TROLLING.
Our readers will have guessed, from what has preceded this chapter, that
we don't believe in trolling if it can be avoided; but still there are
times and occasions on which it must be practised, and we plead guilty
to having gone in for it oftener than once, when we saw that fly-fishing
was useless. On the other hand, however, we have set out with a firm
determination to do a fair day's trolling,--and nothing but
trolling,--but somehow or another it has generally ended in fly-fishing
when we could, and trolling as a _dernier ressort_ when we could not.
This, we doubt not, has been the experience of many of our angling
friends to whom the mere killing of fish is a secondary consideration
compared with the enjoyment of real sport. But when trolling is the
order of the day, either from choice or necessity, then this is the way
to go about it. We assume, of course, that the angler is equipped with
tackle and lines specified in Chapter V., and that he has a supply also
of live minnows with him. The elaborate tin-cans for holding minnows are
quite unnecessary so far as loch-fishing is concerned; any ordinary
vessel will do well enough for a day, provided the water is changed now
and again. In trolling, two rods will be found ample. They should be
placed at right angles to the boat,--the "thowl-pin," or, if there is
not one near enough the stern, anything (a cheap gimlet answers
admirably) fixed into the gunwale, being sufficient to keep the rod in
position,--so that the spinners, of whatever kind they may be, will be
as far apart from each other as possible. Take care that the butts of
the rods are well at the bottom of the boat, as we have seen a rod not
sufficiently fixed go overboard before now. A main point in trolling is
to have plenty of line out. There should never be less than thirty yards
out from one rod, and not less that forty from the other. By this
means, should a fish not see the first lure, he may see the second. If
trolling with natural minnow, which is much more apt to get out of order
than artificial ones, see that the bait is intact and spinning properly.
This involves the trouble of hauling it in for examination now and then;
but it is better to be at that trouble than be fishing with, mayhap, a
mangled lure, or one that has got out of spinning order, and more likely
to act as a repellent than an attraction to any fish in the
neighbourhood. In trolling any likely ground, the proper way is to tell
your man to zigzag it, not pulling the boat in a straight line, but
going over the ground diagonally, and thus covering as much of it as it
is possible to do with a couple score yards of line behind. The turning
of the boat necessitates a considerable circle being taken to keep the
lures spinning, and so that the lines do not get mixed up; and your man,
after making the turn, should row in a slightly slanting direction
towards the point from which he originally started, thus--
[Illustration]
and so on, till the chances of raising a fish on that beat are
exhausted.
Should a small fish come on, haul it in hand-over-hand; and the man must
not stop rowing, as the other minnow is out, and must be kept spinning.
If, however, a fish that needs playing comes to you, you must seize the
rod to which he has come, and the boatman must take the other, and wind
in as fast as possible. You should not commence winding in till the
other line is wound up so far as to preclude the chance of the fish
mixing up both lines together. Barring the risk one runs of a serious
mess, it is not a bad plan to troll from a reel a cast of larger-sized
flies than would be used in ordinary fly-fishing. This line follows, of
course, in a _straight_ track behind the boat, and the minnows being
considerably to right and left of it, there is no danger of their
getting mixed so long as the boat is moving; but the risk is apparent
should a fish come to either of the three lines, and great activity is
then necessary on the part of yourself and boatman to keep things right.
You must keep the fish at as considerable a distance from the other
lines as you can, and trust a good deal to the chances of war for the
ultimate safety of all. Some days, even when casting was unproductive,
we have been fortunate in securing fish by trolling our flies in the
manner described. Indeed, unless the day or the season is decidedly in
favour of trolling minnows, we prefer, if only trolling two lines, to
troll from one of them with the minnow, and from the other with the fly.
This must always be decided, however, by the judgment of the angler, and
by his surroundings for the time being. One thing in favour of trolling
with the minnow is, that the best size of fish are caught by that means.
This is not invariably the case, but it is the rule. And in concluding
this chapter, we must not omit to acknowledge that we are glad to know
that when we are not so young as we once were, and when the wielding of
a rod all day long shall have come to be a serious matter, we shall
still have the pleasure of roaming about our lovely lochs--Highland or
Lowland--and have the excitement of landing fish, coupled with our
enjoyment of fresh air and grand scenery. For this reason, if for no
other, cultivate as often as you can, without entrenching on the nobler
pastime of fly-fishing, the art of trolling--for we must confess that
there is an art in this as in everything else; and should my reader be
sceptical on the point, he has only to try conclusions, when he gets the
chance, with some old troller, and he will be convinced before
supper-time.