fisher; but we speak of lochs where there are fish to be caught,
and where each has a fair chance.

Again, it is said that the boatman has as much to do with catching trout
in a loch as the angler. Well, we don't deny that. In an untried loch it
is necessary to have the guidance of a good boatman; but the same
argument holds good as to stream-fishing. There are "pools and pools,"
and the experienced loch-fisher can "spot" a bay or promontory, where
trout are likely to be lying, with as much certainty as his brother
angler can calculate on the lie of fish in a stream. Then there are
objections to loch-fishing on the score of expense. These we are not
prepared to refute; for there is no doubt whatever that loch-fishing
means money. But what has made it so? The same reason that makes all
other things of more or less value--the common law of supply and demand.
Time was, and that not so long ago, when a boatman who used to get 3s.,
or at most 4s. a-day, now gets his 5s. or 6s., and even at the latter
figure does not think himself too well paid. In the extreme north,
however, it is still possible to get a good man for 3s. a-day; and we
know of nothing more enjoyable than a fortnight's loch-fishing amidst
magnificent scenery in some of our northern counties. The expense of
getting there will always be a serious matter; but once there, the
fishing in itself is not dear. The boat is usually got for nothing; the
right of fishing, so far at least as trout are concerned, is free; and
the man's wage and lunch are decidedly cheap. But for a single day on
some of our nearer lochs,--such as Loch Leven, Loch Ard, or Loch
Lomond,--the expenses _are_ heavy, and the angler must always be the
best judge as to the likelihood of the "game being worth the candle."

CHAPTER II.

EQUIPMENT.

This will be a short chapter, as tastes differ so very much, that many
things we might say would most probably be disregarded. But as to some
matters, there can only be one opinion. Do not fish in _light-coloured_
clothes; and, should the weather be wet, do not wear a white macintosh
coat. We believe that the eyesight of a fish is the keenest sense which
it possesses; and, more especially should the day be clear and fine,
there is no doubt that an unusual white object within range of its
vision will make a fish, which might otherwise have taken the fly, turn
tail and flee. A good deal of what we hear spoken of as fish "rising
short," proceeds fr