'On a favourable day twenty fish for a boat of three rods would be considered satisfactory, the trout ranging in size from 1 lb. to 5 lbs. each.

'I give three special days in my own experience. On Lake Owel some few years ago my wife and myself had 27 trout weighing 55 lbs.; and on another occasion I had 8 trout to my own rod weighing 39 lbs., and on Lake Ennel or Belvedere my wife and I had 14 trout weighing 30 lbs. The largest I have ever killed was one 12 lbs. in weight, dapping" on Lake Owel, but I have seen them taken at 14 and 16 lbs. I have frequently caught them 4, 5, 6, and 7 lbs. each.

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'The largest trout ever caught was by rod and line and spoon bait in Lake Ennel near the shore of Belvedere demesne, by Mr. Willie Meares of Mullingar, on July 15, 1894. It weighed 26 lbs. 2 oz. I had the fish set up. It is lent by me to the Congested Districts Board of Ireland, and is now (June 1897) on exhibition in London. The trout of the Westmeath lakes are of excellent flavour, and during the open season are in the pink of condition.'

This description of Irish lake fishing embraces all the methods employed in that part of the United Kingdom for the capture of trout. It will be noticed that every species of bait is mentioned, artificial

flies, natural flies, live bait, and artificial bait; and it will also be remarked that the trout run to a very large size.

Returning for a moment to the subject of lake fishing in general, should the fisherman be spinning, he must be guided to a large extent, as regards the size and nature of his bait, either by the advice of any local fisherman he may encounter, or by his own observation of the characteristics and requirements of the lake he is fishing. Should it happen that he is not previously acquainted with it, he should make every endeavour to find out from some one living in the neighbourhood whether the trout prefer spoon, phantom, or natural minnow, live or artificial bait. In lakes, trout vary in their tastes nearly as much as they do in rivers, and it requires careful notice and considerable practical knowledge to become a successful lake fisherman.

CHAPTER III

WORM FISHING AND SPINNING FOR TROUT

IN these days, when the attention of fishermen seems to be so firmly fixed on fly fishing as almost totally to exclude most of the other branches of the sport, I feel somewhat nervous when I allude to the use of the worm as a means of catching trout.

This, however, is but a species of false modesty, and very false at that; for I know few things pleasanter in the way of fishing than to wander amongst Highland hills, wherever some wee burn may run, cairngorm-coloured, making miniature cascades over the boulders, or gliding quietly over pools which from the intensity of their colour seem trebly deep, equipped with a light, somewhat stiff rod, some Stewart tackle, and a bag of well-scoured brandling worms.

True, the trout may not run large, in fact they are sure to be small, and the stream may be only of a size which would put fly fishing almost out of

the question. But what of that? Are you not, as far as your own personal ideas are concerned, monarch of all you survey? Probably you do not

own an inch of all the glorious country around you, but you have leave to fish this particular burn, and that fills your cup of happiness. It is equally probable that, in giving you permission, the owner of the property looks upon you as a species of harmless lunatic, for the smallness of the stream and of the fish in it can be attractive only to a keen trout fisherman. But what does that matter to you? As you stroll along the burnside, through the rough fields which trend upwards towards the hills forming the fringe of the moor-fields full of queer tussocky patches, half rush, half grass-you feel, right to the very marrow of your bones, the magnetic influence of the Highland atmosphere. To my thinking there is nothing in the world so bracing and inspiriting, or at the same time so nerve-comforting, as this same Scotch air; and so be thankful for it. As you wander on before beginning to fish, you become aware of the clear whistle of the golden plover and the call of the peewit. The pert wagtail flirts his tail, the dipper winks his eye at you, and then quietly vanishes. In the distance you can both see and hear grouse; in short, on every hand there is infinite

variety for appreciative and comprehending eyes to observe.

But now you have reached the spot where you should start fishing, so put your rod and tackle together and get to work. Hereabouts the heather begins to spread down to the side of the tiny stream, and thus adds to the physical comfort of the fisherman; for he can fish all the water while walking or kneeling on this softest of carpets.

Now, what sort of hook will you have fixed to your cast, which should not be more than some four feet long? A single hook, or a Stewart tackle? The sizes shown in the accompanying diagrams are those which, as a rule, are most advisable. In the case of the single hook you are less liable to be 'hung up' in stones, or bank edges, or other obstructions, supposing the stream you are fishing to be a small one and much intersected with boulders, rocks, and other fishermen's worries; but, on the other hand, with the single hook you are much more liable to miss your fish when striking. With Stewart tackle, either double or treble hooked, you do not lose so many trout as when using only a single hook, but naturally you get more often caught up in the hundred and one things which seem to be placed in a river principally for the purpose of testing the measure