48 CATCHING THE WILY SEA-TROUT 



CHAPTER V 



OTHER MEANS OF CATCHING SEA-TROUT 



FROM the foregoing chapters you may imagine that 

 sea-trout can be caught only by mounting an 

 artificial fly or by spinning a metal minnow, but that is 

 not the case as the sea-trout, like most fish, will fall a 

 prey to other devices, 



To renew my many associations with sea-trout angling, 

 and to bring my experiences up to date, I have, for 

 several months, been staying within a hundred yards of a 

 noted salmon and sea-trout water which, from time to 

 time, for a score of years has afforded to me innumerable 

 thrills. 



Before commencing this chapter, I strolled down 

 to see an old angling friend, whose house is situated 

 on the river-bank, and who owns the fishing rights 

 for several miles .on this river. After an entertaining 

 pow-wow on sea-trout in general, and on those fish in 

 particular which come through his waters, I quietly 

 put the innocuous question to him, " Besides fly fishing 

 and spinning, are there other means of catching sea- 

 trout ? " 



The old gentleman, in a most leisurely fashion, tapped 

 the spent ash from his pipe, refilled his constant com- 

 panion, and, after satisfying himself that the fresh charge 

 was well alight, looked at me fixedly for a few seconds. 

 Suddenly he broke the silence by saying, in an un- 

 mistakably determined way, " Yes. Poaching/' I 

 might have expected such an answer, as my friend is a 

 whole-hearted " purist." With fly, and fly only, may the 

 brown trout in his river be caught. He permits of no 



