RESULTS OF SALMON MARKING 91 



That such fish may drop down stream after making 

 a comparatively short ascent and meeting floods, as 

 stated, is believed by netsmen, since after cold winter 

 floods they not infrequently catch coloured fish in 

 the lower reaches and estuaries ; but it also happens 

 that occasionally such fish are found to be affected 

 by disease, and to be therefore in a weakened con- 

 dition. The early running Tay fish ascend to Loch 

 Tay about fifty miles, and there yield regular sport 

 till May, when they begin to ascend still farther. 

 The early Ness fish run quickly through the six 

 miles of the river, and in the same way yield sport 

 in Loch Ness, from which at an early date they also 

 ascend the Oich to Loch Oich and the Inverness- 

 shire Garry. These upper waters are well stocked 

 with fish on the opening day of the rod fishing, 

 February 11, and continue to be so. The same may 

 be said of rivers farther north, the Thurso and 

 Loch More at its head, or the Naver with Loch 

 Naver at its head. In all such localities there seems 

 no indication that the fish, once well up the rivers, 

 descend again. On the contrary, the indications all 

 seem to point to the conclusion that these fish remain 

 in fresh waters during the whole of the ensuing 

 fishing season. 



In the Spey 150 clean fish were marked during 

 the close time of 1896-97, and of this number 

 Q7 were recaptured after the opening of the 

 fishing season. The lower reaches of the Spey are 

 very rapid, and the winter in question was excep- 

 tionally severe, so that one would expect ascent to 

 be slow and that not a few would descend these 



