BE PEEPAEED FOE SALMON. 107 



The lower waters of the Gala, above and below the busy manu- 

 facturing town of Galashiels, cannot now afford, I should think, 

 any sport for the angler. It was different then ; large trout 

 and whitling were caught just below the village. Still, silvery 

 Tweed is not far off, and trout and salmon are no doubt to 

 be taken with the rod. Miles of the Tweed are still free 

 to the angler. Be cautious of its treacherous pools and 

 streams, clear but deep. That fish you see so distinctly, 

 and which you fancy you might almost touch, lies "fathoms 

 deep." Still to be successful you must wade. Fish with a 

 small salmon rod, with flies of various sizes ; a large trout or 

 grilze fly will tempt a salmon. If the line and rod be not in 

 good order, you may lose the fish, line, and top. It happened 

 that, fishing a little below Clovenford for trout, a seven pound 

 salmon took the grilze fly with which I had hoped merely to 

 entrap a sea trout. He ran the line out instantly ; the point of 

 the rod lay in the water for five minutes at a time. I merely 

 held on, and would gladly have been quit for the loss of the line ; 

 as it was, I landed him safely at last. But I shall speak of the 

 Tweed hereafter, and so return to the Gala. 



No angler need now, I presume, fish the lower waters of the 

 Gala; but he may successfully still cross the highlands by 

 Blackshiels, and crossing from the north, strike the Gala near 

 its source. Here, should the weather be soft and warm, summer 

 dropping clouds appearing ever and anon, a western breeze, and 

 an evening's heavy rain preceding, the angler may still, at any 

 point from near the sources to Torsonee, meet with all success. 

 But to do this he must be first in the field, fish with a short 

 rod, fine line, and red hackle, keep well off the bank, and lose no 

 time. The sun never shone on the Gala while I fished it, for clouds 

 obscure the valleys of the Lammermuir when the Low Countries 

 bask in glorious sunshine. I speak not of Noble House, a favourite 

 resort of anglers in former times. All is altered now, in so far at 

 least as man can alter nature. In the Gala, in my early days, 

 there were salmon and sea trout, parr and parr trout ; these still 

 abound. The Gala was famous for the abundance of parr. But 

 the red-spotted, common river trout also abound, furnishing good 

 sport to the angler, though despised by the gourmand. Like 



