SALMON AND SEA TROUT FISHING. 239 



this manner, the following colloquy ensued with Gibby, 

 the gillie in charge of the boat. 



" Faith, and dun yer ken what fysshe wa'en ta'en the 

 day, weth the hairy worren ? " 



"No I" 



" Wai, twanty-four dozen sma' throut jest an they 

 twa white fysshe sure, it's a fearsome baste, an' a regular 

 kill devil." 



To those anglers who habitually smoke whilst fishing, 

 and their name is legion, we would tender a word of ad- 

 vice. Never carry Vesuvius loose in your waistcoat 

 pocket, or you may perchance be troubled with a touch 

 of heartburn externally, as was the experience of the 

 writer on one occasion whilst playing a fish from the 

 banks of the Tweed. We had unconsciously given the 

 receptacle of the pipe lights a touch with the butt end of 

 the rod, when the whole ignited, the result of the con- 

 flagration being loss of the fish, and the spoliation of 

 certain garments. 



We may here also observe, that when landing a fish 

 with a short-handled gaff upon a high bank over deep 

 water, it is not always safe to be backed with a well-filled 

 creel, for should the creel happen to find its way to the 

 front, suddenly and unexpectedly you may feel as we 

 did once, viz., that a cold water plunge is inevitable 

 under the circumstances. 



In salmon as in trout fishing, the location of a fish 

 poised for feeding or perhaps rising, requires often a little 

 reconnoitring. The course of the water in his immediate 

 vicinity should be noted, and the lure presented accord- 

 ingly. In order to circumvent exceptionally large fish 

 more particularly, it is by no means advisable to cast 

 haphazard in the vicinity of the fish before the distance 

 is rightly calculated, or the course of the water appre- 

 ciated. If it is your earnest desire to take the fish seen 

 rising, like an efficient general you must take in the 



