LOCH SALMON-FISHING. 373 



be noted by marks from different positions opposite to or 

 crossing each other. A decayed stump of a tree exactly op- 

 posite a shepherd's hut, making a triangle with a rock or the 

 end of a point, may be the only available beacons to guide 

 you to a first-rate mid-loch cast. For two years I had the 

 right to one side of Loch Baa, and by these simple means, 

 before the first season was half over, knew all the established 

 casts fully as well as the fishing-guides, and found out some 

 more they had no idea of. 



Perfect confidence in this local knowledge is the foundation 

 of success in lochs ; and when the fisher fully possesses it, 

 and not till then, will he perceive how many blunders he can 

 prevent his boatman from committing. For instance, effectu- 

 ally to fish the feeding-grounds with the least risk of scaring 

 them, it is absolutely necessary to know the exact spots 

 where the salmon lie. When the feeding-ground has a sheer 

 descent from shallow to deep water, this may be shrewdly 

 guessed ; but when the deep is reached gradually, a rise in 

 the loch, or even a change of wind, may alter the seats of 

 salmon a considerable way either side. As the angler's ob- 

 ject is to keep his boat out of sight in deep water, and pitch 

 his fly over the fish, when the water deepens suddenly from 

 the bank or rock, he has simply to fish round them with a 

 line longer or shorter, according to the state of the atmos- 

 phere or the power of the breeze. The salmon will all be 

 found on or near the brow, and in a dark or windy day they 

 do not see the boat until close on them. I have seen the 

 heaviest fish rise and hook in such weather within a few 

 yards of the boat, a rare chance for men who throw an in- 

 different line. 



But should the day be clear, with only a light breeze, 

 especially when casting over shallow points and places where 

 the water deepens by inches, none but an accomplished master 

 of the salmon-rod need hope for much success. Such ground 

 must be approached with the greatest caution, or you may 



