250 HIGHLAND SPORT 



together with the great increase in the numbers of anglers, 

 have never been taken into consideration or legislated for. 



Thirty years ago it was common enough to get real good 

 spring angling on the Spey, while fair early sport was also to 

 be had on the Deveron, the North and South Esk, the Don, 

 and the Earn ; but in the present day so close is the netting 

 that it has become quite a rare event to kill a spring fish with a 

 rod in any of the five last-named rivers, and, as a matter of 

 fact, no attempt is ever made to let the spring fishing on any of 

 them. As soon, however, as the nets are removed in August, 

 the anglings of each of these rivers bring in high rentals and 

 yield splendid sport. It is certain such a state of affairs is a 

 direct interference with the laws of nature, and, as a con- 

 sequence, the netting has at length commenced to deteriorate 

 in each of these rivers. 



Although autumn fish yield good sport, yet they are not to 

 be compared for eating purposes with those of the spring ; but 

 anglers who pay heavy rents for autumn fishing are often loth 

 to admit this, and while those zvho catch them say the "spring 

 polish " is only just vanishing, those who merely see them laid 

 out on the bank often turn away muttering, " Black as niggers, 

 or red as foxes." Of course, there are some bright autumn fish, 

 but they do not average one in four, and even those with sea lice 

 on them are insipidly flavourless as compared with a springer. 



There are people who assert that only spring fish breed spring 

 fish, and if this has any foundation in fact, then the falling off 

 in the netting returns of the Spey and other rivers alluded to 

 can be easily accounted for. To my mind it appears unlikely 

 there should be any difference between the fry of spring or 

 autumn fish, but the ova of these latter, deposited much nearer 

 to the sea, are ever in much greater danger of being swept 

 away by violent floods, and, therefore, in any series of years in 

 which these take place, it may well be that the whole of the 

 ova in the lower waters is destroyed for several years in suc- 

 cession, and then, in consequence of the very few spring fish 



