196 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



sufficiently fast against it to keep the bait spin- 

 ning. 



Trolling should be done in deeper water than fly- 

 fishing, and every part of the loch may be trolled 

 over, avoiding the very deep portions. Water from ten 

 to twenty feet deep is usually considered the best 

 ground, but stray fish, and these generally of large 

 size, may be taken even in the middle of the loch. 



A dark stormy day is considered most favourable, 

 but no day is objectionable, and even in a dead calm 

 trout may be taken with a small natural or artificial 

 minnow when they cannot be taken by any other 

 means. In the early part of the season trout will take 

 most freely during the forenoon, but in June and 

 July, if the weather is at all warm, early morning 

 is the best time ; and when there is no wind, from 

 sunrise to sunset is the only time when there is much 

 chance of sport by this means. Large fish are most 

 inclined to take when the waters of the loch are high 

 and dark-coloured after a flood. 



Trolling is dull work, as it is by no means uncom- 

 mon for an angler to toil a whole day without getting 

 a single specimen, and even when successful the merit 

 of the capture lies partly with the boatman, who 

 knows the places and rows the boat. Unless the loch 

 is too stormy to fish with fly, we would never advise 

 anyone to devote himself to trolling exclusively, but 

 when on the loch it is as well to be provided with a 

 trolling rod and tackle, and to use it when rowing 

 from one place to another, thus filling up the 

 intervals during which he cannot use the fly. 



