MAY 107 



is a trout water in an untarnished state 

 of nature. 



By the time we reached the valley 

 neither Mr. Wood nor James was able 

 to offer any explanation of the trouts' 

 insistence upon large flies. I was equally 

 at a loss. However, a surmise comes. 

 Either Loch Derculich has insects larger 

 than those of the same species which are 

 common elsewhere, or there is an especial 

 reason why the trout in it take lures so 

 large that they would be ignored by trout 

 in other waters. Which theory are we 

 to adopt ? 



The first is a shot in the dark, and I 

 think it misses. We saw a few insects on 

 Loch Derculich, and they were certainly 

 not larger than those of the same kinds 

 which are to be seen on more familiar 

 waters. James remarked that moths 

 come out of the heather on the margins 

 of Highland lochs, and that the moths 

 are as large as my friend's flies. That is 

 true ; but it does not settle the question. 

 The moths do not come out until the 



