Z OST AND FO UND 431 



when fishing in a pool lower down the river with a 

 large peacock fly. I could quote numberless instances 

 of fish being recaptured with flies and casts in them, 

 but I never heard of a fish being retaken with a heavy 

 piece of lead on the tackle. 



The above event occurred on the river Beauly, 

 about eleven years ago, much to the surprise of the 

 gillie, himself an experienced fisherman, and is so un- 

 common, that I think it as well to mention that the 

 fish was first hooked and lost in the pool above the 

 mill-pond in the Beauly, and was eventually taken in 

 the mill-pond below it, on the well-known stretch of 

 water known as the ' Falls of Kilmorach.' The gillie 

 who was with me was Hugh Fraser, of the Cruives, 

 Beaufort Castle. 



Fishing with a fly is so much more sporting than 

 bait fishing, that it behoves me to give my first 

 attention to it. 



There are many rivers which are open for fishing in 

 February, but nothing much can be done with a fly 

 before March, for the reason that there is no fly up, 

 and therefore the fish are not looking out for flies, but 

 for the more substantial food at the bottom, where 

 they obtain food as well as in the middle or on the 

 surface of the water. Trout are not particular as re- 

 gards their food, for I have known them swallow young 

 sparrows and mice, and many a thing which falls acci- 

 dentally into the water; they also eat not only the spawn 

 of other fish, such as salmon, etc., but their own. 



In weedy rivers it is impossible to land trout by 

 gentle means, or with a weak rod, for it is often neces- 

 sary to pull the fish clean over the weeds, and this 

 necessitates the use of a stiff rod. Indeed, in some 



