ON SEA TROUT 



whilst the angler is expecting salmon. If one lived always 

 upon a large river, and could fish all through the season, it 

 would be better in the latter half of July and beginning of 

 August to take only a small rod and fish especially for sea trout, 

 but at this time of year the salmon and grilse are showing 

 freely in the streams and pools where they lie, and the angler, 

 who may only have a very limited amount of salmon fishing 

 in the year, generally takes the chance of getting some of the 

 salmon which he sees, and disregards the sea trout. It is 

 difficult to fish contentedly for smaller fish and not to try for 

 the bigger, when the latter are constantly showing themselves, 

 and the result is that one sometimes wastes the opportunity 

 of first-rate sport with sea trout in order to have a very indif- 

 ferent day's salmon fishing. I remember one week in July, 

 when sea trout were running on a first-rate salmon river in 

 Scotland. They rested in numbers in a very long stream and 

 pool where they could easily be reached by wading, but salmon 

 and grilse were there too, and I fished with nothing but salmon 

 flies and salmon gut and a seventeen-feet rod. I was con- 

 tinually hooking sea trout of all weights from one pound to 

 three pounds, and of course getting no fun with them on such 

 tackle : if I had used a small rod, and been content to fish 

 the sides of the stream and the stiller parts with sea trout flies, 

 I should have had wonderful sport with sea trout, and probably 

 have hooked an occasional small salmon or grilse also, even 

 though it was impossible to cover the whole water properly 

 with anything but a salmon rod. As it was, my total for five 

 days was four salmon (none of them large) and six grilse, 



^9 



