206 Loch Leven Trout 
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 Queich the trout run a month earlier than those in the other 
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 lbs. weight makes a bed to to 15 inches long, 
and from 6 to 12 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 
much higher rate now. For the last thirty-five years, however, the 
loch has been reserved for angling, and during that time has had 
many ups and downs, success or failure depending on the number of 
