23 6 Loch Leven Trout 



usually the last to be in good condition. After the end of August 

 they begin to become lean and to lose colour again. When in best 

 condition a Loch Leven trout is generally as well coloured as a 

 salmon, and is as highly prized for the table. Even the pike, perch, 

 and eels in Loch Leven surpass all others that I have seen, thus 

 testifying also to the richness of the feeding. Many years ago the 

 loch was said to contain large char, but these are now extinct. 

 Besides trout and other fish, the loch also supplies food for thousands 

 of duck. There are tufted ducks by the thousand, and large numbers 

 of black-headed gulls. The latter, along with numerous swallows 

 which appear early in April, live principally on the flies that are bred 

 in the loch. 



Loch Leven trout begin to spawn in October, but it is not till 

 about the middle of November that they do so in large numbers. 

 The North Queich is the earliest river, and the Pow the latest. In 

 the North Oueich the trout run a month earlier than those in the other 



f^*S 



streams. Trout remain for some time in the larger streams before 

 they are ready to spawn. In the smaller streams, on the other hand, 

 they often begin spawning the day they enter them, and return to 

 the loch again as soon as they have done so. The male trout run 

 up first. 



The operation of spawning can easily be observed on the smaller 

 streams. A trout of 2 Ibs. weight makes a bed 10 to 15 inches long, 

 and from 6 to 1 2 inches deep. The female, as a rule, takes two 

 days to complete the process, and then falls back into the loch again, 

 while the males remain for several weeks. After the fry are hatched 

 they remain in the streams from nine months to two years before 

 entering the loch. Those in the streams have red spots, but after 

 they have been a short time in the loch the red spots disappear. This 

 is peculiar to Loch Leven. They then become quite silvery, and 

 retain their silvery coat until the spawning season arrives. As they 

 grow older there is more yellow in their colour. 



At one time Loch Leven was netted and the fish sent to market,, 

 where they produced a high price, and no doubt they would sell at a. 



