A DAY WITH THE GRILSE 171 



of the "hold" that tells me instinctively that 

 the fish is but lightly hooked, and I shake my 

 head at the little gillie, who is already beginning 

 to prepare for action, just before the line comes 

 back slack once more to my disappointment, 

 but not this time to my surprise. It is rather 

 annoying to have had two fish on and lost them 

 both ; but I am not disheartened, as the water 

 is improving every minute, and every one that 

 has risen has taken hold after a fashion. We 

 shall doubtless do better presently. 



A walk of a couple of hundred yards brings 

 us to an anonymous pool at the next bend, which 

 is quite as well worthy of attention as many that 

 have high-sounding names. This is a river in 

 which it will not do to rely on tradition and 

 reputation. The banks are undermined and fall 

 in, and tons of gravel are washed down by every 

 spate, so that what is a deep pool one year may 

 become a mere run or shallow the next ; there- 

 fore, only those places that have some perma- 

 nent natural features, such as a bridge or a rock, 

 or those that have been the scene of some acci- 

 dent or event, acquire and retain the honour 

 of a name. I can remember catching fish in 

 this pool twenty years ago, and then until last 

 year it was hardly worth fishing ; but the opposite 

 side was faced with stone in 1888 to prevent 

 further damage to the bank and the adjoining 

 fields, and it has since become a very good 



