448 DETERIORA TION OF SPORT IN FISHING 



point of going home, lor the river was in very high 

 flood and dirty, the gilHe advised me to try a * Silver 

 Doctor,' adding- that he was sure I should do well with 

 it, as there was a considerable run of fish in the river. 

 I took his advice, which proved to be good, for, with 

 salmon and grilse, I succeeded in landing fifteen fish. 

 This took place some ten years ago, on the Beauly, in 

 July. 



It is often a matter of surprise to old fishermen like 

 myself, why the fish do not rise as well nowadays as 

 they used to formerly ; they seem to have become shy, 

 and I am at a loss to understand why such is the case. 

 Temperature of water, and such-like, cannot be the 

 reason ; and nowadays, when all tackle is so much 

 improved and so perfect, the reverse might have 

 reasonably been expected. But no ; where I could 

 hook as many as thirty grilse in a day, I cannot now 

 get more than five or six, and consider myself lucky to 

 do that much. I do not refer to such rivers as the 

 Tweed, Dee, etc., which give good sport occasionally, 

 but to those where there are always plenty of fish. In 

 such rivers big scores appear to be a thing of the past. 

 However, whatever may be the cause, fish have become 

 most difficult to please with files, and they seem to 

 prefer a natural, or live, bait, and in many of the deep- 

 running pools, eel-tails, prawns, small fry of either 

 trout or salmon parr, are the most effectual lures. 



I find the brass minnow, which is made more like a 

 grub than a fish, is the most successful, not only in 

 rivers, but in lakes, and especially for trout. It is a 

 good plan to rub such minnows from time to time with 

 a fish which may have been killed, for nothing attracts 

 a fish to the lure more than smell, which is one of the 



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