TROUT-FISHING 



of my house in Galloway swarming witii pike; one may take a score in 

 a day witli spinning bait, if he is so minded, the vast majority being fish 

 of from 4 to 6 lb. weight. A friend who was keen on that sport was de- 

 lighted when he brought back a 17 pounder; but I had the curiosity to 

 open that fish, and lo! its weight was straightway reduced to 15 lb., for 

 it had in its belly one of its own race weighing 2 lb. 



The freshwater trout, then, may be considered a creature of circumstance, 

 subject to variation in colour, size and structure under the influence 

 of environment and food supply. In some vigorous varieties, such as the 

 Loch Leven race, long isolation, coupled with abundant and stimulating 

 diet, has imparted a degree of permanence to their peculiarities which 

 is not apparent in those breeds which have to contend with less favour- 

 able conditions and more frequent vicissitude. And, although in replenish- 

 ing the stock of any stream or lake it is certainly desirable to import fish 

 of a vigorous race, it should never be forgotten that abundant food is in- 

 dispensable for the production of fine trout. Fish of the finest strains — 

 Loch Leven, gillaroo or what not — introduced into hungry waters will 

 never become or produce anything but starvelings, whereas starvelings 

 from a hungry mountain burn brought into rich feeding ground will not 

 only start away themselves into rapid growth, but become the parents of a 

 creditable offspring. 



Having thus glanced at the nature of the creature which is the object 

 of the trout-fisher's pursuit, the next matter for consideration is the 

 manner of that pursuit. Fly-fishing for trout resolves itself into three 

 main branches — (1) Stream -fishing with sunk fly; (2) Stream -fishing 

 with floating dry-fly; and (3) Lake -fishing. 



1. Stream-fishing with sunk fly. Reference has been made above to the 

 reform effected in this branch of trout-fishing by the late W. C. Stewart, 

 author of the " Practical Angler." His doctrine was specially ap- 

 plicable to the smaller streams of northern England and Scotland, where- 

 of the current is more rapid and broken than in the more evenly-flowing 

 rivers of the Midlands and southern counties, and it met with general 

 acceptance among anglers because of the reasonable and simple prin- 

 ciples upon which it was based. Stewart argued that the nearer a fisher 

 could get to his fish without being seen, the shorter would be the line 

 he must cast to cover it, and the surer the chance of hooking it. As trout 

 invariably lie with their heads upstream, the right way to approach 

 them is from below. Next, when a trout so approached does rise, still 



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