357 



OCTOBER ON THE STINCHAR. 



THE October floods of the Stinchar come pretty regularly, 

 sometimes allowing the river to empty itself between the 

 large " spates." When unbroken, heavy water lasts without 

 intermission, the fish are so much knocked about that they 

 become dull and languid, until they have been given a rest by 

 the lowering of the river. Our first flood, about the 10th of 

 the month, was from " bank to brae," and the pools were not 

 in fishing order until the afternoon of the second day. The 

 river was even then in far too tumultuous a state to suit my 

 taste ; but my second son rose a salmon twice, with a large 

 showy fly, in the " slack water " of our mid-pool, named the 

 " Scaur." 



This " Wheel," as it is called, is rather confined, but very 

 deep, and when the river is large, shelves off on either side into 

 shallow eddies, very alluring to fish when the force of the 

 current prevents their keeping the main stream. No variety, 

 in either size or colour, could tempt this salmon to show him- 

 self again, and not another fin would stir in any other part of 

 our water. 



On the next morning, before breakfast, the same rod rose 

 the fish of the previous day ; and the river having lowered in 

 some measure by noon, I took my rod, giving him two changes 

 of fly, without success. As a last resource, I gave him the 

 " wind over " which induced him to give a fine deliberate roll 



