NIL DESPERANDUM 155 



by deep banks, but there is a long horseshoe- 

 shaped pool, about a mile from the mouth, with 

 a low, shelving gravel bank on opposite sides at 

 each turn, some part of which is sure to catch 

 every breeze that blows. No time was to be 

 lost, as next day was full moon, and the tide 

 would be in by half-past one o'clock at the latest ; 

 so a very few more minutes saw me at the head 

 of the pool with my rod put together, and two 

 small sea-trout flies a blue doctor and a nonde- 

 script with black body and silver twist on a 

 medium loch-trout cast. 



There was only a very slight ripple on the 

 water, but at about the third cast something large 

 turned at the fly, and I caught a glimpse of a 

 silvery side as the fish returned to its fastness 

 at the bottom. A short pause, then another 

 cast, and the salmon rose again in the same 

 place a third and I was fast in the first fish 

 of the year, which dashed off across the pool 

 almost as much surprised as I was. I treated 

 him with becoming deference, waited till he 

 sulked a minute before I screwed the gaff 

 into the handle, and in a short time adminis- 

 tered the coup de grdce to a handsome grilse 

 weighing 7 Ib. I will not enter into a detailed 

 account of the events of the next two hours, but 

 before the tide came in I had risen a number 

 of fish, and killed two more grilse of 6 Ib. 

 each, besides an ugly, large, red kipper, weighing 



