LOCH-NA-LARICH 183 



general rules, such as to prefer places where the 

 water is only moderately deep, and be particularly 

 attentive round sunken rocks, under overhanging 

 boughs, near islands, or by patches of weeds, 

 waterlilies, or reeds, will generally enable a 

 stranger to a loch to make a good show at the 

 end of the day if he understands the ordinary 

 craft of the angler. Casting is never very diffi- 

 cult, as you drift along with the wind, and the 

 temptation to a good fisherman to throw an un- 

 necessarily long line is a stumbling-block and 

 snare, except on the rare occasions when it 

 enables him to cast over some rather distant 

 fish he may have seen rise. To my mind, the 

 most difficult thing in loch -fishing is to avoid 

 entangling your line with that of some less 

 expert brother angler who is casting from the 

 same boat, and is erratic in his notions of time. 

 A quick hand at the strike and unremitting 

 observation and patience are of course essential 

 for success. More skill is required in fishing 

 from the shore or wading when a loch is thickly 

 wooded, or the banks are approachable only 

 from a few spots ; but there are very few Scotch 

 lochs where wading or bank-fishing give satisfac- 

 tory results. Usually either the water deepens too 

 rapidly, or reed beds or marshy deposit prevent 

 your approaching the most likely spots. 



This surely cannot be compared for sport to a 

 ramble along some beautiful Highland stream, 



