186 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXI 1. 



fill that part of the country with a population 

 peculiarly destructive to fish and game. 



The Tweed and its tributaries are known to all 

 as the angler's classic ground, and have been so 

 often described by abler pens than mine that I 

 will say nothing about them. 



Loch Leven trout are famous throughout Scot- 

 land. 



Then come the lakes and streams of Argyleshire, 

 beautifully situated in a wild and rugged country, 

 but overrun of late years by cockney and summer 

 tourists. Loch Awe will, however, always maintain 

 its high repute for its large lake trout, which rival 

 the pike in size and voracity, but are stronger, and 

 far more wary and difficult to catch. A " Salmo 

 ferox" of fifteen or twenty pounds weight is no mean 

 adversary. His first rush, when he finds himself 

 firmly hooked, is nearly strong enough to tow the 

 fishing-coble after him. And then comes the tug 

 of war. The monster, held only by a slight line 

 and tapering rod, is one moment deep down boring 

 Iris head to the bottom of the lake, with every 

 yard of the line run out, and the rod bent into the 

 water ; the next he takes a new freak, and goes 

 off near the surface like a steamboat, and before 

 you can wind in he is right under your boat and 

 close to the bottom of it, your line being you know 



