403 



THE MOOK-BUKN. 



I DON'T know whether the moor-burn more properly belongs 

 to the Moor or the Loch ; but, as it begins in the one and ends 

 in the other, it was rather an omission on my part to have left it 

 out in my first edition, especially as at certain times of the year 

 it affords excellent sport to the angler who penetrates the wilds. 

 When in ordinary trim, the moor-burn is generally neglected 

 by the finished adept, as a more fitting amusement for the 

 schoolboy during his summer holidays ; and certainly nothing 

 can be easier than to kill a basketful of burn-trout at such a 

 season. To do this in as short a time as possible, treat them 

 with earth-worms baited upon a smallish hook. They will 

 rise well at the fly, but the worm is more deadly. As you 

 have often queer-looking places to scramble up, where a longer 

 and smarter turn-out would be sadly in the way, use a coarse 

 short rod, very small reel, and casting-line of good single gut. 

 I have generally been most successful when the burn was 

 small, the trout being then eager for worms, having tasted few 

 since the last flood. The great point at such a time is to keep 

 out of sight, by dropping the bait over a rock, or from behind 

 a bush or tuft of heather. There is generally sufficient motion 

 in these rocky streams to prevent your line from being seen 

 by the trout, and they will seize the bait with such avidity 

 that I have sometimes, when a boy, taken a dozen out of one 

 pool or linn, as they are called. Many prefer the burn a little 



