I THE "OTTER" IMPLEMENT 17 



to swim nearly upright, carries out a long line, which is attached 

 to it by four short strings, and is wound on a large reel. To 

 this line are fastened a dozen flies on short lines, which, being 

 carried along by the board, rake the surface of the water ; and 

 in windy weather I have caught numbers of trout in this way, 

 where the rod would have been of no use whatever. 



Many a grilse, and salmon too, have I killed in Loch Ness 

 with the otter. There are, however, some great drawbacks to 

 the merits of this implement. The fish are very apt to escape 

 after being struck by the hooks, and, being thus wounded and 

 frightened, become shy, and unwilling to rise again. Also, if a 

 large fish is hooked very near the board, there is a great risk 

 that he will break your fly off", and go away with it sticking in 

 his mouth. For these reasons, the otter, though of great use in 

 certain localities, should never be used in waters where the rod 

 can be brought into play. Though exciting enough in an 

 unknown and remote lake, where you seldom fish, the actual 

 sport which it affords falls far short of rod fishing. 



I have tried it for pike, but did not find it answer, as the 

 fish were constantly struck without being hooked — in conse- 

 quence of their requiring some time to gorge their prey. The 

 angling in some of the best trout lochs is completely spoilt by 

 the introduction of these instruments of destruction. Every 

 shepherd's boy or idle fellow can make one, and cari-y it about 

 with him ; and in lakes where this kind of fishing is prohibited, 

 he has nothing to do, if he sees a keeper or watcher in the 

 distance, but to wrap up the whole thing in his plaid, and walk 

 away with it. There are but few Highland lochs in which a 

 net can be drawn with good effect, owing to the unevenness of 

 the bottom, and the risk of getting your tackle entangled and 

 broken by roots and remains of trees, which always abound in 

 these waters — the remnants of forests of an age gone by. 

 Their great depth too is another obstacle to net fishing, except- 

 ing here and there, where a sandy bay or tolerably smooth 

 bottom can be found. To these places the trout always resort 

 in the evenings, in order to feed on the insects and smaller fish 

 that frequent the small stones. 



In lochs containing pike, a hang-net, as it is called, placed 

 across deep angles of the water or along the edge of weeds, is 

 sure to catch them ; this. fish always struggling and. endeavouring 



C 



