SALMON FISHING 99 



In Forfarshire there is the Kinnaird Castle water of the South 

 Esk, the Brora, Helmsdale and Naver in Sutherland, and the 

 Thurso in Caithness. From this it will be seen how scarce is 

 really good spring fishing. The Tweed, Tay, and Spey are all 

 three so closely netted in the spring that on none of them, on 

 any particular beat, can our standard be nearly reached, although 

 in the autumn months it is easily exceeded. The Earn, the 

 Deveron,* the North Esk, and the Don are perhaps the worst 

 of northern rivers that yield plenty of spring fish to the nets 

 while hardly giving one to the rod ; in all four of them it is quite 

 a rare event to kill a spring fish, for these four streams are all 

 very easy to work with the nets, and hardly a fish escapes till 

 they are taken off on the 26th of August ; but from that time 

 till the end of the rod-fishing season, the three first named are 

 quite at the top of the tree for autumn sport, the Earn, 

 especially, often yielding splendid autumn sport. 



On the Dupplin Castle water, the late Lord Dupplin once 

 took twenty-one fish from the Dyke Pool in a short day, while 

 the Earl of Hardwicke, Colonel Oliver Montague, with many 

 others, have had their dozen daily. In October, 1891, we 

 stayed a week with Mr. Brydges Willyams, the then lessee of 

 this water, when, as bad luck would have it, the river ran 

 bank high and dirty the whole of the time ; but though the 

 rod was nearly useless, it was still a great sight to see the 

 fish passing up Dupplin Weir, for between two and three 

 thousand passed up during the seven days of high water. 

 Indeed, I have never before seen fish run so plentifully and so 

 continuously for such a long spell. On the Dyke stream in the 

 season of 1890, Mr. Willyams and Colonel Cornwall Legh, his 

 lucky visitor, fishing opposite each other, had in a short day 

 twenty-five good fish between them. 



Only the largest of the Scotch rivers have been alluded to, 

 but there are many smaller ones which give good sport, and in 



* Owing to the recent removal of obstructions, these two first-named rivers are 

 likely to improve. See my Salmon Rivers of Scotland. 



