. If parr are not procurable, recourse 

 must be had to trout, and if, as is generally the case, 

 they are very dark-coloured when caught, putting 

 them in a white basin and exposing them to the sun 

 will improve their appearance. Where the trout 

 are very large, as in lochs frequented by the Salmo 

 ferox, a quarter of a pound trout will not make too 

 large a bait. 



The rod for trolling need not be long, but it is 

 absolutely necessary that it should be stiff, as a quan- 

 tity of line with a heavy fish at the end of it is 

 a severe strain upon a rod, and in such circumstances 

 a supple one would be quite unmanageable. The 

 reel should be large enough to contain at least sixty 

 or seventy yards of good strong line, as a trout of ten 

 or fifteen pounds will make a desperate struggle, and 

 test severely both the skill of the angler and the 

 boatman. After the ordinary line there should be 

 a strong triple-gut casting-line, tapered from the 

 line to where the trolling-tackle is attached. The 

 gut on which the hooks are tied should be stronger 

 than what is used for any other treating purpose, 

 and almost as thick as that used for salmon-fishing. 

 This strong gut is so rarely devoid of a white glossy 

 appearance, and requires to be stained so dark before 

 it is divested of it, that we prefer triple- gut twisted, 

 which can be got very fine, and it is not so easily 

 seen as a single thread of the same thickness. If 

 there are pike in the loch it will be necessary to tie 



