60 LOCH-FISHING. 



bob. If the loch is full and muddy, add a small thread 

 of silver tinsel to the latter, and increase the size of 

 both ; in large lochs, a green body is also very killing. 

 In fishing a loch where the trout are small, dimmish the 

 size of your hook; even in river-fishing, I seldom use 

 any but those I have named, only much smaller and 

 without the mohair; adding a hare's-ear body and 

 woodcock wing early in the season, and a mouse body 

 and snipe wing at a later period. 



Should the loch you are fishing contain sea-trout or 

 salmon, ascertain, from any good fisher in the neigh- 

 bourhood, what are the most killing flies, and tie them for 

 yourself. Should you not be " up to this," beg, borrow, 

 or buy them from him. In fishing with a long line, from 

 a boat, let the trail be either a sea-trout or salmon-fly ; 

 but if throwing from shore, never use the latter except 

 by it^lf. A two-handed rod, large reel with plenty of 

 line, and the lightest tackle, are necessary. 



If the wind is so high as to cause decided waves upon 

 one of these small lochs, you will succeed much better 

 with the minnow-tackle than the fly : indeed, the best 

 plan then is to troll for pike, with a par ; they always 

 take best in high wind, but are so capricious, that you 

 may have three runs in half-an-hour, and, perhaps, not 

 one in several apparently favourable days. High wind 

 is prejudicial to fly-fishing in lochs where the trout are 

 large, because it scatters them into unlikely places ; and 

 being, of course, much fewer in number than when small, 



