OCTOBER 267 



the greenheart bent in sympathy, and in five minutes a 

 nice grilse of 7 Ibs. was stretched upon the rocks. 



Now a boat is a mighty convenience in a big river in 

 fact, ninety per cent, of the salmon casts in Tweed cannot 

 be fished without one ; but undoubtedly it is a boon that 

 every good angler dispenses with as often as he can. In 

 the low state of the river on this day the upper part of 

 the Doors was within easy command of one standing on 

 the rocks. Standing thus, I met with luck again. No 

 grilse this that went boring down the entire length of the 

 pool and then rushed swiftly up again, as if aware that 

 his best chance was in a slackened line. Baffled, but 

 barely so, in these tactics, he took to wild fighting, racing 

 close along the farther shore until his descent into the 

 broken water seemed inevitable. Just as I was stepping 

 into the boat to follow him he yielded to the strain, and 

 the rest of the combat was fought in the Doors pool. At 

 its conclusion a noble twenty-pounder was laid beside the 

 grilse. It was now one o'clock ; the river had risen only 

 a couple of inches in the hour, but already the current 

 was tinged with a milky hue, ominous of the approaching 

 flood. The Red Stane and Elshie were rapidly skimmed 

 without result ; it was with feeble hope that I began at 

 the top of Braidmouth. We were half-way down when a 

 fish rose above the boat. We pulled up again, and he 

 took the fly at the first offer a pretty grilse of 7| Ibs., 

 with the tide lice on him. 



And now reeds and branches came floating down the 

 stream ; the water turned quite thick the spate was on. 

 Nothing for it but to wind up and add one more might- 

 have-been to the long list. Yet were he a churl who 

 should grumble after landing the only three fish touched 



