LOCH-FISHING 155 



learned little advantage over the learner ; their chances 

 of raising fish are almost on a par. But we know that 

 on the loch, as on the river, fortunes vary and baskets 

 are not all alike. Two men fishinor too^ether under the 

 same weather conditions and with similar lures may 

 show very different results on quitting the water in the 

 evening. And the difference between them may not 

 be confined to an isolated instance ; it may be repeated 

 day after day while they remain on the loch. It does 

 not necessarily imply that the art of the successful 

 angler surpasses that of his less fortunate companion, 

 but it is too constant to be ascribed to chance. It 

 obviously owns a cause in continuous operation ; it 

 suggests a permanent distinction between the men 

 themselves. 



My friend Thomson is one of the most fortunate 

 fishermen 1 know. Fish what loch he pleases, he 

 generally contrives to hold his own, and not infre- 

 quently he succeeds in beating all competitors. Having 

 few theories concerning flies, he accepts without demur 

 those his tackle-maker recommends to him, provided 

 they be small and dressed on the finest of gut. As he 

 is but an indifferent performer with the rod, and knows 

 it, he gives himself no credit for a success entirely due 

 to what, he asseverates, is luck. Since, however, it 



