CH. IV.] SHORE-SIDE BEST IN TRAILING. 67 
And long may it run, for a sweeter stream 
Never fisher nor painter saw, 
And nierrier Trout never leapt in the beam 
Than the Trout of the swift Versoix. 
When trailing a bait in lakes, the side next 
the shore will almost invariably afford the best 
sport. The same remark applies to rivers, when 
trailing from a boat. When from a punt how- 
ever—that being commonly worked close along 
the bank—the case is of course different, as the 
fish, which are lying under its shelter, are thus 
naturally disturbed and driven into deeper water. 
In sea-fishing, those in the stern of the boat 
will generally be found to have better sport than 
those in the bow. That this is the case I have little 
doubt, it having been often remarked by others as 
well as myself. As to the reason why it should be 
so, I have a difficulty in arriving at a satisfactory 
conclusion. I used to imagine that, as the scent 
of the baits would be carried down with the tide, 
the fish below, becoming sensible of it, and fol- 
lowing it up, would naturally arrive first at the 
baits from the stern. But this theory was shaken 
whilst I was fishing one blustery day on a Scotch 
loch. On that occasion the wind was stronger 
than the tide, and the boat consequently swung 
F2 
