LOCH-FISHING 125 



the active resistance of the trout, and on the other to 

 the pull of the boat — renders it almost as difficult to 

 bring them together. Vexation may be simply and 

 easily avoided if the head of the boat be held to the 

 wind and the boatman be at the oars prepared to 

 anticipate the movements of the fish. The angler will, 

 of course, do his best to prevent the trout from passing 

 beneath the boat, but success lies less with him than 

 with the gillie, who, by a little dexterity in the handling 

 of the oars, need have no difficulty in keeping well away. 

 Should, however, the contingency occur in spite of their 

 combined efforts to avert it, the angler must plunge the 

 point of his rod into the water until the line clears the 

 bottom of the boat, then bring it round, either by the 

 bow or by the stern, to the side now occupied by the 

 fish. His purpose accomplished, he should raise the 

 rod smartly and regain command of his quarry's move- 

 ments. 



The motive which prompts the trout to adopt a 

 course against which the angler and his helper should 

 do their utmost to persuade it, is not to sever the line 

 on a jagged fragment of the keel he has just discovered 

 from below. That may, indeed, be the result of the 

 manoeuvre, but, that it is deliberately designed by the 

 fish, only the very simple will believe. 



