SALMON. 07 



minnow-tackle, consisting of three large hooks at least, and 

 caught with another set as soon as it could be put on ; but 

 the instances of clean Salmon being so caught are very rare. 



" During the latter part of last season, 1886, there were 

 more Salmon in the river than I ever remember to have seen, 

 with the exception of one season, about twenty years ago, 

 and certainly a much greater proportion of very large fish by 

 far than I can remember. 



" I observed many oversetting, (the term used when Sal- 

 mon jump out of the water for their own amusement,) which 

 must have weighed from thirty to forty pounds, and one 

 which I am sure must have exceeded fifty pounds at least. 

 I never saw so large a fish in our streams. It is a curious 

 fact that on both these occasions, when there were such 

 multitudes of fish, they would not take any fly or bait that 

 could be offered to them : some few were caught, no doubt, 

 but only here and there one ; and this was more or less the 

 case the whole way from the foot of Gala-water down to my 

 fishing-ground, where I may say the rod-fishing ends. I may 

 here mention that I have killed, and all with the fly, many 

 hundreds of Salmon weighing twenty-five pounds and up- 

 wards. The two largest I ever killed weighed, one forty-five 

 pounds, in July 1795, the other forty pounds. The latter 

 fish was sent to the late Duke of Buccleugh, at Bowhill. 

 When his old cook saw the fish he declared it was abso- 

 lutely impossible that any man could kill such a fish with the 

 rod, and to this moment does not believe I caught it. The 

 fish, which weighed forty-five pounds, killed also in the month 

 of July 1795, was a fresh run fish, with what arc called tide- 

 lice on it, and the finest I ever tasted. 



" My uncle, my father's elder brother, caught a Salmon 

 with a rod which weighed sixty-nine pounds and three- 

 quarters. 



" For a number of years, however, there has been a great 



