378 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



Next, the gillaroo (pronounced " ghirroo " by the Highlanders), 

 which, although not nearly so shy, nor of such giant propor- 

 tions as the other, yet has been frequently taken from sixteen 

 to eighteen pounds. (I have never fished much for them 

 myself, and the largest I have caught was five pounds weight. 

 I hooked him with minnow near the foot of Loch Lubnaig, as 

 I rowed home after fly-fishing the green sunk banks at the top. 

 He was in excellent condition, but in fight and appearance 

 strongly reminded me of a barbel.) And, lastly, the famous 

 trout of the Thames. It seldom attains the dimensions even 

 of our gillaroo ; but it merits a place among the triumvirate, 

 both from its beauty and the skill required to hook it. 



In trolling for any of these fish, especially for the salmo- 

 ferox, great attention should be paid to the tackle, not only 

 that it is all of the very best quality, but also that it is dressed 

 in the manner least apt to miss the trout. Of course the 

 angler must not expect many runs in a day, which makes it 

 particularly vexatious when the fish that do dash at the bait 

 escape the hooks. In boat-trolling for smaller trout, I often 

 use but two hooks a large one through the tail of the bait, 

 and a lesser through its mouth. This has many advantages : 

 you bait quickly and easily, the appearance of the minnow is 

 not spoiled, and when the trout are at all greedy, they don't 

 often miss. There is this to be said against it, however, that 

 when shy fish bite warily, they may sometimes seize the bait 

 by the middle, and, for want of middle hooks, blow it away 

 again, when slightly pricked by the others. The spinning 

 also is neither so quick nor so true as by the following 

 method, which I have tried with great success. It is, first a 

 single hook, next three tied back to back, then another single 

 one tied the reverse way, ending with a second trio. Of 

 course, when trolling for the feroxes, all the hooks must be 

 very large. This latter plan, when properly baited, moves very 

 naturally ; and although there are so many hooks, I am con- 

 vinced, from the rapidity of the spinning, they are even less 



