THE NORTHERN LOCHS AND RIVERS. 113 



mer, without being able to discover any traces what- 

 ever of the fish. It is possible, indeed, that they carry 

 on nocturnal operations along a piece of shoal ground 

 lying at what may be termed the foot of the loch, op- 

 posite Craigdarroch, although I never had the fortune 

 to observe a single straggler during daylight on the 

 spot I mention ; indeed, the occupation of it by a large 

 and voracious species of Canadian water-fowl prevents 

 entirely the intrusion of small lish over this part of 

 Loch Achilty. 



THE RIVER CONAN, LOCH LUICHART, ETC. 



NOT far from this lake runs the Conan, a deep and 

 dark-coloured river, passing in its higher channels 

 through a number of excellent trouting lochs. "Were it 

 not for the cruive fishings near its mouth, Conan would 

 no doubt prove a favourite stream with the angler. The 

 falls also, a short way below Loch Luichart, are a great 

 obstacle to the progress of salmon, which, were they re- 

 moved, might proceed inland above thirty miles, and 

 over a succession of spawning beds of a first-rate quality. 

 It has been in the contemplation of those interested 

 in the fishings of this river to blast or cut out a 

 stair-case channel through the bed of rock forming 

 the principal fall, and I have no doubt, were this done, 

 the salmon would immediately take advantage of the 

 improvement. The same experiment might be tried 

 at the Eogie falls on the Black-water, a tributary of 



