62 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



The Tay is so big that in practically its whole course much 

 fishing has to be done by boat. The common practice is to " harl " 

 the large pools, this operation being carried out in greatest complete- 

 ness in the wide stretches of the lower river. Two men commonly 

 row the boat, each rowing a pair of oars, and two anglers sit facing 

 the stern with two, or it may be three, rods out. One rod may 

 perhaps have a fly, another a gudgeon, and the third a phantom 

 minnow, or in early spring or late in the season three flies may be 

 on. When the lines are paid out the boatmen begin to row with 

 the bow pointing upstream, but so as to allow the current to force 

 the boat slowly across the river. When sufficiently far across, the 

 bow is turned towards the first bank again and the current is made 

 to impinge mostly on the other bow, i.e. the boat's head is slightly 

 pointed for the return journey. At the same time the current 

 works the boat down-stream as far as the rowers allow. In this 

 manner a zig-zag course down the pool is taken. When a fish is 

 hooked the angler generally lands and the other lines are reeled up. 

 Cases sometimes occur of two fish being hooked almost simultaneously, 

 and then very naturally the fun is fast and furious. I have been 

 told a story of two rods being fast in the same fish, fly being the 

 lure, and that on the fish being landed the two flies were found in 

 the mouth. I may add that my informant, who was one of the 

 fishermen, assured me he knew I wouldn't believe him but that the 

 story was perfectly true. 



It is this system of harling which, I believe, is largely responsible 

 for the practice common in the Tay of opposite proprietors fishing 

 the whole water on alternate days, rather than each attempting to 

 fish his own section of the water as in Tweed. To harl properly 

 one must go from bank to bank. 



The strength of the current in the Tay is often very great and 

 the effort of rowing a heavy coble correspondingly hard. It is not 

 surprising therefore that the more easily handled Norwegian boat is 

 now becoming more common, as in the Spey. The boat introduced 

 is not, however, the Norwegian " pram," but the " faering " which is 

 not so commonly used for angling in Norway. In all ordinary 

 conditions of water one man can easily manage a faering. 



In harling, the man or men at the oars really do the fishing, the 

 man or men at the rods do the landing. At the same time, a good 

 deal of casting is done from the boat as well as from the bank, and 

 I understand that, on some of the waters, bank fishing is rather on 

 the increase. 



