THE MOOR-BURN. 407 



covered that the attempt would be vain, as they always kept 

 close to their refuge. This trout may be still alive ; but the 

 other, I have heard, is dead, after a solitary existence in the 

 spring of nine years' duration. 



But to return to the burn. Although when small or in 

 ordinary trim the angler must be content with its common 

 inmates, yet the time to fish it in perfection is during the 

 floods at the end of summer and beginning of autumn. The 

 sea-trout, salmon, and grilse then come up in great numbers. 

 To select the proper moment for commencing operations is 

 the main point. Many of the smaller burns remain in proper 

 trim for so short a time that the angler ought to be waiting 

 at the side, ready to begin fishing as soon as the white muddy 

 water has run out, and the burn assumes the deep red tinge. 

 After it decreases to a certain point, he will hardly raise a 

 single fish. Nay, he would even stand a better chance before 

 the water is sufficiently clear, with an enormous gaudy fly, 

 with which, should he come half an hour too soon, he may 

 amuse himself until it is time to put on the proper ones. 



As I have already said, every experienced angler is well 

 aware how capricious are the salmon, sea-trout, and grilse of 

 different streams as to their flies. I was in the habit of 

 fishing Sea-trout of three burns in the same neighbourhood 

 (two of them running into the same sea-loch), each of which 

 had its favourite fly. I often put on the chosen three, and 

 fished them all in turn ; but invariably, when the water was 

 in its lest state, the fish in each were most constant to their 

 own fly. I merely mention the fact without attempting to 

 account for it, and will name the flies to show that the differ- 

 ence was considerable : one was a yellow and green, or red 

 and green body, red hackle, and either teal or light-speckled 

 mallard-wing ; another a blue body, red hackle, and turkey- 

 wing ; and the third (for the burn which ran into a different 

 loch) a green body, thread of gold tinsel, red hackle, and dark- 

 mottled mallard-wing. The second-mentioned of these flies, 



