194 WHAT 1 HAVE SEEN WHILE FISHING 



" Thames Trout Capture " for many years before 

 he caught his first fish, which he did from the lawn 

 sloping to the river immediately before he went to 

 take part in the annual dinner of the Windsor and 

 Eton Preservation Society. I remember quite well 

 his exclamation " At last ! at last ! " 



Had I but a small portion of his talent for 

 writing, what tales of glorious tussles with the big 

 Tay winter salmon I could relate ; tussles which 

 meant almost as much danger to the wielder of the 

 rod as to the fish ! To appreciate the difficulty of 

 following your fish it would be necessary to see the 

 riverside, up the glen, when it is free from snow 

 and ice, and again to see it fished when covered. 

 You would then understand that it is a not very 

 uncommon incident to find yourself up to the chin 

 in snow, plus a nasty bruise or two ; and lucky is 

 the man who has fished much in the Lyon and has 

 not fallen into its roaring waters and been gaffed. 

 I could tell of tussles with large fresh-run fish that 

 had to be killed or lost under the point of the rod ; 

 for not a yard up or down may you move in some 

 places. My plan, under such circumstances, is 

 never to let him dig his toes in. Lower your top 

 into the water, if need be, rather than give an inch 

 of line. Keep him, if you can, turning in a circle. 



But in the lower portions of the river there are 

 many splendid pools, with grass-covered, sloping 

 banks, which may be fished with ease and comfort ; 

 pools in the turns of the river, sheltered from the 



