LOCH-FISHING 73 



trout was most tempting. All over it trout were 

 rising to the natural fly, with big circles like those 

 you see in the Test at twilight ; while in the centre, 

 where no artificial fly can be cast for want of a 

 boat, a big fish would throw himself out of the 

 water in his eagerness. One such I saw which 

 could not have weighed under three pounds, a 

 short, thick, dark-yellow fish. 



I was using a light two-handed rod, and fancied 

 that a single Test-fly on very fine tackle would be 

 the best lure. It certainly rose the trout, if one 

 threw into the circle they made ; but they never 

 were hooked. One fish of about a pound and a 

 half threw himself out of the water at it, hit it, and 

 broke the fine tackle. So I went on raising them, 

 but never getting them. As long as the sun 

 blazed and no breeze ruffled the water, they rose 

 bravely, but a cloud or even a ripple seemed to 

 send them down. 



At last I tried a big alder, and with that I 

 actually touched a i&ff, and even landed several 

 on the shelving bank. Their average weight, as 

 we proved on several occasions, was exactly three- 



