CHAP. 1,j FLY-FISHING—TROLLING. 18 
low, carrying half the rod under water. The loch was too deep 
for me, and he snapped the line in an instant, the rod and the 
twenty yards of line which remained jerking back into the air, 
and sending the water in a shower of spray around. Comparing 
the strength of this fish with that of others which I have killed 
when trolling, he must have been a perfect water-monster. In- 
deed I have little doubt that the immense depths of Loch Ness 
contain trout as large, if not larger, than are to be found in any 
other loch in Scotland. 
For fly-fishing in lakes, it is difficult to give any rule as to the 
colour and size of your fly. The best thing you can do is to 
find out some person whose experience you can depend on, and 
who has been in the habit of fishing in the particular water 
where you want to try your own skill, for most lakes have a 
favourite fly. I have always, when at a loss, had recourse to a 
red, white, or black palmer. There are very few trout who can 
withstand these flies when well made. The size of the palmer 
should depend on the roughness or smoothness of the water. 
On adark windy day I have frequently found a white palmer 
succeed when nothing else would tempt the fish to rise; while 
on a bright calm day a small black palmer should be tried. 
There are endless favourite loch-flies, and it is seldom that a 
person cannot be found to give you the requisite information as 
to which to use: however, I never feel much at a loss as long 
as I have some palmers in my fly-book. 
In putting night-lines into a large lake, the best places are 
those where any burn or ditch runs into it, or along some shallow 
sandy or gravelly bay, for in these places the fish feed during 
the night time. Worms, frogs, and small trout are the best bait 
for night-lines. In trolling, the small silvery fish supposed to 
be the young of the salmon, or the small kind of herring called 
garvies, are the best bait. Preserved in spirits of wine, they 
keep for a long time, and become so tough, that they do not 
tear or break off your hook. If you take a fancy to fish with a 
fly during the night in a lake, a large black fly is the best, but 
unless it is drawn very slowly through the water, the fish, though 
they rise, will miss it. 
A small fly which I have found to be always a favourite with 
