CHAPTER VII. 



Lone Tarns and Pools. 



"*HERE is a peculiar fascination about the fishing of the lone 

 tarns and pools of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English 

 Lake District those waters lying sullenly amid mountain barren- 

 ness and impressive solitude. 



Scarcely fished by angler or visited by mountaineer, they are 

 surrendered to the gods of loneliness ; exposed to storms of a 

 violence those lofty peaks alone do know ; and their trout subjected, in 

 some cases, to the ravages of cormorants. Now and again, how- 

 ever, an angler climbs up to their rocky shores, climbs up from the 

 valley below to the rugged heights above a long tramp, no doubt, 

 through marsh and bog, over boulders and rocks, up precipitous 

 mountain sides. In this connection it should be borne in mind that 

 the higher these lone lakes, tarns and pools are situated, the 

 smaller are the fish to be found in them. 



The chief charm originating from the fishing of these elevated 

 waters is the adventure involved by the roughness and the difficulties 

 of the ascent to their shores and the uncertain quality of the sport 

 to be obtained at the end of the arduous and fatiguing climb. Is 

 there not, also, some small element of danger in evading the 

 treacherous, boggy ground, in the scramble over steep and slippery 

 rocks, and in the likelihood of losing one's way should mist envelop 

 the upper portions of the mountains ? Whilst if the services of a 

 guide be dispensed with, and the angler be left to his own resources, the 

 exact direction in which the tarn lies may become uncertain, and 

 forthwith unforeseen perplexities may arise. 



The pleasant flavour of adventure and danger, in a lesser 

 degree, is to be had by the side of the moorland stream ; but, apart 



