LOCH-FISHING 69 



ma}' have come into the loch from the river, by 

 wa)' of the tin}' feeder ; but the river-trout are both 

 scarce and small. A new farmer had given up 

 letting the \\'ater off, and probably there must have 

 been \-er}' rich feeding, water-shrimps or snails, 

 which might parti}' account for the refusal to rise 

 at the artificial fl}'. Or they ma}' have been ottered 

 b}' the villagers, though that would rather have 

 made them rise short than not rise at all. 



There is another loch on an extreme!}' remote 

 hillside, eight miles from the smallest town, in a 

 pastoral country. There are trout enough in the 

 loch, and of excellent size and flavour, but }'ou 

 scared}' e\'er get them. The}- rise freely, but they 

 alzvaj's rise short. It is, I think, the most provok- 

 ing loch I ever fished. You raise th^m ; the}' 

 come up freel}', showing broad sides of a ruddy 

 gold, like the handsomest Test trout, but the}- 

 almost invariably miss the hook. You do not 

 land one out of twent}'. The reason is, apparently, 

 that people from the nearest town use the otter 

 in the summer evenings, when these trout rise best. 

 In a Sutherland loch, Mr. Edward Moss tells us 



