SALMON FISHING IN THE SPEY 



By lady EVELYN COTTERELL 



We hear so much just now of the equality of the sexes in every 

 walk of life, from politics to sport, that the editor evidently 

 feels under an obligation to find room for a chapter written 

 from a woman's point of view, and I am less reluctant to write 

 what he wants than I might otherwise have been, because it 

 really seems to me that in just this sport of fishing (and, let 

 me say emphatically, in no other) we may claim equality with 

 the men. On the moors, or even in the hunting-field, the 

 superiority of men is, I think, incontestable, though this, of 

 course, is a personal view only which may not receive the 

 general approval of other women. But in fishing, and more 

 particularly in fly-fishing for salmon or trout, we have all the 

 qualifications of success : we can throw a light line, we can 

 play a fish gently, and, in the matter of close attention to detail 

 and obstinate perseverance in face of difficulties, some women 

 are, if anything, superior to their men-folk. There are people, 

 of course, who, not knowing even the meaning of enthusiasm 

 for this sport of sports, express doubt whether any self-re- 

 specting woman would array herself in waders and face the 

 rough-and-tumble of salmon-fishing in a big river. Well, I 

 can only say that many memories of sport on the Gordon 

 Castle water do not leave any lasting impression of regard for 



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