3/6 AN ANGLER'S RAMBLES 



under this advantage it was, that his Grace, in the month of 

 August, at a time when the fish are usually in fine condition, 

 hooked, played, and landed twenty-eight salmon and grilses out 

 of twenty-nine offers, a singular, and, I believe, an unprece- 

 dented achievement. 



The gravelly shallows which superintend Maxwheel Pool, and 

 lie in contact with the arches of Kelso bridge, are chosen by the 

 large trout as their summer hunting-grounds. During the win- 

 ter and early spring months, they are made use of by the spawn- 

 ing salmon, and form what may be called a favourite portion of 

 the nursery-grounds of the river. As such, they are without 

 doubt remarkably fertile, and teem at all times with salmon fry. 

 The havoc committed by the common yellow- trout, even within 

 this limited range, upon these defenceless little fish, is, as I have 

 said, very great, and extends over a considerable portion of the 

 year. It is in the summer nights chiefly that the large prowlers, 

 termed swallow-smolts, press the attack ; but their raids are not 

 restricted to the dusky hours. At noon-tide, on the hot sunny 

 days, they straggle up singly, sometimes in pairs, from the depths 

 of the Wheel, which they had retired to after their nocturnal 

 forays, in order to digest their plunder, reappetized, and ready 

 to renew the onslaught. Below the bridge, on these occasions, 

 every large stone is claimed by its accustomed occupant. There 

 was one in particular, before which, in 1864, for the space of 

 three months and upwards, a yellow trout of fully four pounds' 

 weight daily took up its quarters. A smaller fish succeeded it 

 as the tenant in 1865, but the character of the spot had been 

 changed by a winter spate, and the former holder, if still a sur- 

 vivor, had deserted, for one more convenient, its place of outlook. 



In watching from Kelso bridge, on a favourable day, the pro- 

 ceedings of these trout, I take, and so do many others, a great 

 interest. Shortly after having taken up their position, they give 

 the observer an inkling of their object. The parrs which have 



