26 Rod-Fishing in the Nith. 



banks of the river, the heather-clad braes of the burn, and the 

 the great round hills sweeping down in every imaginable curve, 

 speak to him with a still voice, which only some can hear. The 

 beauties of nature lead him up to nature's God, and to thanks- 

 giving for this fair world and our power to enjoy it. 



But there is another view of the subject. Very few people 

 have any idea of the economic value of rod-fishing to Scotland. 

 The rents that are paid for salmon fishing, and the rents that 

 might be paid for trout fishing, were it cared for as it should be, 

 would amount to an enormous sum, and by far the greater portion 

 of the money would go to makers of fishing tackle, water bailiffs, 

 river keepers, and gillies. The breeders of trout, the makers of 

 flies, the diggers of worms, &c., &c., would be multiplied, and all 

 their families would be better fed and cared for. The deterio- 

 ration of rod-fishing in many, very many, of our rivers is therefore 

 much to be lamented. All this applies strictly to the Nith. 

 When I was a boy I could catch many more trout in the Nith than 

 I can catch now, with all my increased experience and skill. 



When my father was a boy, he and his brothers could fill 

 their baskets in the Nith and the burns which flow into it so easily 

 that they left off fishing because they could carry no more. 

 Why is it the fishing has degenerated ? First and foremost, 

 because so large a portion of spawning ground has been utterly 

 destroyed, or rendered so dangerous to the eggs, that few or none 

 come to any good. 



The draining of hill farms has entirely altered the character of 

 our burns. You probably know that trout run up the burns to 

 spawn. They pick out some nice gravelly shallow on which to 

 lay their eggs. They are generally all laid before Christmas, and 

 come out in the end of February or March. Now, before the days 

 of sheep drains, the rain sank into the moss as into a sponge, the 

 burns rose slowly, and fell slowly to their ordinary level. But 

 now a few hours' heavy rain sends the burn down, roaring round 

 rocks, and tearing up the gravel, destroying the eggs, or the little 

 fish which have just come out of them, and so working utter ruin 

 with the year's spawn. 



2nd. There is a pollution from factories and coal-pits. On 

 certain days the upper Nith is quite ruined for fly fishing. It does 

 not always kill the fish, but it makes them so unwell that they 

 will not rise. 



