A Sportsman at Large 267 



along the bank, whilst it wended its way calmly and steadily. 

 After a bit the salmon thought it would vary the monotony 

 by turning back and taking me over the ground which I had 

 already covered ; and so he kept me marching up and down 

 like a soldier on sentry go. It was not long before I became 

 thoroughly fed up with this profitless parade, so making up 

 my mind to lose or win all, I resorted to violent measures, 

 so gave the sullen joker three or four vicious jerks. Then it 

 seemed to awaken to the serious nature of things, for it sud- 

 denly went off down-stream with such a rush that it became 

 utterly out of control. Before I could give line, it had the 

 point of my rod down and smashed me up entirely. As I 

 gazed at my broken cast, I saw this casual customer derisively 

 throw itself high up out of the water about fifty yards below, 

 as who should say : " Now, what about it, guv' nor ? " 



This was the beginning and the end of our carefully-thought- 

 out expedition to Loch Dianard. If I could believe the tall 

 stories that had been told to me about its prolific character, 

 it would appear that we were exceptionally unlucky on this 

 occasion. One of the tales went, that an angler a friend of 

 the Bishop's had, a few weeks previously, stood where the 

 waters of the loch flow out into the open river, and had there 

 accounted for no less than eighteen salmon, without moving 

 from one spot. 



A tall order indeed ! 



We were thoroughly disgruntled, and by the time we got 

 back to the domestic hearth, I wished that Loch Dianard and 

 all to do with it had been dried as hard as a turnpike road 

 before I ever set out on this wearisome and wholly profitless 

 expedition. 



Towards the end of my tenancy, the more orthodox sports 

 were fizzling out, so, as in the course of my latter days in the 

 Orkneys, I turned my thoughts to sea-fishing, after having 

 attempted the slaughter of sea-trout in the Kyles by trail- 

 ing a sand-eel ; a form of sport which has no attraction for 

 me ; especially when, as was the case here, it is so slack that 

 the average works out at about three moderate-sized fish 

 per week. 



I had heard great accounts of the haddock and pollock 



