LOCH-TROUT. 193 



knowledge of the habits of the trout than fishing 

 from a boat, as the angler has to find out for him- 

 self the places in which to fish ; but with all his 

 skill, he can never tell with any certainty 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 inhabit- 

 ants 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 diffi- 

 cult, 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 



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