LOCH AWE 43 



and beautiful ; but these, at least in April, are de- 

 cided])' scarce. The common sort is long, lank)', 

 of a dark green hue, and the reverse of lovely. 

 Most of them, however, are excellent at breakfast, 

 pink in the flesh, and better flavoured, I think, than 

 tlie famous trout of Loch Leven. They are also 

 extreme!)' game for their size ; a half-pound trout 

 fights like a pounder. From thirty to forty fish in 

 a day's incessant angling is reckoned no bad basket. 

 In genial Ma)- \\-eather, probably the trout average 

 two to the pound, and a pounder or two may be in 

 the dish. But three to the pound is decidedly 

 nearer the average, at least in April. The flies 

 commonly used are larger than what are employed 

 in Loch Leven. A teal wing and red body, a 

 giouse hackle, and the prismatic Heckham Peck- 

 ham are among the favourites ; but it is said that 

 flies no bigger than Tweed flies are occasionall)' 

 successful. In my own brief experience I ha\-e 

 found the trout ' dour,' occasionally they would 

 rise freely for an hour at noon, or in the evening ; 

 but often one passed hours with scarcel)' a rising fish. 

 This may have been due to the bitterness of the 



