LOCH TROUT-FISHING 163 



that of the same fish in the river running out of 

 it. Seven salmon out of ten hooked in a stream 

 take the fly under water, without breaking the 

 surface till they feel the hook; nine out of ten 

 coming at the fly in a lake rise with a dash, often 

 throwing themselves clean out of the water in seiz- 

 ing it. The reason is pretty obvious. In still 

 water, even when agitated by wind, the fly must 

 be drawn pretty quickly along the surface to keep 

 the line taut; to the salmon it seems as if the 

 creature which has excited his curiosity is on the 

 point of escaping, and he shows himself in his des- 

 perate hurry to overtake it. In a stream, on the 

 other hand, the most deadly moment is just when 

 the fly comes 'to hang;' it is then nearly stationary, 

 and the fish can take it at his leisure. I have re- 

 peatedly watched a salmon rise behind a brother 

 angler's fly in a strong stream, poise itself, and then 

 with a forward, but not violent movement, glide on 

 and take it. So it is with trout. Put a floating fly 

 over a Scottish burn trout, and, provided the stream 

 is not too swift, he will rise to meet and take it with 

 no greater disturbance of the water than the most 

 sophisticated inhabitant of a chalk stream. 



But the marked contrast between the behaviour 



