A Sportsman at Large 205 



" Peter," said I, " I mean to have that fish ! As long as 

 he keeps rising I shall persist, even if I have to stay here all 

 day and all night." 



I tried half a dozen orthodox flies, a black doctor, a Wil- 

 kinson, a dusty miller, a thunder and lightning, and a silver 

 doctor. Even the ubiquitous and much belauded Jock Scot 

 failed to tempt him, though he had a good look at it, and at 

 most of the others. I had begun with " Whitmore's Fancy," 

 so I returned to it ; but " Mr. Sulky " was not having any. 



In despair I bent on a big Irish fly, the name of which 

 was quite unknown to me. It had a brown and yellow wing 

 and a body of some woolly texture, dyed claret colour. 



I banged it down with a flop in the right spot, exclaiming : 



' There ! take that, you obstinate blighter ! " And he 

 did ! hard and good ! 



He proved to be a seventeen-pounder, but judging from his 

 colouring he had been some time in the river, and perhaps had 

 had reason to be suspicious of well-known salmon flies. 



I brought the stone in contact with the back of his head 

 heartily ! 



Then we had to drift in the boat some way before reaching 

 Sun pol, which Peter assured me was one of the best in the 

 whole river. 



It had to be fished from the boat. I returned to " Whit- 

 more's Fancy." We drifted some way before Peter " gave 

 me the office." 



" Gued leuklie steun two casts in front. Yeu'm rise 

 fisk, yeu tink I " (Please note that my excellent boatman 

 persisted in saying " Yeu tink " (you think) instead of " Ai 

 tink " (/ think). " Next cast he'm cum." 



Sure enough he did. 



The water was extraordinarily pellucid, and of a delicate 

 green tint. I distinctly saw the fish (he seemed to me a verit- 

 able leviathan) shoot up from behind a big submerged boulder, 

 and boil right over my fly with a perfect head and tail rise. 

 The next instant he turned and my line tightened. 



" Stor fisk, yeu tink ? " 



" A thirty-pounder, I believe ! " I shouted exultantly. 

 " Row away quick ; he's coming towards us up-stream ! " 



